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Your children's well-being and safety are your moral, emotional, spiritual and legal responsibility. If harm comes to a child, authorities have a constitutional obligation to determine how and why the harm occurred. If the harm could have been avoided by appropriate parental supervision, a parent potentially could be charged with child neglect or endangerment (such as, allowing a small child to remain alone in a car during extreme heat, or with the keys in the ignition).
Home schoolers are usually consciously aware of their children's care. Sometimes, however, familiarity can lead to a parent dropping their guard or good judgment. Always think about your children's safety in terms of preparing them for the day or a time when they may not be with you. Following are some ideas.
Teach them:
- To memorize their name and address, including city and state.
- To memorize their phone number, including area code.
- How to use both push-button and dial telephones to make emergency, local, long distance calls, or to reach the operator.
- To check in with you or a neighbor immediately after arriving home.
- To never go into your home if a door is ajar or a window is broken.
- How to work your home's door and window locks and to lock them when they are at home alone.
- How to get out of the home quickly in case of a fire.
- How to answer the doorbell and telephone when they're home alone.
- Not to go into anyone else's home without your permission.
- Never to go anywhere with another adult, even one who says you have sent him or her. Adopt a family code word to be used if you have to ask a third party to pick up your children.
- To avoid walking or play alone.
- That a stranger is someone neither you nor they know well.
- That if they feel they're being followed, either on foot or by car, to run to the nearest public place, neighbor, or "Safe House."
- To tell you if anyone asks them to keep a secret, offers them gifts or money, or asks to take their picture.
- To always tell you if something happened while they were away from you that made them feel uncomfortable in anyway.
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