What are the Security Measures to be Taken for Children?

Tens of thousands of children are abducted, harassed and abused around the world every year. Worse still, some of these children are never heard from again. This shows that the safety of your children is more important than your own safety. For this reason, you need to constantly inform and warn your children about safety so that nothing bad can happen to them.

First of all, it is useful to teach them the precautions they should follow when they are alone at home. Children should be taught not to open the door to strangers when they are home alone and not to let people they do not know in. They should also be told not to leave the front door open (or the windows if they live on the first or second floor).

Children should be strictly instructed that: "When the bell rings, do not open the door until you know who it is. When knocking on the apartment door, ask who is inside and do not open the door if it is an unknown person. Packages coming home will not be received and packages left at the door will not be opened. Never answer a call from an unknown number when home alone. Any problems will be immediately reported to the parents by phone." 

Children should also be taught who to knock on the door of their apartment building and seek refuge in case of emergency or suspicion. When you visit this person's house, children should be taken along and made to get to know the people who live there. This should be a neighbor in the apartment who you trust the most and who is usually home during the day. If you have at least two neighbors, it is better to have at least two neighbors you are close to and trust.

In addition to these rules to be followed at home, children should also be given detailed information about the rules to be followed when traveling to and from school. This is because children are most vulnerable when they are walking to and from school. For this reason, the rules for traveling to and from school should be emphasized more than other rules, and children should be checked from time to time to see if they are following these rules.

If children travel to and from school on foot, they should use busy streets, not secluded alleys. They should walk alone or with at least one or two friends. If children travel to school by bus, they should know the bus and the driver well. You and the child should have the license plate number and the driver's phone number. If a different vehicle or driver arrives, children should inform you and not get in the vehicle. 

If you are driving your child to and from school yourself, when you are late for any reason; "I am a friend of your father's. He is busy. I'll take you home.", they should be taught that they should not get into the car of anyone who says that, and that they should immediately inform the school and you about such situations. Not only that, children should be told about all possible situations that may pose a danger. 

The following points are particularly important:

Children should know not to accept gifts and food from strangers. They should not play in deserted places, away from home and in unsafe places. They should not enter the house or get into the car of someone they do not know. They should not meet people they do not know. They should not give any information about themselves and your family, especially to people they meet on social media. If such people ask to meet, your children should inform you and not accept the meeting request. 

Children should not enter cafes and restaurants randomly. They should not get friendly with people they meet on the street. In particular, they should pay attention to and stay away from people who appear to have psychological disorders, who are pale, sleepless, timid and substance abusers. They should also inform you immediately if they see people following them or spying on them or the house.

In addition, if something out of the routine happens or if they have to make a different decision, they should always call and get your approval and permission first. For this reason, your children should have a phone.

In addition to the things they should do for the safety of your children, there are some things you should also do. The most important of these is to follow your child. By following, I don't mean spying on him or her behind his or her back. Keep track of your child's behavior. Observe him or her constantly. Get to know their moods, personality and behavior routine. Try to learn about their standard daily activities. 

If possible, get to know his/her friends and their families. If your child develops a problematic friendship, this will be reflected in their behavior. If you keep track of your child's usual situations, feelings, behaviors and daily routine, you will notice the smallest changes in your child. In this way, you will be able to prevent something that could turn out very badly from the very beginning. 

Just observing your children is not enough. Build a good relationship with them. Make them feel that you will help them with any problem (no matter how big or small) and even tell them so openly. Listen carefully to your children when they tell you about their problems. Make them feel that you care about what they say. Be understanding. Be careful not to offend or frighten them. Most importantly, try to help them no matter what their problem is. 

In short, pay close attention to your children.