Safety Saturdays #18 - Safety Rules for Grades K-6

The NetSmartz safety "rap" video below teaches kids (Grades K-6)
how to be safer offline.

View the Know My Rules for Safety video and other safety videos at NetSmartzKids.

When openly discussing safety issues with children, be calm and reassuring. Build the child's confidence. Do not focus on "stranger danger" because a child is more likely to be harmed by someone you or the child knows.

Safety Tips to Review with Children

1. Check first with parents, guardians or other trusted adults before going anywhere, accepting anything, helping someone, getting into a car, or leaving with anyone, including someone you know.
2. Take a friend with you when going places or playing outside.
3. Tell people "NO" if they try to cause you harm or you feel uncomfortable, scared, bad or confused, no matter who it is.
4. Tell a trusted adult if anything happens to you. It is never your fault.

To enhance safety information, practice what-if scenarios with children. For instance, you can reinforce checking first with a trusted adult with the following "what would you do if" situations:

1. A neighbor asks you to help bring in the groceries into their house
2. A man at the park asks you to help find his lost dog
3. A school friend's Dad asks you to get in his car
4. A teenager at the playground wants to give you candy

Visit the NetSmartz website to print a Knowing My Rules for Safety poster. You can also download or order the publication or a bookmark at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's website.

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Check out all the Safety Saturdays posts for more safety tips.