Safety Resources for Youth

Ensuring the safety of our children and teens is a collective effort. By working together, we can keep our youth informed, secure, and protected.

Keeping Kids Safe: Essential Safety Habits

Talking to your children, creating positive experiences, and building life skills are key to their safety and well-being. Teaching youth these important safety habits will help them be prepared:

Help your child memorize their full name, age, address, and phone number (including area code).
Teach them never to go anywhere with anyone without first getting permission from a parent or guardian.
Encourage the buddy system—children should always have a friend with them.
Role-play scenarios to prepare your child for situations where someone approaches them, asks for help, or claims their parent sent them.
Discuss what to do if they become lost or separated from you in public.
Teach them to seek help from a uniformed police officer, a store employee with a nametag, or a parent with children.
Emphasize the importance of telling a trusted adult if someone makes them feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
Remind them to trust their instincts and stay aware of their surroundings.
Practice what to do if someone tries to take them somewhere—shouting, kicking, and screaming. Teach them to practice shouting "NO!"
Educate older children on how to stay safe when home alone.
Listen to their fears and concerns about people, places, or situations that make them uneasy.
Assure your child they can talk to you about anything, and you will always support them.
Reinforce the importance of trusting their instincts.

The following resources may be helpful to parents, teachers, or young people who wish to learn more about child and teen safety:

By fostering open communication and practicing these safety habits, we can help keep our children safe and informed.