A while ago, I posted a draft of the personal safety curriculum that we developed to use with our home education materials. Now, having added in reader suggestions, I want to post the final draft! Feel free to use this or pass it on to anyone who could use it.
I tend to be fairly free-range with some issues. For example, I would be fine with giving our 7yo hammers and nails and telling him to go nuts building something. I want our children to learn to shoot, to use knives, to take risks, to go on adventures. But I do not take that same attitude into the area of letting them go into situations in which their purity and innocence could be violated. I recently read this awesome article on the subject, and I highly agreed with it!
This safety curriculum really doesn't cover a lot of the topics mentioned in that articles (sleep-overs, etc.) because those issues have not yet come up in our family. I'll have to add that information to the below at some point. (Pointers, anyone?)
But in the meantime, here's what I have!
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Safety Curriculum
1. Personal Information
- Full name
- Phone number
- Daddy’s cell phone number
- Address
- Parents’ names
- Birthdate
2. Personal Safety
- If lost… look for a woman, preferably a mommy (woman with kids).
- If lost in a wilderness area… sit down and wait for us to find you.
- If lost in a store… Look for someone who has a nametag or uniform, or go to a register and tell the employee you are lost.
- If someone says “Don’t tell this to your mommy or daddy,” immediately go tell your mommy or daddy.
- If someone tries to abduct you, RUN. If someone does manage to grab you, (1) BITE as hard as you can, (2) SCREAM as loudly as you can, and (3) STRUGGLE. Do not stop doing so even if someone threatens you with a gun or a knife.
- If someone ever tries to touch you in an area normally covered by your swimsuit, or to touch you in any way that makes you feel uncomfortable… immediately go tell mommy or daddy or a trusted adult.
- If someone you don’t know comes up to you and asks for directions… leave right away and find mommy or daddy or a trusted adult.
- Never get in a car with someone you do not know. Run away and scream if they try to make you get in a car or go with them, and go right to mommy or daddy or a trusted adult.
- Get permission from mommy or daddy before getting into a car or leaving with anyone.
- If someone comes up to you and says, “Your mommy and daddy told me to come pick you up,” do not go with them.
- If you are walking and a car pulls up next to you, turn around and go the other direction – and go right to mommy or daddy or a trusted adult.
- If an adult asks you for help (to find a lost pet, etc.), leave right away and go to mommy or daddy or a trusted adult.
- If you ever feel uncomfortable, leave and find mommy or daddy or a trusted adult.
- How to call 911 – mechanics of dialing, what information to have ready.
- Always tell mommy or daddy where you are going.
- Answer the front door only if it is someone you know, or if mommy or daddy says that it’s okay.
- Always ask mommy or daddy before leaving the house (or wherever we are). When you are given permission, make sure to tell WHERE you are going, HOW you will get there, WHO you will be with, and WHEN you will return home. If your plans change at any time, TELL MOMMY OR DADDY first.
- Get permission from mommy or daddy before accepting anything from anyone.
- Our family password that means “Come and get me, I want to come home” is ___________________
3. Practical & Household Safety
- House fire – How to get out of the house; don’t hide in the house, and don’t hide from firemen or other emergency personnel.
- Fire – Stop, drop, roll
- Earthquake – Duck and cover
- How to use a fire extinguisher
- How to turn off the gas main
- How to turn off the water main
- How to turn off electricity to the house
- How to turn off the water to a toilet
- How to change a tire
4. Outdoor Safety
How to deal with…
- Snakes
- Scorpions
- Cactus
- Spiders
- Streams and stream beds
- Lightning
I had one other thought-do any of the boys have allergies or medical conditions? I'm thinking of Gl particularly--is there anything it would be helpful for C to know if they were lost together somewhere?
ReplyDeleteGood point, Jen! I didn't think of that. Actually, with all of his issues, Gl. doesn't have any allergies or meds or special needs (other than food and lots of it, LOL!). But that would be a good thing for families where it would be needed.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even cover things like first aid or gun skills/safety, etc. - maybe those should have been included as well. Right now I have things like that included in a separate "life skills" curriculum-list that we're developing (will post at some point). It's hard to tell what should go where! But I expect that this document will mature with age, so it's hard to say "we're finished" at any point!
Lots of love!
D.