School advisory Stranger Danger – Some key steps to help safeguard your child

I received this yesterday.

Dear Parents

I am writing to inform you of an incident reported in the press refers to a White Range Rover Sport car in the Umm Suqeim 3 area. A member of the public alleges that a car pulled up and attempts were made to lure a child into the car. Being aware and smart the child ran away. The car did make a U-turn and tried to approach the child again. Luckily there was an adult present to scare them off. The number plate and the photo was given to the police.

It is important to know that both the child and the witness acted responsibly and that no-one was hurt, but cases like this teach us that we must be vigilant, not only about the welfare of our own children, but to help safeguard others in our community.

Please discuss with your child the importance of ‘stranger danger’ and what you can do to raise awareness with your child

Know where your children are at all times. Make it a rule that your children must ask permission or check in with you before going anywhere.

Give your children your work and cell phone numbers so they can reach you at all times

Point out safe places and routes home. Show your children safe places to play, safe roads and paths to take, and safe places to go if there’s trouble.

Teach your child to trust their instincts. Explain that if they ever feel scared or uncomfortable, they should get away as fast as they can and tell an adult. Tell them that sometimes adults they know may make them feel uncomfortable, and they should still get away as fast as possible and tell another adult what happened.

Reassure children that you will help them when they need it. Do not be over-protective but help them make wise choices. This applies as much to teens as it dies to younger children.

Teach your children to be assertive. Make sure they know that it’s okay to say no to an adult and to run away from adults in dangerous situations.

Encourage your children to play and hang out with others you trust. There’s safety in numbers! This does not mean that you need to approve of all your child’s friends! Do make sure that your child knows which friends can be relied upon if there is an uncomfortable situation.

Cyber harassment and inappropriate online content

This also means getting to know what your child is doing online. This is another type of harassment that is more insidious and hard sometimes to detect. Please do foster transparent communications with your child regarding online activity. The school is concerned that children are becoming increasingly sophisticated in the use of the internet. Please ask your child to share the history of internet sites with you on a regular basis since these may include proxy servers which may be used to circumvent content filters.