Factsheets: Safety Tips for Children: Grades K-5

• Sexual Assault
• Preventing Abduction
• Safety at Home
• Gun Safety

Sexual Assault

Most grown-ups are nice to kids and care about what happens to them. But every now and then there are grown-ups who try to touch a child in a way that is not okay. It might be a person you know and trust, like a relative, teacher or neighbor.

There are a few things you should know that can help if this ever happens to you:

• Your body belongs to you.
• No one has the right to touch you, if you don't want them to. That includes teachers, grandparents, uncles and aunts, mom, dad -- everyone!
• There are places on your body that are private -- like places your swimming suit covers -- that an adult should not try to touch, unless it's the doctor and your parent or guardian is in the room with you.
• Trust your feelings. If something feels funny or wrong to you, YOU CAN SAY NO. It is good to say no to an adult who tries to do something that is wrong.
• Tell someone you trust what happened, even if the person said it was a secret or that they would hurt you or someone else if you told.
• If someone does something to you that is wrong, they may tell you it is a special secret or make you promise not to tell. TELL! It is absolutely okay to break this kind of promise -- the person who made you promise knows that they are doing something very wrong.
• Keep telling until someone listens. Some adults do not know what to do when a young person tells them about sexual abuse. An adult may tell you not to talk about it or to forget it. They may even accuse you of making up stories. Don't give up. Find someone to tell who will help. The adult who gave you this paper cares about you. She or he might be a good person for you to talk to.

• Never ask you to keep a secret about touching.
• Never touch you anywhere that is private, like where your bathing suit covers you.
• Never ask you to touch them anywhere private.
• Never reach under your clothes or try to get you to take off your clothes.
• Never ask you to take off their clothes.
• Never ask you to keep a secret about something wrong.
• Never try to take pictures of you without your clothes.
• Never ask you to touch yourself or other kids anywhere private.

Preventing Abduction

• Don't play in deserted areas -- such as empty playgrounds, parks, construction sites or dumps.
• Stay with your mom or dad in public places or use the buddy system. Play, walk, bike and skate with a friend.
• If you are out somewhere with an adult and you lose them, don't go looking for them. If you are in a store, go to the cashier or security guard and ask for help. If you can't find a cashier or security guard and you are in trouble, look for a woman with small children for help.
• Stay alert and trust your instincts. If something doesn't feel right, like you think someone is following you, you are probably right. Try to notice if an adult is hanging around your school playground, your park or yard, and then go to where you know you can find other people.
• If you think someone is following you, cross the street and go into a store. Tell a police officer or a mother with a child. Don't try to hide -- go to where you know you can find other people.
• If someone tries to grab you, kick, punch and yell: "NO! I don't know you! You aren't my Mom (or Dad)!"
• If the person is in a car, stay as far away from the car as you can. Go into a store or turn around, and walk or run in the opposite direction the car is going.
• NEVER, ever hitchhike or accept a ride from someone. Don't go near a stranger's car. NEVER get into a car with someone you don't know, for any reason. Sometimes people use tricks -- like saying your mom is hurt, or they lost their dog or kitten -- to try and get you to go with them. DO NOT GO WITH THEM!
• If someone does manage to get you in their car, do not put on your seatbelt. Jump out when you see people and the car has to make a stop.

• Don't sit there quietly. The person is taking you somewhere and wants to hurt you.
• If the car has back doors, try to scramble quickly to the back seat while the car is moving.
• Try to jump out of a car that is going slow or has to stop. Try to open a window and scream.
• Try to reach over and blow the horn, or grab the steering wheel. Scream as loud as you can while you do this.
• If the car is stopped or slowed behind another car, reach over with your foot and quickly stomp on the gas pedal as hard and as long as you can.   This is a time you will be much safer if you cause an accident than if you behave.

Safety at Home

• Many kids get home before their parents. If you come home before your mom or dad, make sure the first thing you do is call and let your mom or dad know you got home okay.
• If you come home and a window in your house is broken or a door is open that shouldn't be, don't go in. Go to a trusted neighbor, or find a phone and call 911.
• If you have to stay after school or want to play or study with a friend, tell your mom or dad.
• Don't leave your home without asking your mom or dad first. Make sure a parent knows where you are going and for how long. Always tell your mom or dad where you will be and when you will be home.
• When your family is home and the doorbell rings, always find out who it is and ask your mom or dad before you open the door.
• If you are home alone, never open the door -- unless you can see that it is a relative or a specific person who your mom or dad said would come over to stay with you.
• NEVER tell someone you are home alone, whether they call on the phone or come by your house. Ask your mom or dad what they would like you to say, like: "My Dad's in the shower, can he call you when he gets out?"
• NEVER give information to anyone over the phone about yourself, your family or where you live. Hang up on anyone who calls to bother you or who says bad things on the phone.
  
• Ask your mom or dad for permission to go outside of your play area or yard or to go into someone's home.
• If you have a babysitter that hits you, touches you or makes you play games that embarrass you, tell a trusted adult, even if the babysitter told you not to.
• Keep all the windows and doors in your home locked.
• If someone tries to break into your home, call 911 immediately and give them your full address, including your apartment number if you have one. Tell them that you are at home and someone is trying to break in. Then, try calling a neighbor you know is usually home. If you can get out of the house, get out. If you can hide, hide.

Gun Safety

• If someone picks on you or threatens you, tell your parent or a trusted adult. You don't have to deal with this by yourself.
• If you get into an argument, don't let it grow into a fight. Cool off . . . walk away if that would help.
• Don't carry a weapon. You could hurt or kill someone or yourself without meaning to. The weapon could also end up being used against you. Some kids say they carry a gun or knife for protection, but the truth is if you carry a weapon you are more likely to get hurt.
• If you find a gun anywhere, DON'T TOUCH IT. The gun could be loaded and dangerous. It could also be a gun that the police are looking for because it was used in a crime. Tell your mom or dad or a trusted adult or call 911 to tell the police you found a gun.
• If someone shows you a gun, DO NOT TOUCH IT. Guns are not toys. They can kill someone or hurt them very badly. Kids have been accidentally killed by guns, sometimes by their best friends.
• Tell the person that you don't want to be around guns because someone could get hurt or killed. Get away from the gun and the person.
• Tell a trusted adult about the gun. It's okay to tell about guns. You could help stop the person with the gun from getting hurt.
• If you hear gunfire, duck. Get down as low as you can and cover your head.

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Copyright © 1998 by the National Center for Victims of Crime.  This information may be freely distributed, provided that it is distributed free of charge, in its entirety and includes this copyright notice.