Personal Safety Tips
Safety Before Manners
As parent’s, teachers and coaches we understand women and children are taught specifically to be courteous and use good manners. This is a great habit but one that criminals and predators use to their advantage. Many, if not most, criminal and predator approaches, other than ambush, are based on the assumption that victims will place courtesy and manners before their personal safety.Be specific when teaching young people about using good manners. Reinforce the critical reminder that SAFETY ALWAYS COMES BEFORE MANNERS. Remind children and young people that adults do not need to ask them for help, they can ask other adults. Teach children specifically that they should be cautious and heighten their awareness when an adult, particularly an adult they do not know well or at all, asks them for help such as directions, getting packages to a car, getting mail to a mail box or help carrying something into their home or office.One of the common teaching myths we share with children is beware of strangers when in fact the great majority of predators of children are known to them - a neighbor, a regular service or delivery person, a relative, a sibling of a playmate or relative of a close friend. While children should be taught to be cautious of advances by strangers, they should be coached very specifically about unfavorable advances and things that make them feel uncomfortable by any adult they encounter. Teach children always to put their safety before manners.