9 School holiday safety tips for the Easter break

When we were kids, mum kept us entertained during the school holidays by opening the back door and sending us outside to play. Most of the day, especially in sunny Durban, we spent outdoors climbing trees, swimming, building forts, riding our bikes, visiting neighbourhood kids and getting up to mischief, safely. These days, things are not as simple or as safe, and mum may be working full time. It has become vital that kids be kept on the property and are supervised to avoid any emergency situations.
Here are some school holiday safety tips that may come in handy.
1. Make sure your children are in a safe, controlled environment while you’re at work, such as an aftercare, a reputable holiday club, or in the care of a responsible caregiver or family member.
2. Teach your teenagers how to operate your alarm system. When you test your alarm, let them press the panic button to familiarise themselves with the process, so they will know exactly what to do in an emergency.
3. Load the Blue Security mobile app onto your teenager’s cellphone. When installed on a smartphone, the app pinpoints your precise location – whether you are at the beach, out jogging, or hiking in a park – the moment you activate it in an emergency. Our state-of-the-art control centre receives the signal and makes contact with you to determine the type of emergency. We can then activate a range of emergency responses, from our own armed response officers in our operational areas, to ambulance services, the SAPS and roadside assistance services.
4. Make sure your kids keep all the doors locked, and easily accessible windows closed if they’re going to be home alone. Always instruct them to not allow anyone to enter the property without permission from you.
5. Child-proof your home, especially for toddlers and younger kids that may get bored and go digging through the cupboards. Make sure that all dangerous substances and hazardous items, medicines and cleaning agents are out of reach, and that all electrical wiring is safely covered.
6. Ensure swimming pools are sealed off, especially if you have toddlers, with a SABS-approved safety fence and safety net. If you have older children that are skilled at swimming, make sure they understand the safety concerns and lay down ground rules. Caregivers or family members should always keep a close eye on any swimming children.
7. Save important emergency contact numbers on your kids’ phones. Also keep a printed list of these numbers close, like on your fridge or next to the landline, including those of your local SAPS station and your neighbours.
8. Teach your children to memorise their details. Holidays are a great time for some fun excursions or trips to the beach, but should your child get lost they need to be able to provide someone with enough information to find you. Help them to memorise their name and surname, home address and contact details for either parent.
9. Write your name and phone number with a permanent marker on your child’s arm, if you are out and about with the family where there may be big crowds and your children could possibly get lost or lose sight of you. This will make it a lot easier, if they go missing, for someone to contact you immediately. This is also especially useful for toddlers who are too young to remember your contact details.