When children walk with their parents: the first steps to safety
Safety rules should be taught from early childhood. The best way to teach your child to comply with them is a personal example with explanations of your actions. When walking, on vacation, or playing in the yard with small children, every parent should pay attention to certain safety issues. You can use special games and play situations, hold conversations with children about various life situations, the occurrence of which can cause harm, and give comments on your behavior.
It is unlikely that it will be possible to teach all safety rules at once - this is a gradual, targeted process carried out by parents, employees of kindergartens and schools. There is no need to try to do this instantly. Information about safety on the street should be given gradually. A large number of terrifying facts about all the dangers will only frighten the child, as a result he will become afraid to leave the house even with his parents. The older a child gets, the more complex rules he can learn; there is no need to overtake his development.
Child and road
Compliance with traffic rules is a separate safety issue. There are very few traffic rules required for children to comply with: pedestrian traffic rules, crossing the roadway, riding a bicycle, scooter, skateboard, scooter.
Rules of behavior in nature for preschoolers
You need to learn the following rules:
- You can’t play on roads or near the road;
- You can ride a bike only in specially designated areas without car traffic; older people can ride on bike paths and sidewalks;
- Not everyone knows, or maybe they know, but don’t follow: you can cross the roadway only by getting off your bicycle , driving it next to you; when crossing, you must carry the skateboard in your hands;
- It is important to comply with the rules for using public transport, rules of behavior and safety when using it;
- You are allowed to cross the road only when there is a green traffic light or at a zebra crossing if there is no traffic light. Older children, of course, know this, but the number of accidents on the road with their participation does not decrease;
- To ensure additional safety in the evening, it would be a good idea to wear bright reflective clothing or special reflective elements, so-called “flickers”.
If running is not an option
Let's say you were immediately pressed against the wall. This is not a death sentence, and it is important to remember one thing: most likely, the attacker does not expect any resistance.
Almost all “success stories” (the girl fought back and ran away) say the same thing.
“He was terribly surprised when I began to break free.”
“He was taken aback when I screamed.”
The explanation here is simple: aggression from men is taken for granted (anger is almost the only emotion that society allows men to experience without shame), and women are systematically weaned off it. Because it’s “unladylike,” and if you scream and rush around, then you’re a sick, hysterical person.
This can be used, because many would-be rapists are not completely hopeless psychopaths, but simply people of low morals who have an opportunity: night, a lonely girl, alcohol in the blood, why not? Such people are often not ready to go all the way to achieve their goal, but try according to the principle “what if it works out.”
Your task is to clearly explain that you won’t give in just like that.
Scream at the top of your lungs (“Fire!”, “They’re raping!” - it doesn’t matter, you can just scream inarticulately).
Something like this
Whether someone will help you or not depends solely on the cowardice of the witnesses. You are not yelling for them, but to knock down the attacker’s arrogance.
Push the attacker away. He's almost certainly stronger than you, but if you catch him off guard and give it your all (adrenaline gives you strength), you can free yourself and run.
To hit or not to hit, it depends on your luck. You most likely don’t know how to fight, and your blows to the most accessible places (torso, arms) will seem like mosquito bites to a large man. You can hit the legs, fortunately you are almost exactly lower than the enemy, the legs are a sore spot (the bones are close, the clothes are less dense), and heels can come in handy here. Landing a well-aimed knee strike to the crotch is not a trivial task, and a failed attempt can greatly anger the attacker.
If there is no other way out, aim for the eyes (with fingers, nails, keys). They are also not easy to hit, but this is the most vulnerable zone of any person. But be prepared for the answer: one good man’s blow to the face and you won’t get up.
Don’t stand like a pillar, spin, kick, don’t let him swing.
Dangers in transport
No. 1: Direct transport
No games on the edge of the platform or at the bus stop, it is important to maintain distance and do not forget that other people also use transport - who may stumble, stumble, get distracted, or even deliberately try to create an emergency situation with someone else's participation. Taking care of yourself and being careful in this case will not be enough; let the child watch the others.
#2: People
You are at work, it’s time for the child to go to school, which means that, at best, you will need to use the bus, and at worst (figuratively speaking) also the metro or even trains. Teach your child not to get carried away by thoughts, games, books or music. The same fight may break out in the cabin or carriage, and it is better to have time to dodge the participants.
The ways of talking with annoying people may not be varied; here it is important to use a good voice, so that a boy or girl can say “Leave me alone” loudly, clearly, loudly and without undue modesty, and the people around them notice the suspicious citizen.
Teach your child not to leave his pockets open, and to take off his backpack during long journeys from point A to point B - this way he will irritate other people less, and attempts to check if there is something interesting there will be minimal from the very beginning.
There are other types of problems that the child will have to solve first; we remind you that he is alone, without your accompaniment, and must be aware of the risks.
What is important to teach a child?
A preschooler should know: what his and his parents’ names are, and what address everyone lives at. Ideally, you would also remember the phone number of mom, dad or any other close relative, but this depends on the child. Lost kids either loudly announce to the world that they are alone, or they go silent. It is important to attract as much attention as possible.
What parents need to do: make sure that the baby distinguishes their faces from the faces of other people. If a stranger approaches, it is important to inform everyone that this is not mom, not dad, or even great-aunt. Make sure you have coordinates for communication - put the appropriate paper (you can even laminated it) with contacts in your child’s pocket. Now they sell clothes with a sewn-in place for contact, do not be lazy to fill it out and update it periodically.
The schoolchild should know: everything is the same and the cell number, as a rule, schoolchildren are already better at memorizing than preschoolers. At the same time, the student should not be afraid to ask for help - police officers, mothers with children, store clerks. In the Moscow metro, special sticker marks have been installed for lost people, indicating that at this point you can stop and wait for the arrival of a police officer or station duty officer, who will help reunite with their parents.
There don’t seem to be many rules, but in reality everything is more complicated. It is worth striving for a trusting relationship between parents and children. Does your child understand that you are not taking care of him for show, but are really worried about his safety? Great, then the following points will be easier to remember:
- Before leaving home, let the child warn his parents where he is going, with whom and for how long he will be away. Are you planning to return later? Arrange a meeting - this will make everyone calmer;
- the child should not tell strangers anything about himself - where he is going, what his name is (it is not forbidden to come up with a fictitious name). It is important to tell especially annoying people in time that their attention is unpleasant;
- if a suspicious company appears ahead, it is better to move to another street, adults often do this, and there is no shame in children either;
- After the doorbell rings, the child is asked to go out and help reach the neighbors, what should I do? Ignore, or better yet, write to the neighbors themselves (if you have contact), try to remember the face - through the peephole, don’t open the door! Reporting that there are no adults is also not worth it;
- had to walk along the road? It doesn’t matter - the main thing is that the transport is moving towards, and not in the direction of travel;
- when entering the elevator, make sure that there is no one on the landing;
- in the elevator you don’t need to turn your back to a stranger, so you can see what he’s doing, where the dispatcher’s button is - everyone knows;
- The desire to wait until all the neighbors have left the landing is not just in adults; in this way we ensure our safety when we ourselves want to go out - let no one breathe down our backs;
- the “fight or flight” state is a normal reaction; if a child cannot physically fight back and doubts his own strength, then let him use speed and run away from trouble.
The safety of the child is in his hands and in the hands of his parents. The better the preparation for an atypical situation, the less stress you will experience. Regarding safety rules, there is more than one training manual from which it is easy to learn a lesson. For general peace of mind, there are sports sections and self-defense courses, just please coordinate their attendance with your child, in case he is not yet ready to do such things and it is easier to turn to other, less aggressive advice that we have already given.
Be careful and do not take the danger to your own life as a joke. Anything can happen. We wish everyone safety!
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