Publications

Prevention for parents

In this section:

Important safety concept
Alarm system
Safety Rules for Children 0-5 years-old
Safety Rules for Children 6-12 years-old
Internet Safety

Some parents hesitate to talk about personal safety with their child because they don't want to frighten him or diminish his spontaneity. However, giving your child the knowledge and practical skills he needs to look after himself is as important as teaching him to read and write.

Following are some guidelines on how to broach personal safety, as well as important information to review with your children.

Advice on how to discuss personal safety:

Approach the subject in a positive and calm manner, the same way you would discuss fire emergency procedures or bike safety rules.
Use simple and concise words, to which he can relate
Give your child clear guidelines appropriate to his age and keep your conversation light and pleasant.
Use everyday situations to either reinforce the safety concepts that you've already discussed or introduce new rules as your child faces new challenges (i.e. walk in your neighbourhood, school vacation or going to the movies).

Important Safety Concepts

The Stranger-Danger Myth

Did you know that the majority of abductions and aggressions against children are committed by someone the child knows and trusts?

Enfant-Retour Québec has removed the use of the term "stranger" from its safety literature for the following reasons:

Adults often send contradictory messages when saying "Don't talk to strangers!" When we walk on the street, how often do we tell our children to say hello to people who are walking by?
In case of an emergency, children may need to seek help from someone they don't necessarily know or have never met. Children need to be reassured that most people are well-intentioned and sincerely care about them.

For these reasons, we strongly recommend that you constantly reinforce the following fundamental principle:

Your child always has the right to say NO! to anyone including family members, neighbours, close friends, teachers, coaches or in any situation that leaves him feeling uncomfortable, confused or scared. If at any time he finds himself in these circumstances, he must say NO!, remove himself from the situation and immediately confide in an adult whom he trusts.

Alarm System:

When your child signals you verbally or physically that a touch makes him feel uncomfortable, respect his right to say no! Let him decide the physical proximity with which he is comfortable. Your child will gradually learn to trust his instincts – his internal alarm system – and to identify the body signals that warn him to avoid any situation or person that makes him feel uncomfortable, embarrassed or scared. These feelings are often accompanied by physical signs such as knots in the stomach, shivers, sweaty palms, etc.

Safety Rules for Children 0-5 years

Young children can be very impulsive and cannot always anticipate the result of their actions. At this age, they do not yet have the abilities needed to protect themselves from harm. Because they are unable to evaluate the risks in a given situation, they cannot be responsible for their own personal safety. The golden rule of thumb for young children is to never leave them unsupervised, not even for a moment.

Find teachable moments in your everyday life to help your child develop and reinforce sound, personal safety strategies. To this end, the "What if scenarios" become a wonderful and helpful teaching tool that will enable your child to become a strong and independent thinker capable of handling challenging experiences.

Download some examples of What if scenarios

Voici quelques règles supplémentaires qui aideront à assurer la sécurité de votre enfant :

Connaître ses informations personnelles

Apprenez à votre enfant son nom, son adresse et son numéro de téléphone au complets, son âge, sa date de naissance, vos noms complets (pas seulement maman et papa) et les numéros où l’on peut vous joindre.

Demander la permission

Enseignez à votre enfant qu’il doit toujours vous demander la permission avant de se rendre quelque part, de suivre quelqu’un, de monter dans une automobile ou d’accepter un cadeau ou toute offre, même s’il s’agit d’un membre de la famille ou d’un ami proche. Expliquez-lui que vous devez savoir où il est et ce qu’il fait en tout temps, de cette manière vous serez en mesure de lui apporter de l’aide si quelque chose arrive.

Le système d’alarme

Apprenez à votre enfant à reconnaître les signaux que son corps lui envoie et à se fier à son système d’alarme interne. Lorsque son système d’alarme se déclenche, votre enfant doit dire « NON! », s’éloigner de la situation et en parler immédiatement à un adulte en qui il a confiance.
Enseignez à votre enfant à se poser ces 3 questions pour l’aider à prendre une décision sécuritaire :

Est-ce que j’ai un bon sentiment?
ou
Est-ce que mon système d’alarme sonne?
Est-ce que mes parents sauront où je suis?
ou
Est-ce que j’ai demandé la permission?
Est-ce que je pourrai obtenir de l’aide en cas de pépin?
ou
Est-ce que j’utilise le système de copains?

S’il répond « NON! » à une des trois questions, il doit répondre « NON! » et vous en parler d’abord.
« NON! » = « NON! » sans hésitation!

Téléchargez une version à imprimer de la brochure La clé de la sécurité - Aide-mémoire pour les parents d'enfants de 0 à 5 ans.
Commandez cette brochure

Safety Rules for Children 6-12 years

As your child grows and develops, he will become more autonomous and face new challenges in his everyday life (i.e. taking the school bus or public transit, playing outdoors with friends, sleeping over at a friend’s house, going to the corner store.) As a parent, you need to evaluate any possible risks that he may encounter and ensure that he knows how to respond wisely and safely when you or a trusted adult are not present.

Download some examples of What if scenarios

Following are some basic safety rules that every child must learn to incorporate into his daily activities :

The Buddy System

Encouragez votre enfant à toujours être accompagné d’au moins un ami lorsqu’il joue dehors ou qu’il va quelque part. C’est beaucoup plus sécuritaire d’être en groupe.

Ask for permission

Votre enfant doit toujours vous demander la permission avant de se rendre quelque part, de suivre quelqu’un, de monter à bord d’une automobile ou d’accepter un cadeau ou toute offre, même s’il s’agit d’un membre de la famille ou d’un ami proche. Expliquez-lui que vous devez savoir où il est, avec qui il est et ce qu’il fait en tout temps, de manière à pouvoir lui apporter de l’aide en cas d’urgence.

Safe route

Déterminez avec votre enfant un trajet qu’il devra toujours emprunter pour se rendre à l’école et incitez-le à le parcourir avec un ami.

Knowing his Personal Information

Apprenez à votre enfant son nom, son adresse et son numéro de téléphone complets, son âge, sa date de naissance, vos noms complets (pas seulement maman et papa) et les numéros où l’on peut vous joindre.

Alarm System

Est-ce que j’ai un bon sentiment? ou Est-ce que mon système d’alarme sonne?
Est-ce que mes parents sauront où je suis? ou Est-ce que j’ai demandé la permission?
Est- ce que je pourrai obtenir de l’aide en cas de pépin? ou Est-ce que j’utilise le système de copains?

S’il répond « NON! » à une des trois questions, il doit répondre « NON! » et vous en parler d’abord.
« NON! » = « NON! » sans hésitation!

Télécharger une version à imprimer de la brochure La clé de la sécurité - Aide-mémoire pour les parents d'enfants de 6 à 12 ans.
Commandez cette brochure

Internet Safety:

More and more children connect to the Internet both at home and at school. It goes without saying that the Internet is an inexhaustible resource and a valuable educational tool. However, it is important to sensitize children to its potential dangers. Young navigators are often unaware that individuals with questionable intentions hide behind the anonymity of Internet communications.

To ensure that your child’s online experience is a rewarding and satisfying one, Enfant-Retour Québec recommends that parents reinforce the following safety guidelines:

Set up specific rules for going online: time of day, length of time, appropriate sites to visit … Children should surf the net only when you are at home.
Keep the computer in the family room or another open area of your home so that you can monitor your child’s Internet use.
Teach your children to never divulge personal information, such as their name and address, as well as the name of their school and to never send pictures of themselves.
Learn to identify the people with whom they are communicating on the Internet. Monitor your child’s activities in discussion groups and while exchanging e-mails.
Teach your children that they must NEVER agree to meet an online acquaintance face-to-face without your permission.
Instruct your child to report to you any obscene or threatening messages that make him feel uncomfortable.
Install parental control software in order to limit your children’s access to inappropriate material to configure your computer. Click here to download the PDF document. Keep in mind that using filtering software and/or hardware can help to block a lot of inappropriate materials or sites, but it is not 100% fool-proof and is no substitute for good parental involvement.
Instruct your child to immediately report any explicit pornographic material that he encounters, including child pornography, sex trade industry or juvenile prostitution to www.Cybertip.ca
Emphasize to your children the public nature of the Internet, the permanence of sent images, the legal implications of distributing naked images and the disruption it may cause in their lives.

As a family, love, trust and responsibility all go hand-in-hand and within these parameters is the fact that there are rules that must be followed and respected. Parents and children are encouraged to set guidelines that both parties can adhere to. In order to ensure that surfing the Net is a fun and learning experience, it is suggested that a family contract be drawn up and signed.

Click here for a copy of "A Family Internet Contract".