Practice to Protect Your Child

Role playing is often a favorite teaching technique for lessons at church or at home. But have you considered using it to teach your children how to be safe if they are ever approached by someone they don’t know? While it’s probably not necessary (and may scare some children) to role-play someone grabbing them, there are several things I’ve discovered as a child safety officer that parents can practice with their children.

• Have a partner. Role-play how easy it would be for a stranger to approach a child who is alone. Contrast that with the safety a group offers.

• Yell and run. A child who is singled out by an assailant should yell and run instead of trying to fight back. Tell your children to yell loudly so that anyone nearby might hear their cry for help. Encourage them to show you how they would yell and run.

• Say no. Teach your children that it’s OK to say no to a grown-up they don’t know or to anyone who wants them to do something questionable or that you don’t know about. Practice a phrase like “No, I can’t do that unless I talk to my mom or dad first.”

• Be Internet wise. Keep computers in well-trafficked areas of the home. Discuss possible online situations to avoid. Especially discourage your children from frequenting chat rooms other than the ones they have created with their own screen names and buddy lists. Show how sharing even seemingly innocent personal information is unwise. Emphasize that online strangers can be just as dangerous as strangers they encounter on the street and that it’s never OK to meet with a chat-room friend without your permission.

• Use a family password. For instance, what would your child do if you couldn’t pick him or her up from school? Have you selected a family password together so that another authorized person could prove that they have permission to pick up your child instead?

As you practice a variety of scenarios, use easy-to-understand words, and ask questions about how your child feels. Stop or postpone the role plays if your child feels scared. Though we want our children to be safe, it’s important to emphasize that life is good—and most people are too.

Dale Ann Wright, Mountain View Sixth Ward, West Jordan Utah Mountain View Stake