• Safety tips help prevent accidents.Dangerous safety placard image by k9dg from Fotolia.com
  
  Protecting our children is one of the most important jobs we have as parents and guardians. Keeping kids safe requires vigilance on our part, but it also requires educating children as to what the dangers and potential consequences are when they, for example, wander off from their group or accept gifts from strangers.
  
  

Stay With the Group

• Instruct your child, whether she is with a group of friends at a movie theater or on a family camping trip, that she is never to wander off by herself. Children are safer staying with the group than going off on their own. If she has to leave her group for any reason, she needs to inform the group leader as to where she is going. Although, thanks to technology like cell phones and GPS tracking, it is easier today to keep tabs on one another than ever before, kids are still susceptible to getting lost, injured, harassed by bullies or accosted by strangers when they break away from the group.
  
  

Avoid Strangers

• One of the most effective child safety rules is never talk to strangers, even though most of the strangers your child will encounter are harmless. The best way for kids to protect themselves from strangers who are dangerous is to not engage any stranger in conversation or accept things such as rides, movie tickets or candy from them. Explain to your child that if a stranger is making him uncomfortable, he should find a way to get out of the situation while staying in public view. For example, if he is approached by a stranger at the library, he should stay in plain sight of witnesses and look for a trusted adult to go over to and explain the situation. Emphasize to your child that he should never, under any circumstances, go anywhere with a stranger.
  
  

Prevent Access to Household Poisons

• Even the safest of homes contain items that are poisonous or can be as lethal as poisons if abused. Kitchen and laundry items (bleach, floor cleaners), bathroom products (makeup, toilet bowl cleaners) and other products (insect killers, fertilizers) can all be harmful or even fatal if ingested. Always keep potentially poisonous materials in their original, clearly marked container and store them in locked, out-of-reach storage areas. Explain to your children which household items are poisonous so they can identify what to stay away from as well as what ingredients to look for when determining whether or not a product is potentially poisonous. Keep all medication out of reach from children and make sure they understand how medicine and vitamins can be harmful or even fatal if abused. For further protection, install a carbon monoxide detector in your home to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.