The rate of lost children has been increasing recently, making parents worried and stressed. Children getting lost is not only a great fear for parents but also causes panic and danger for the children themselves. To minimize this risk and help children stay calm and find a way to contact home if they get lost, parents need to proactively teach their children skills when they get lost .
Remember parents' names, phone numbers and addresses
Parents need to teach children skills when lost by remembering their full name and phone number. Parents can help their children remember through small games such as: arranging numbers, learning through songs, creating numbers with kinetic sand ... to help children remember more easily. However, there are some cases where children will have difficulty and not remember their parents' names because we Vietnamese have many ways to call each other, such as: Cai Lan, Hung, Mai... Teaching children to remember correctly and your full name is also very important.
In cases where children really cannot remember their parents' full names and phone numbers, parents should write that information down on paper. Find a discreet place to keep it and teach your child about the paper's location. When lost, children can ask for help from adults to contact their parents using the information on this paper.
Practice making phone calls to teach children skills when they get lost
When children are 3 years old or about to go to school, in addition to letting them use the phone for entertainment purposes and to explore the world, parents should teach their children how to listen and make phone calls.
You can start by instructing your child to use a toy phone to call their parents. When they have fun dialing the phone number and their parents answer, the child will be extremely excited. When children misread a number, parents can remind their children that because they dialed the wrong phone number, parents cannot answer, thereby helping children remember it longer.
Teach children skills when lost: how to ask for help
Parents need to teach children skills when lost by starting conversations and asking for help from strangers. Do not ask for help from any passerby, but encourage children to ask for help from store employees, police or security guards when they are unfortunately lost.
After successfully asking for help, children need to let them know that they are lost and provide necessary information such as their parents' full name and phone number so they can contact them. Teach children how to express themselves clearly and calmly in these situations.
Stand at the location where the child is lost
Parents should teach their children the skill of staying where they are and looking for help instead of panicking and trying to find their parents everywhere. If you accidentally go into deserted places, the consequences will be unpredictable. Standing still in the lost place will help parents find the child faster and avoid situations that make the search difficult.
Teach children skills when lost through videos
To help children visualize and know how to respond to situations when they get lost, parents can let them watch videos about safety for lost children such as: "Teaching children how to handle lost situations/Safety skills." safe for babies in 2021" on VTV7 Kids, "Teaching children how to handle lost things - Safety for children" on VOH ONLINE and some other videos on Youtube.
These videos help provide safety information when lost to children in the most interesting, easy-to-absorb and realistic way. For example, what to do when you lose your parents, how to talk to adults and ask for help. Parents should occasionally let their children watch it again so they can remember it longer.
In addition, parents can find information about child safety on the Kids Smartz website, operated by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Children) to teach children skills when lost. This website not only provides valuable information for parents, but also has many videos about safe activities and lessons for children.
Practice hypothetical situations with children
To teach children skills when lost, parents need to regularly remind and review the above lessons. Especially before taking your child to a crowded location such as a park, playground or other public area.
Parents should not put their children in dangerous situations when practicing. Typically, many parents directly leave their children at the park with the purpose of helping them apply what they have learned, but this action is sometimes counterproductive. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children recommends that parents pose some hypothetical situations at home through questions such as:
- What will you do if your child can't see their parents?
- Who will I ask for help?
- What information will you provide to those who help you?
When taking children out to play, parents can ask a friend the child has never met to play the role of a stranger to see how the child asks for help. After understanding more about the skills their children already have, parents can teach their children more perfect lost skills, helping them to be confident in real-life situations.
By teaching children skills when lost , parents not only help their children become more confident but also enhance their ability to protect themselves in unwanted situations. Parents need to be patient and regularly remind and guide their children using many different methods such as taking notes, practicing phone calls, watching educational videos or role-playing in hypothetical situations to ensure their children can memorize.
