School is now back in session and if you’re dealing with middle school or high school aged children, they’re going to be a lot more independent. Long gone are the days when you would hold their hands and make sure they made it to their classes safely. Now you’ll be lucky if you even get a kiss in front of the building before they run off with their friends. If you’re a bit on edge about giving your teen a bit more responsibility this school year, here are some safety tips that just might ease your mind.
1. Know Your Child’s Schedule and Teachers
Typically before the start of the school year, your child’s school will provide you with information for the upcoming school year. This information usually includes a list of school supplies, the class your child will be attending, and the names of the teacher. Make sure that you keep the important information nearby in case you need to inquire about your child’s whereabouts or well-being. Knowing your child’s schedule and their teacher will allow you to stay on top of where they are and give you a person of contact in the event you need to get in touch with your child for any reasons.
2. Provide the Safest Route to Walk Home
If your teen will be walking home from school this year, street smarts is certainly something that should be discussed. You want to make sure that your teen knows how to get home from school. You also want to make sure they know an alternate route on the off chance that something prevents them from going down their main route. Walk the route with your teen to make sure that it is safe and that they familiarize themselves with the walk. You want to try the best you can to choose a route with high traffic so that your teen is not walking alone in a secluded area where they are a target for predators.
3. Give an Enhanced Stranger Danger Talk
When your children were young, you probably talked with them about staying away from strangers. However, now that your child is a teenager you want to reiterate the lesson and maybe add a few additional rules in there for them to abide by. For instance, your teen should not go anywhere with anyone including teachers, parents of their friends, or other adult figures they may know from the area without first running it past you. While you would hope no one close to you would harm your child, it is always better to be safe than sorry.
4. Create Routines for Afterschool
Once your child gets home from school if you’re not going to be there you’re going to want to lay down some ground rules so that they stay put. Creating a routine or rules that they must follow after school is ideal. For instance, you might tell your teen that they are not allowed to have company over until you come home or that they should call or text you once they’ve made it in the house safely. Another option to ensure their safety after school would be to consider investing in a home security system with remote features. For example, ADT security cameras make it easy for you to watch who is coming in and out of your home. With additional costs, you may be able to have access to your alarm system from your smartphone or mobile device to ensure your teens are home safely.
Though we can’t protect our children from everything, we can most certainly do our best to ensure they’re as safe as possible. By staying informed, setting up routines, and communicating with your teen, you can minimize the stress you may be experiencing. Your teen might frown, moan, or groan as you give them the rundown, but just know its for their own good. Establish rules and procedures that keep the entire household on the same page so that everyone is safe all year long.
