TOG | Issue 1
1
Physical Safety/Situational
Awareness and Stranger
Safety Tip for Children
Physical Safety/Situational Awareness and
Stranger Safety Tip for Children
by TOG Staff
Children spend a good part of their time at
school and on the playground. People who
want to hurt them know this too. It is normal
and natural when children spend time laying
and having fun, that they sometimes play
and travel out of the sight of a trusted and
caring adult. It is essential that parents know
where there children are playing and the
timeframe that they will be at that location.
Nearly 1 million children are reported missing
each year. We want to help reduce this
number by making sure you know the
necessary steps to keeping your child safe.
The best way to keep trouble away is to
avoid areas and situations where trouble may
be.
Who Is A Stranger?
A stranger is someone you do not know well.
If a parent asks a child who a stranger is, he
or she may describe a creepy-looking person
or even a villain in a cartoon. This is an
opportunity for parents to convey to their
kids that a stranger can have any type of
appearance. A stranger can be a woman or a
man. Strangers can dress in nice clothes and
have a neat appearance. Children should
focus less on appearance and concentrate on
the fact that a stranger is someone they
don’t know.
Some kids are naturally polite and this can
work against them in a situation with a
stranger. For instance, a stranger may drive
up beside a child who is walking on a
sidewalk and ask the child for directions to a
particular street or shop. A child who is polite
may feel it is rude to just hurry away. This is
where parents must assure children that it’s
not rude to walk away from a stranger who
approaches them in a car. The child is looking
out for his or her own safety. An adult never
needs to ask a child for directions.
Kids Have Rights!
Kids have rights too, and sometimes it is
okay to say no to an adult, especially when it
is a stranger. The tips on the following page
will help keep all our children safer.
A testimonial from Troop 4337:
Thank you so much to the Trident Operations Group for
our awesome training on Jan. 18th. Our Brownie Troop
4337 learned so much about awareness, safety &
confidence! As parents, we all have taken seriously the
"homework" we now have to continue to use the tools
you shared with us in helping to teach our girls how to
keep themselves safe.
You all have such a GREAT way with children - the girls
were able to learn so much due to the talent you have in
balancing didactic discussion with fun activities - critically
important in engaging a group of highly active &
enthusiastic 8-year-olds!
And, on top of that, we all earned our Self-Defense
Patch! So all in all, it was time well-spent & we couldn't
have asked for a better group of professionals to
facilitate such an important life-lesson. THANK YOU
Trident Operations Group! I would be happy to
recommend your group to any other organization who
hopes to gain from your collective knowledge, expertise
& professionalism!
We at The Trident Operations Group hope that all parents will engage in
regular discussions with their children about potential threats and how to
recognize and react to them in various settings. Danger cannot be reacted
to until it is recognized. Child predators count on children to not recognize
the threat.