Safely Home - a guide for children and their parents

NEW ZEALAND POLICE
Youth Education and Youth Aid Service

Safely Home - a guide for children and their parents

Many children have to find their own way home from school. This may be by school bus, riding a cycle or walking. Sometimes children will also be at home without an adult, such as after school before parents get home from work.

A child who knows safe family practices can manage these situations more easily and confidently, especially if something unexpected happens.

Eight situations are described on this page. Talk about each situation with your family, and work out your own safe family rules or practices. Each situation is numbered, and you can use the numbers and headings to write your own safe family practice.

1. Road Safety
What special road conditions does your child encounter on the way to and from school?
Travel the route to school with your child and identify any special things that will need care. These may be pedestrian crossings, narrow footpaths or busy roads. Decide on safe ways to handle these. Discourage the use of secluded short cuts.
Reinforce safe road practices associated with crossing the road, cycling, walking of the footpath. Information about these is provided in a pamphlet called Starting School Safely.

2. Friends
Who does your child come home with?
Identify other children in your neighbourhood who can walk home with your child every day. Discuss these arrangements with their parents. Decide what will happen if the children are absent from school or have other reasons for not being able to walk home with your child. Keep these names up to date. If your child wants to visit a friend after school this should be prearranged with you.

3. Getting Help
Does your child know where to go if he or she needs help on the way home?
Work out places your child can call into if help is needed. Make sure your child knows the adults at these places and feels confident and comfortable about asking for help. These people might be neighbours or local shopkeepers. Discuss with these adults what will happen if your child does call in.

4. Getting In
How will your child get into the house if you are not at home?
If you are out, your doors and windows should all be locked. Don’t leave the key in a secret place. Burglars know them all. Perhaps you could leave a key with a neighbour for your child to collect. Many children are responsible for their own keys.
Encourage your child to look and listen for unusual sounds before going into the house. If in doubt they should go to a neighbour. Decide on whether your child will lock the door once inside and where the key will be kept. Remember that it is important to be able to get out quickly in case of fire.

5. Checking In
Who will your child check in with?
Decide who your child will phone and check in with and establish a time deadline for this. Discuss what will happen if this deadline is not met. Discuss arrangements with the adult concerned. You may be able to be contacted, perhaps on a cell phone.

6. Phone
What are the family rules for answering the telephone?
Get your child to answer the phone by saying 'Hello.' It is not a good idea for them to give their name or phone number because someone may be trying to trick them. The child should offer to take a message for other family members, telling the caller that the person is not able to come to the phone.

7. Door
What happens if someone knocks at the door?
Your child should never open the door unless they know the person who is there and feel confident about meeting them. Work out how the child can see who is at the door without having to open it, and what they will do if it is someone they do not know.
If you are expecting someone to collect or deliver anything tell a neighbour and leave a key with them. Tell your child about these arrangements.

8. Back-up
Who can your child phone if they can’t decide what to do?
To help your child feel safe and secure, identify a back-up adult, preferably someone who can see your house. Make sure your child trusts this person and feels happy about asking for help. Ensure that your child knows how to use the Telecom 111 service.
Telephone List

Now that you have worked out your family rules you will have a list of helpers. Write the names and phone numbers of all the helpers on a sheet of paper and pin it beside the telephone.
Write up your list of family practice and pin it in a place where it can be seen easily and often.

Rural Safely Home - a Guide for Children and their Parents
Many children have to find their own way home from school. This may be by school bus, riding a cycle or walking. Sometimes children will also be at home without an adult - after school while parents are working on the farm or orchard.

A child who knows safe family practices can manage these situations more easily and confidently, especially if something unexpected happens.

Eight situations are described on this page. Talk about each situation with your family, and work out your own safe family rules or practices. Each situation is numbered, and you can use the numbers and headings to write your own safe family practice.

1. Road Safety
What special road conditions does your child encounter on the way to and from school?
Travel the route to school with your child and identify any special things that will need care. These may be such things as blind corners, metal roads, and narrow bridges. Decide on safe ways to handle these.
Reinforce safe road practices associated with crossing the road, walking along the road, traveling by school bus, cycling. Information about these is provided in a pamphlet called Starting School Safely.

2. Visiting Friends
When can your child visit friends after school?
You should always know where your child is after school. If your child wants to visit a friend this should be pre-arranged with you and the other family before school. Make sure that the school knows about such arrangements.

3. Meeting People
Can your child handle approaches from a person who may or may not be known to them?
On their way home from school, children may be approached by people who are seeking directions, wanting assistance or offering a ride. Children should not accept rides from anyone unless it has been pre-arranged with you. Your child should also be happy with this arrangement. They should keep a safe distance from vehicles or people they may meet along the way. Encourage them to tell you about anything unusual that happens on the way home.

4. Getting In
How will your child get into the house if you are not at home?
If you are out, or out on the farm or orchard, your doors and windows should all be locked. Don’t leave the key in a secret place. Burglars know them all. Perhaps you could leave a key with a neighbour for your child to collect. Many children are responsible for their own keys.

Encourage your child to look and listen for unusual sounds before going into the house. If in doubt decide what they should do. Decide on whether your child will lock the door once inside and where the key will be kept. Remember that it is important to be able to get out quickly in case of fire.

5. Checking In
Who will your child check in with?
Decide who your child will phone and check in with and how this will be done. If you have a phone this is the most effective method. Establish a deadline for the check-in and discuss what will happen if this deadline is not met. You may establish signals that you and your child can use to communicate between the house and elsewhere on the farm or orchard, such as something hung on the clothesline.

6. Phone
What are the rules for answering the telephone?
Get your child to answer the phone by saying Hello. It is not a good idea for them to give their name or phone number because someone may be trying to trick them. The child should offer to take a message for other family members, telling the caller that the person is not able to come to the phone.

7. Door
What happens if someone knocks at the door?
Your child should never open the door unless they know the person who is there and feel confident about meeting them. Work out how the child can see who is at the door without having to open it, and what they will do if it is someone they do not know.
Many people may call at a farm or orchard for business reasons, so strategies will need to be developed for handling these. Consider having a chain on the door or instructing the child to speak through a closed window. Stress that it is important that the child does not appear frightened. Encourage your child to take details of visiting vehicles.

8. Back-up
Who can your child phone if they can’t decide what to do?
To help your child feel safe, identify a back-up adult, preferably someone who can reach your house quickly. Make sure your child trusts this person and feels happy about asking for help. You may consider having a radio transmitter or portable phone so that your child can contact you when you are some distance from the house.
Telephone List

Now that you have worked out your family rules you will have a list of helpers. Write the names and phone numbers of all the helpers on a sheet of paper and pin it beside the telephone. You can also include other emergency numbers such as the doctor. Make sure that your child knows how to use the 111 system. Helper’s commitments will change, so keep the list of names up to date.
Write up your list of family practice and pin it in a place where it can be seen easily and often.