With school starting back up, it’s now even more important to consider the safety of your children. The back-to-school season, however, doesn’t mean that mean you have to worry more, just that you need to take more precautions. Though the school safety is taken care of by the principal and staff of the school, there are still some basic steps that can be taken to ensure your child a safe experience during school.
Talk With Your Child About Safety
Make sure to be specific, and talk to your child about instinct, as well as paying attention to fear or funny feelings. Talk about what to do if your child ever doesn’t feel safe, such as telling a teacher or calling 911. Make sure that your child also knows of other emergency contact numbers, like yours, a family member’s, or a trusted neighbor’s.
Monitor Social Media Time
Now that the technology craze is becoming more exciting for children of all ages, it is extremely important for parents to know what information is available while children look at and participate in online social media forums. Make sure your children know the dangers that are lurking online. Monitoring your children’s time on the internet will be a great security decision for now and the future.
Stay Connected with a Family Locator App
Using a family locator app will help you to know where your child is, yet help them feel happy and independent at the same time. You will be able to easily stay informed and connected with your loved ones by monitoring their locations and sending “check-in†messages.
Know the School’s Emergency Procedures
Familiarize yourself and your child with the emergency phone numbers and plans found in the school handbook. This way, your child will have the confidence he needs to quickly act in case of an emergency. You will also know what numbers to call, if an emergency should happen.
Know School Security Measures
The school security measures may include signing in when visiting, wearing a visitor pass, or being escorted while walking through the building. Following these procedures will help ensure the safety of your child, as well as set an example for children.
Learn Travel Routes To and From School
Teach yourself and your child both of the primary and alternate routes leading to and from school. During an emergency, it is important to have a backup plan in case any of the primary roads or blocked.
Inform the School Staff About any Health or Emotional Concerns
If your child has any sort of food allergy, disability, or has been bullied, make sure to keep the principal or your child’s teacher informed. This may help them be more mindful of your child’s needs and they will be able to alert you of anything concerning your child’s safety.
Encourage Responsibility
Adventure is essential to any child’s development, but so is knowing how to be responsible. With the beginning of the school year, make sure to enforce playtime curfews, community service, and other obligations with the benefit of having independence as a reward.
Get Involved
Talk to the principal about how you can help to increase school safety, like organizing other parents to form a neighbor watch before and after school. In the past, several parent groups have been very successful in improving traffic safety at drop-off and pick-up times.
Guarding your family during any season is very important. If you’re interested in expanding the security within your Jacksonville home, the SafeTouch is the security system for you. Contact us at 888-723-8682 today to schedule a free home security quote.