10 Boulder Crescent, Suite 100Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903
Phone: (719) 520-1311
Fax: (719) 632-KIDS(5437)
Email: colorado@kidpower.org
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Safety Tips
You can teach your children to be safe without scaring them...you just have to know how.
Safety Tips with People Kids Know
Safety Tips with Strangers
Kidpower is a nonprofit organization that helps young people learn how to use their own power to stay safe, act wisely, and believe in themselves.
Young people are at risk of assault and abduction even in very safe communities like ours. Prevention is the key. The good news is that there are simple and effective ways of teaching children how to protect themselves that will work most of the time.
Safety Tips with People Kids Know
Parents, teachers, and other caregivers need to know that most abuse happens with people children know and trust. Anyone can be a child molester—a neighbor, a relative, a family friend, a youth group leader, a teacher, even another child. The best way to protect your children is to make the time to ask them often, “Is there anything you’ve been wondering or worrying about that you haven’t told me?” and listen to their answers with patience and respect.
Telling children about safety or showing children what to do is not enough.
When we just talk to children about danger, it can actually raise their level of anxiety. Young people learn best by actively participating. Practicing safety skills increases their confidence and competence. It is important to do this in a way that is not scary, but is fun. Your child can learn with you, or in programs such as Kidpower.
Children need to know these Kidpower safety rules:
- My body belongs to me.
- For play, teasing or affection, I decide whether I get touched or not.
- No one should touch me in my private areas (the parts of the body covered by a bathing suit) or ask me to touch them in their private areas. This breaks the safety rules.
- Touch or other behavior for health or safety is not always a choice, but also should never, EVER, have to be kept a secret.
- Anything that bothers me should not have to be kept a secret.
- If I have a problem, I need to tell an adult I trust and keep on telling until I get help.
- It is NEVER too late to get help.
Children need to practice:
- Saying “No” to unwanted or inappropriate behavior using polite clear words, eye contact and assertive body language.
- Persisting even when someone uses bribes, hurt feelings or power to try to pressure them into doing something that makes them feel uncomfortable.
- Verbal choices for getting out of potentially dangerous situations.
- Getting the attention of busy adults and telling the details about situations that make them confused or uncomfortable.
These are just a few of the safety skills that Kidpower has to offer. For more information, call Kidpower at 520-1311 or contact the Colorado Springs Police Department at 444-7410 or El Paso County Sheriff’s Office at 520-7244.
Safety Tips with Strangers
Parents, teachers, and other caregivers need to know that their children are more likely to be abducted or assaulted by someone
they know rather than a stranger. Children need to have clear safety rules both for strangers and for people they know.
Children need to understand that there are different safety rules when they’re not in the care of an adult and they are
on their own. Children who are only a short distance away from an adult in charge even for a few minutes are on their own.
They don’t need to worry. They just need to know what to do.
Telling children about safety or showing children what to do is not enough. When we just talk to children about danger, it can actually raise their level of anxiety. Young people learn best by actively participating. Practicing safety skills increases their confidence and competence. It is important to do this in a way that is not scary, but is fun. Your child can learn with you, or in programs such as Kidpower.
Children need to know these Kidpower safety rules:
- A stranger is just someone you don’t know and can look like anybody.
- Don’t let a stranger get close to you, talk to you, or give you anything, unless you check first with the adult in charge.
- If you are old enough to be out on your own without an adult to ask, it is safer to be where there are other people close by to get help if you need it. Don’t give personal information to a stranger or to someone who makes you feel uncomfortable.
- It is OK to get help from strangers if an emergency is happening to you, and there’s no one close by that you know.
- Check first with the adult in charge before you go anywhere with anyone (a stranger or someone you know). Be sure to inform the adult in charge where you are going, who will be with you, and what you will be doing.
Children need to practice:
- How to stand and walk with awareness and confidence.
- How to keep a safe distance from someone approaching them.
- How to walk away from a stranger without talking or hesitating even if that person is being very nice.
- How to make a plan for getting help if they need it.
- How to make noise, run, and get to safety in case of an emergency.
- How get assistance from a busy or insensitive adult.
These are just a few of the safety skills that Kidpower has to offer. For more information, call Kidpower at 520-1311 or contact the Colorado Springs Police Department at 444-7410 or El Paso County Sheriff’s Office at 520-7244.
