Home
>
Parenting
>
Childrens Safety in Public Places - 10 Useful Tips

Childrens Safety in Public Places - 10 Useful Tips

My kids ask me all the time to take them to playgrounds or any other public place. I can't help to think that the risk involved in this is greater than we are often aware of. I have four kids, which makes the task of keeping track of everyone very stressful. To me, taking my children to a public place is not "a walk in the park" anymore. Actually, I feel that I am a little traumatized. My 8 year old son, (a very active little guy), has been lost 3 times in public places. Once in a huge department store at the age of 3, another time in a natural park where he took off in his bicycle by himself at the age of 4 and the latest time in a crowded public fair at the age of 5. Fortunately he has always been found save and sound.

Small children are very unpredictable. Their logic is very different from ours. They tend to forget the importance of staying close to you and they get distracted very easily.

How many times have you taken your kids to a playground and suddenly you don't see them anymore, you start looking for them and your heart starts pounding. Luckily you finally see them playing away unaware of the panic attack you just had. It all happens in seconds but it seems like an eternity until you finally see your precious children again. But for how many parents this is not the case? How many of them never find their child who was just beside them a minute ago? Who had just been seen playing in the playground a second ago?

What can we do as parents to prevent such a tragedy from happening to our family? The best thing we can do is to be prepared and to take certain simple precautions and do our best to prevent this terrible thing from happening.

Each and every time you go to a public place with small children take these 10 tips in consideration:

1. Remind them of the importance of staying close to you and always to inform you to where they are going. This may sound very simple but the best way not to loose your children is to have them close to you at all times.

2. Teach them the importance of keeping a safe distance with you. If they cannot see you, they are not in a safe distance anymore.

3. Choose a meeting place that you know they can remember in case they do get lost. If the children are too small, it might be a better idea to tell them to stay in the place where they realized they were lost. Most of the time you are not too far away from them. But if they start looking for you, it makes it a lot more difficult to find them.

4. If you are in a mall or a department store, identify the staff's uniform and security guard's uniform with your children. Ask them to look for them if they happen to feel lost.

5. Teach them not to talk to strangers. It is unfortunate that we need to teach our children to avoid talking to strangers, but the truth is, with today's world, it's not safe anymore to let your children talk freely to a stranger.

6. If your children are old enough to memorize phone numbers, go through the basic family information such as the home phone number, your cell phone number and your address. Also, give them some change in case they need to call you from a pay phone.

7. Memorize the clothing they are wearing. If it makes it easier for you, put on similar colours in all of your children. During a panic attack you feel confused enough to even forget what your child is wearing.

8. Place a card in one of their pockets with all of the basic information: Your name, your child's name, phone number, cell phone numbers and address. Even if the child is able to memorize this information he/she will panic as well and they could forget it all. Do not place this information in a visible spot as an abductor could take advantage of this to create a familiar atmosphere calling the child by his own name. Also it's important to avoid any piece of clothing containing your child's name.

9. Choose books from the library that teach kids why it's so important not to talk to strangers and after you have finished reading, take some time to discuss the content with your children. You could ask them questions to make sure they understand the message. You can also play the "what if" game and let them figure out what to do in a certain imaginary dangerous situation.

10. Last but not least, talk to them about the dangers that a small child has these days. Unfortunately, we have to give our children some tools to defend themselves in the case of an attempt of abduction. They should know what to do so that they can act quickly. They should not converse with any stranger. If the stranger insists in talking with them, they should leave immediately and ignore the person. They should not volunteer to give any information or directions to a stranger. They should also know about the tricks abductors use to attract a child. They could use a cute puppy, or ask them to find a lost puppy. They could use delicious candy or attracting toys. They could appear to be very friendly or they could even look like adorable grandmothers.

During the first time my son got lost in the department store, I kept thinking of all the things we should have done to prevent this from happening. When he was finally found I thought this would be the first and the last time this would ever happen. I was so frighten by the idea of loosing my child again that I did very little to prepare him for a similar incident. When it happened the second time, I realized the importance of having a plan in place. I also realized that fear doesn't take you anywhere. You need to act before it's too late. Once your child is lost, he is on his own. If he hasn't been prepared to face this situation, the only hope you will have is to trust in his own ability to find you. Nothing can guarantee that our children won't get lost. But if at least your child has a way to help himself when you cannot help him. This could pretty well safe his life.

My name is Mia Dominguez. This is my first article. I have always been interested in writing but have never gone "public" with anything until today. I wrote this particular article in the hope that my experience can help other parents in keeping our children safe in today's world. I hope many of you will find it useful. I strongly believe that keeping a family together is one of the most important things in life and in today's society. God, my dear husband and my 4 children are my highest inspirations.

My husband and I work together from home on different internet projects. You can go to our eBay CD store at http://stores.ebay.com/alberto2000colour

Also you can check our web page at http://stores.ebay.com/alberto2000colour

God Bless.

house cleaning company Winnetka ...

In The News:

Facebook crypto scams trick users with fake celebrity endorsements and legitimate-looking cryptocurrency exchange ads that install malware on victims' devices.

Create private chat rooms using the iPhone Notes app collaboration feature with instant messaging capabilities and full control over conversation privacy.

Lyft rolled out safety upgrades with a new Safety Hub, driver blocking capability and a favorite driver option to give riders more control over their experience.

New research shows Americans increasingly trust AI for wellness guidance over social media, with 63% finding artificial intelligence reliable for health.

Luxury fashion brand Dior experienced a January 2025 data breach affecting customer personal information, and notifications were sent months after the discovery.

The commercial Unitree H1 humanoid robot weighs 104 pounds with 365 pound-feet torque per joint and demonstrates dangerous potential when software glitches occur.

Americans average 10-plus hours online daily, according to recent survey, splitting time between streaming shows on TV and browsing websites on multiple devices.

Boost your smartphone privacy instantly with these security tweaks for iPhone and Android that limit ad tracking, hide notifications and prevent unauthorized access.

Platforms like Hoax Tech and JS Click Cloaker help cybercriminals bypass detection systems using machine learning to selectively display scam content to victims.

A new battery recycling technique transforms old lithium-ion batteries into high-performance components that retain 88% capacity after 500 cycles with minimal waste.

Google's Android operating system can warn users about earthquakes before the shaking even begins – and there are ways to do it on your iPhone, too.

Meta's new gesture control wristband might just be the most seamless way to control a computer yet. And no, it doesn't require surgery, a camera, or even a touchscreen. All it needs is your wrist.

Long-haul trucks are now being upgraded with a surprising twist, thanks to California-based startup Revoy. Their electric boost doesn't replace diesel but works alongside it to cut emissions and fuel costs without major disruption.

PayPal and Venmo just rolled out something big: AI-powered scam alerts for Friends and Family payments.

As data centers multiply across the United States, energy demand is increasing at a rapid pace. This has not escaped the notice of large investment firms from Wall Street.

The Unicode Consortium, the nonprofit organization that maintains the Unicode Standard to ensure emojis work across devices, has announced Unicode 17.0, which includes nine new emojis slated for release this fall, in September 2025.

OpenAI is one of the world's leading AI research labs. Founded in 2015, it's behind some of today's most talked-about tools, including GPT, DALL·E, and ChatGPT.

Ever catch your dog staring at the screen during movie night and wonder if they're actually watching? Turns out, they might be. A new scientific study from Auburn University found that many dogs really do engage with television, and not all pups react the same way.

Stop the scammers from making contact in the first place. They're getting your parents' contact information and much more personal data besides, from somewhere.

The Walker S2 robot from UBTech autonomously exchanges its batteries in just three minutes, allowing continuous operation in car factories operated by BYD, Nio and Zeekr.

The FX Super One electric MPV from Faraday Future offers flexible seating, zero-gravity recliners and an AI system that creates a personal connection between driver and vehicle.

Practical solutions for reducing unwanted charity mail, political texts and email spam by opting out of shared lists, replying "STOP" and using data removal services.

Delta's new AI pricing system eliminates static airfares for personalized rates based on individual data, raising questions about fairness while promising optimized revenue.

AI data centers are straining the power grid across 13 states, contributing to a $9 billion increase in electricity costs, and PJM customers face monthly bill increases of $25 or more.

Artificial intelligence is transforming the music industry as AI-generated bands like The Velvet Sundown earn substantial streaming revenue, prompting lawsuits from major record labels.

Childrens Safety in Public Places - 10 Useful Tips

Parenting