Kidshield Top 25 Tips to make your child safe

At Home

1. Teach your children their full names, address, and home phone number. Make sure they know your name.
2. Make sure your children know how to reach you at work or on your mobile phone.
3. Teach your children how and when to use 999, or your country emergency number.
4. Make sure your children have a trusted adult to call if they're scared or have an emergency.
5. Instruct children to keep the door locked and not open the door to talk to anyone when they are home alone. Set rules with your children about having visitors over when you're not home and how to answer the telephone.
6. Choose babysitters with care. Obtain references from family, friends, and neighbours. Once you have chosen the babysitter, drop in unexpectedly to see how your children are doing. Ask children how the experience with the babysitter was and listen carefully to their responses.

On the Net

7. Learn about the Internet. The more you know about how the Web works, the better prepared you are to teach your children about potential risks.
8. Place the family computer in a common area, rather than a child's bedroom. Also, monitor their time spent online and the websites they've visited.
9. Use privacy settings on social networking sites to limit contact with unknown users.
10. Make sure screen names don't reveal too much about your children. / Cont...

Who are your kids chatting to online?

Parental Control Software

Our top pick amongst the 25 tested by Kidshield  was Net Nanny which performed head and shoulders above other parental control software.  Net Nanny is more than an internet filter, it is peace of mind:

• easy to install

• easy to manage

• provides monitoring of Instant Messaging and Peer-to-Peer Networking and lots more

• costs less than an X-Box or PS2 game

• Did everything we asked and more!

You can purchase Net Nanny directly from the Kidshield Store for only £29.99

Sex Offenders in your area.  Read the UK Mappa 2007 Annual Report - find the number of sex offenders living in your area.

Sex Offenders Register.  How does the Sex Offenders Register work?

At School

11. Don't display your children's names on clothing, backpacks or  lunch boxes. When children's names are visible, it may put them on a first-name basis with someone who means them harm.
12. Remind kids to take a friend whenever they walk or bike to school.
13. Walk the route to and from school with your children, pointing out landmarks and safe places to go if they're being followed or need help. If your children ride a bus, visit the bus stop with them to make sure they know which bus to take.

Out and About

14. Take your children on a walking tour of their local area and tell them whose homes they may visit without you.
15. Tell your children to fetch you if they come across a dangerous object or situation.
16. Teach your children to ask permission before leaving home.
17. Remind your children not to walk or play alone outside.
18. Teach your children not to approach any vehicle, occupied or not, unless they know the owner and are accompanied by a trusted adult.
19. Remind your children it's OK to say NO to anything that makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused.
20. Don't confuse your children with the concept of "strangers." Children do not have the same understanding of who a stranger is, in the same way as an adult. The "stranger-danger" message is not effective as danger to children is greater from someone you or they know than from a "stranger." There may also come a time when your child may need help from someone he or she doesn't know when you aren't around.
21. Set up "what if" situations and ask your children how they would respond. "What if someone asked you to help them find a lost puppy? What would you do?"
22. During family outings, establish a central, easy-to-locate spot to meet for check-ins or should you get separated.
23. Teach your children to "Check First" with you if there is a change of plans.
24. Teach your children how to locate help at theme parks, sports stadiums, shopping centres , and other public places. Also, identify those people who are safe to ask for help, such as police officers, security guards and shopping assistants with nametags.
25. Practice safety skills so that they become second nature to your children. While you don't want to scare your children, it is important to make sure they are aware of potential dangers, so that they can be prepared to avoid them, or confidently deal with them as they happen.

Get Educated and Get Safe

"Because they are upstairs and they're quiet doesn't mean they're safe.  They're no more safe upstairs on the Internet than they are out in the park at 2 O'Clock in the morning"

MA State Police Internet Crimes Taskforce

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