MBF believes safety is a team effort, so we’ve put together these summer safety tips and talking points to help you better protect your children.
The 5 Safety Rules that are taught to children during the MBF Child Safety Matters® program are designed to help children and teens identify and respond appropriately to any unsafe situation. Take a closer look at the Safety Rules, and learn how you can use them to keep children and teens safe this summer!
Click Here to Read More >The 5 Safety Rules that are taught to children during the MBF Child Safety Matters® program are designed to help children and teens identify and respond appropriately to any unsafe situation. Take a closer look at the Safety Rules, and learn how you can use them to keep children and teens safe this summer!
For Safe Adults, Safety Rule #1 - Know What's Up means:
For children, Safety Rule #1 - Know What's Up means:
For Safe Adults, Safety Rule #2 - Spot Red Flags means:
For children, Safety Rule #2 - Spot Red Flags means:
By talking to your child, and educating them about the dangers present in society, and how to Spot the Red Flags that lead to those dangers, it minimizes their risk of being victimized.
If you Spot Red Flags, it is important to remember the presence of Red Flags does not prove abuse, neglect, or bullying is happening, however, they MIGHT indicate some type of victimization is occurring, and it is wise to seek more information. It is also important to remember that warning signs of abuse, neglect and bullying vary from child to child.
For Safe Adults, Safety Rule #3 - Make a Move means:
For children, Safety Rule #3 - Make a Move means:
Visit our website or download our free "Child Safety Matters" app from the App Store or Google Play for more information and resources on Making a Move.
For Safe Adults, Safety Rule #4 - Talk It Up means:
For children, Safety Rule #4 - Talk It Up means:
Remember, if your child comes to you about an unsafe situation, take the time to listen, reassure the child that you will help as best you can, and follow through by seeking help and reporting suspicions to the proper authorities.
For Safe Adults, Safety Rule #5 - No Blame | No Shame means:
For children, Safety Rule #5 - No Blame | No Shame means:
1 in 4 children in the U.S. will experience some form of maltreatment in their lifetime. In 2015, that equated to almost 700,000 children... and those are just the ones we know about. By some estimates, only 1 in 10 children will ever report their abuse. It is important that all victims understand that abuse is never their fault, and they should never be ashamed to tell.
At MBF, we believe adults are responsible for keeping children safe, however, we also know that some adults aren't always safe. If a child or teen is in an unsafe situation, or if they're not sure about a situation, they need to know that they can always use Safety Rule #4 to Talk It Up with a Safe Adult.
Click Here to Read More >At MBF, we believe adults are responsible for keeping children safe, however, we also know that some adults aren't always safe. If a child or teen is in an unsafe situation, or if they're not sure about a situation, they need to know that they can always use Safety Rule #4 to Talk It Up with a Safe Adult.
A Safe Adult is someone in a child or teen's life that they trust, and whom they know will always keep them safe. If a child or teen finds himself or herself in an unsafe situation, it is important that they have a Safe Adult to talk to that will help keep them safe.
Safe Adults can be parents, family members, neighbors, teachers, counselors, coaches, or anyone else who meets the criteria of a Safe Adult. Encourage your child to identify at least two Safe Adults, one living in the home and one living outside of the home. Once your child has identified their Safe Adults, ask them:
Make sure your child lets their Safe Adults know they've chosen them, and make sure they know how to help as a Safe Adult by encouraging them to visit https://www.mbfpreventioneducation.org/learn-more/safe-adult-club/.
It's also important for your child to know if their Safe Adult isn't available to help them, they need to talk to another Safe Adult, and they need to keep talking until someone does something to help them.
Make sure your child understands if a Safe Adult isn't available and they need help (whether they're lost, being threatened, or being followed), they may need to seek help from a stranger. Teach them the following guidelines:
Sometimes it is easier for a child to talk to an adult if they have someone with them, so teach your child they can also talk to a Safety Buddy or Safety Friend if that would be helpful. A Safety Buddy, or Safety Friend, is a friend, sibling, cousin, etc. that your child trusts, and might find it easy to talk to about unsafe situations.
However, be sure your child knows that while talking to a Safety Buddy or Friend can be helpful, their role is to help your child talk to a Safe Adult. They should always talk to a Safe Adult any time they are unsafe or unsure if a situation is safe.
Summer is a time when many children and teens attend camps and other programs to keep them busy and active. While most are generally safe places for children, parents need to be aware that predators look for places where children congregate to find potential victims. To ensure your child's safety, it's important to learn what to look for in organizations, programs, and camps where you plan to leave your children. It's also important to know what questions to ask organizations about their child protection policies to ensure the organization is aware of, and actively works to minimize common risks to children.
Click Here to Read More >Summer is a time when many children and teens attend camps and other programs to keep them busy and active. While most are generally safe places for children, parents need to be aware that predators look for places where children congregate to find potential victims. To ensure your child's safety, it's important to learn what to look for in organizations, programs, and camps where you plan to leave your children. It's also important to know what questions to ask organizations about their child protection policies to ensure the organization is aware of and actively works to minimize common risks to children.
Even if your child is not attending a summer camp program, there are still many new places that they may encounter. Whether they are having a sleepover at a friend's house, attending a music lesson at a new studio, or going on a family vacation, it is important to keep them safe at all times.
Even if you and your child are in a familiar place, you still need to be alert and on the look out for possible dangers, as predators often frequent places where children (and families) congregate. By taking a proactive approach, you can help limit the dangers your child may be exposed to.
Visiting relatives, attending pool parties, and having sleepovers with friends are favorite summer pastimes, and are great places for your child to make new friends. These activities are great fun, but it's important to be cautious of the many unfamiliar faces that your child will be seeing. With some precautions and important conversations with your child, they will be able to spend time with others, make new friends, and stay safe.
Click Here to Read More >Visiting relatives, attending pool parties, and having sleepovers with friends are favorite summer pastimes, and are great places for your child to make new friends. These activities are great fun, but it's important to be cautious of the many unfamiliar faces that your child will be seeing. With some precautions and important conversations with your child, they will be able to spend time with others, make new friends and stay safe.
Many times, children are taught to avoid strangers by well-meaning adults who think that will keep them safe. Yet, it is hard to avoid strangers. Adults speak to strangers every day, for example when they're at a store, or just saying hello in passing to be polite. It often becomes common for children to think that "bad-looking" strangers are dangerous and "nice-looking" strangers are okay. However, children must be taught that no one can tell if strangers are nice or not nice just by looking at them, and that they should be cautious around all strangers.
If a child needs help (for example, if they are lost) here are some guidelines for them to follow:
While people often assume abuse happens by strangers, or people unfamiliar to the child, research shows that most sexual abuse and victimization happens by someone a child knows and trusts like a relative, a babysitter, a friend's older sibling, or even a parent. Therefore, it's important to ensure your child is safe with all adults, not just unfamiliar ones.
It's also important to know that children can be abused by other children. In fact, approximately 30% of sexual abuse occurs by an older or more powerful child. So while it's important to be cautious when leaving your child with an adult, it is also important to be cautious when leaving them with other children that might have unsupervised time with your child.
Without school, homework, or after-school activities this summer, children will inevitably spend more time on their digital devices. To help keep your child safe, you should be aware of the various digital dangers that children and teens face, such as the dangers posed by online games, apps, chatrooms, and virtual reality sites. Learn more about topics to discuss with your child to help minimize their exposure to digital dangers.
Click Here to Read More >Without school, homework, or after-school activities this summer, children will inevitably spend more time on their digital devices. Below are some topics to discuss with your child to help minimize their exposure to digital dangers. To help keep your child safe, you should be aware of the various digital dangers that children and teens face, such as the dangers posed by online games, apps, chatrooms, and virtual reality sites.
After talking with your child about digital safety and citizenship, you may want to develop a digital safety agreement with your child to help keep them safe. Print it out and hang it near the computer to show that everyone in the house agrees to be safe online!
One out of five kids is, or will be, cyberbullied at some point during their school years. Although students are enjoying their summer break from school, cyberbullying never takes a vacation. Cyberbullying is repeated, threatening or harassing behavior that occurs online via the Internet, cellphone, or other digital technology.
If your child is a victim of cyberbullying, here are some tips on how to respond:
There are a variety of tools, apps, and software products that will help you monitor your child’s online activity. These products allow you to see what your child is searching, viewing, and posting online, and some may help protect your child from cyberbullying, viewing inappropriate content, and/or interacting with strangers online.
Remember: Internet safety and monitoring is not about prying or spying, it’s about being an involved parent.
The MBF Child Safety Matters program is impressive. This important information is well formulated and well presented, developmentally appropriate, and based on good understanding of literature.
I heard about the program through my son. He came home…and showed me the safety rules. I cannot thank the Foundation enough; to have other people who are also concerned about my child’s safety and the safety of other kids is wonderful. I especially like the program’s focus on the prevention side.
There’s not a child in the world who can’t benefit from this program. There are so many instances where we see children who have been damaged and hurt. Things happened to them and we think, if they’d only had this program, if they’d only had the benefit of this education, that might not have happened to them. If we can prevent that from happening to a single child, then it’s worth all the effort we have put forth.