‘Key to child safety is communication’

GOOD communication is the key to keeping a young child safe, a child expert stressed yesterday.

“If children are worried about something they need to feel they can talk about it with their parents without being told off,” said ISPCC officer, Tess Noonan.

“Even very young children need to know that it is their parent or childminder who is there to help them when they are upset,” she said.

“If children are afraid to go to their parents to discuss something that is on their minds, they end up feeling vulnerable.”

As a general rule, children under the age of eight should not be allowed out on their own, especially in busy towns and cities.

“Even when they are playing with other children, they need to be kept in the care and sight of an adult or much older child who is mature and trustworthy.”

Ms Noonan also urged parents to consider their child’s maturity and what they were capable of before letting them go out on their own.

She also stressed that young children should never be left on their own in cars or outside shops, even for a few minutes. “Apart from the safety aspect, they may be seen as being alone and quite vulnerable.”

She also urged parents to keep a good hold of their child in busy places. “Small children get easily distracted, especially at Christmas time,” she warned.

It was also a good idea when out shopping to have a meeting point so that children knew where to go if they became separated from their parents.

And, she said, very young children should be told to go to a shop assistant if they got lost.

Children also needed to understand that while a stranger was anyone they did not know, most strangers were nice people.

Of course, they should be told that they should never go anywhere with a stranger or take anything from a stranger, she stressed.

“It is important to stress that most strangers are nice people and that we sometimes relied on strangers in times of trouble,” she said.

Ms Noonan said children also needed to know what to do in different situations with strangers, such as if a stranger asked for directions or offered a lift.

Children should be told that it was not rude not to talk to strangers if they feel unsafe. “Children should be told to shout loudly or run away and then go and tell someone,” she said.

And while children needed to know their name and address from an early age so they could identify themselves they also needed to know that they should not give such details freely to a stranger.

“Children as young as two or three years old can be taught about personal safety. They should be clearly told not to go off with anyone, not even someone they know, without first asking their parent or the adult looking after them.”