Things To Do Before & After registering our kids at school:

As you know already, this is not the actual start of the article about kids. If you happen to land here directly and wanted to read the initial part of the article “Child Abuse – Are Our Kids Really Safe?”, please click this link.

Image Credit: Pixabay

The First & Foremost:

Stop searching in Google with the terms like “Best schools in Chennai” or “Top 10 schools in Bangalore/Hyderabad/Delhi” etc.

Here Comes The Rest:

1. Remember, not always the big old school’s are good and secure and at the same time no newly started schools are bad.

2. Don’t limit yourselves to check only about the school’s academic syllabus and extracurricular activities alone.  – Safety of our kids is the first mandatory thing which we all need to check.

3. It’s the parent’s duty to air appropriate questions during the parent’s teachers meeting especially about that new staff your ward tells about.

4. Most of the schools invite the parents once in a month to meet their kids class teachers.

– This is not just for you to speak about the kid’s performance in class but also to raise if there are any concerns about your kid’s behavior once they are back home. This way you can isolate the issue based on the teacher’s comments.

5. Most of the schools provide transport facility but there are some schools who don’t provide where a private vendor comes into the picture.

– Always ensure that the vehicles used by the vendor to pick and drop the kids are well maintained and from a licensed firm.

– Do not fail to check whether the drivers who are employed by the firm are backed by a thorough background check.

– Always ensure that your kids are traveling in a van or bus driven by the same driver. It’s better to know about the backup driver and the helper who takes care of the kids during the commute.

6. Request the school management/transport vendor to install the automatic GPS facility in the school bus/van and link it to a mobile app.

– With that, you can track the near real time information about your kids when they are on the road while going and returning from school.

7. If you are unable to convince the management or the vendor to get the GPS installed in their vehicle, buy a GPS device enabled school bag for smaller kids and a separate GPS device for the teens so that they can carry with them when they are away.

– You can find these devices online just to have an idea before investing.

8. Most of the schools have got their own app and websites through which they notify the parents about any changes in the school routines.

– Ensure that we upgrade the school app whenever there is an update. If you are thinking about the memory issue on your smartphone then it’s wise you uninstall non-mandatory apps like Whatsapp, Facebook and similar etc which occupies most our phones memory space with unimportant audio and video files.

9. Ensure that you update your new address, cell number, and secondary cell or landline number at school when there is a change.

– Ask for a new identity card from school with an updated details in it. It won’t cost you more than 100 rupees normally.

10. It is a norm to have an information about the blood group and emergency contact numbers in the kid’s ID card.

– If you find that information missing reach the school authorities to get that added.

11. Check if your kids class teacher is comfortable to share his/her cell number with you. If he/she is okay please save her number and at the same time ensure that the class teacher has your cell number too for emergencies.

– The school would be having your details but still. Call them only on an appropriate time and only when there is an important information to convey. Remember they play a vital in your kid growth.

12. If your kid is involved in sports she might need to stay back after school for practice. Please ensure that you or your spouse or someone else who is reliable is available on the ground or premise at least 10 minutes before the completion of the session.

– This point applies not only to the sports at the school ground but also when we send our kids for all extra curricular activities including the singing, dancing, drawing, and chess etc.

13. Never rely on the school premises, security or anyone else and be late.

– If you can’t make it on time please ask someone reliable person from home to be available for the kid.

What TO DO at home with our kids:

1. Image Credit: Pixabay

1. Speak to them to understand them better.

2. Ensure that the kid is comfortable sharing all information with at least one person at home either to Mother or Father. Both of them is most recommended.

3. Always teach them on how to react to strangers irrespective of the place where they are.

4. As a Parent, it’s our responsibility to make them understand the parts of their body.

– Make them understand about the inappropriate touches and how to react to those.

5. Always give them courage. Teach them on how to be strong and brave.

6. Support them and ensure that they feel comfortable to share any information with you at home.

7. When our kids were small we use to enjoy seeing them dance and make poses which were funny but that’s not recommended once they are above 4 years old.

8. Always keep them engaged and teach them on how to identify what is good and what is bad.

9. Teach them the appropriate postures while standing, sitting etc.

10. Make them feel more secure at home than other places.

11. Help them understand who is their immediate family and who comes under relatives and who falls under the family friends category. All these are very important.

12. Teach them on how to react when their name has been called by an unknown person and on how to react at the time of crisis.

13. Make them remember the parent’s cell number at least to tell someone. A kid who is 5 years old can very well remember a cell phone number if not the address.

14. Teach them not to accept things and food items from strangers.

15. Teach them good behaviors and moral.

16. Involve them in religious things and bring them up on godliness.

– Because certain things are beyond human’s control.

17. Consider that Advisory logo which is being shown at the start of any television show or a movie before allowing them to watch. Not every scene shown is appropriate for the kid.

18. Inspire them always and get to know about their friends.

19. Teach them on how to be safe when they are away from home. Suggest them to close the restroom door when they are in.

20. Teach them on how to raise an alert when they experience something unusual.

– Yes, just ask them to shout in such a way that someone can hear. 

21. Read books for them, they gain more knowledge from it. They might be able to use the tactic which they had heard from the story at the time when required.

22. If you’re a parent of a boy child, teach them on how to treat and respect the opposite gender.

Molestation is not something where only the girl child becomes a victim. Almost all the points discussed in this post are valid for both the male as well as the female kid. Remember, child abuse is not based on gender.

What NOT TO DO at home with our kids:

Image Credit: Pixabay

1. Never quarrel in front of them. We all lose temper but try to handle it better.

2. Never make them feel inferior and low.

3. Never allow them to be glued to TV and Internet videos.

4. Never leave them to stay alone even when you are going to terrace to grab something.

5. Never ask them to go alone to the terrace and to the neighbor’s house to get something.

–  Especially, when you are residing in an apartment you won’t even be able to locate them on time. Remember, time is precious and most of the child abuse complaints nowadays are reported when the kids are at home and its surroundings.

6. Never let them stay alone in the children play area at your apartment unless you have got a clear view of the kid’s presence.

 – You do not know when the parent of the other kid would go back to their home. It’s your responsibility to take care of your kid and not theirs. 

7. Never fail to listen to what your kids say.

8. Never fail to look for them in case if you don’t hear their noise. No place is safe nowadays, be it your home or parking lots or anywhere.

To bring up a kid in our current society is not like how it was in the olden days.

Always pray for your kid’s safety & well being because that’s the only thing on which we can rely.

Image Credit: Pixabay