Is Your Child Street Smart?

• Make a set route with your child and try to ensure that he always follow this same route.
• Make sure that there’s a crossing guard on this route.
• Choose safe places that he will pass by on his way home. A restaurant, a friend’s house, a store or anywhere that he can go into and ask for help.
• Try to find a friend or a neighbor who will always walk with him. It’s safer and more fun.
• Make sure he lets you know if he’s going to be late or going somewhere else. You should know where he is at all times.
• Establish a plan in case you are late. He should have another person he can contact if needed.
• Teach him to cross streets at intersections, to always look both ways before crossing, and to observe lights and traffic signals. 
• He should never, in any situation, talk to strangers even if they ask for help or seem nice.
• He should never, in any situation, approach or get into a stranger’s car.
• If he senses danger, he should stay calm but get away as quickly as possible.
• If he has to run, tell him he can drop his school bag or anything else he's carrying so that he can run faster.
• If he encounters someone who makes him feel uneasy, he should go to one of the closest safe places you’ve established together.
• If a stranger gets too close to him or tries to grab him, tell him to scream as loud as he can, “Help - I don’t know this person!”
• If someone tries to grab hold of him, tell him to fight them off by kicking and hitting.
• He shouldn't allow anybody to touch him if it makes him feel bad.
• If something strange happens he should let you and his teachers know right away.
  

Thank you to the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal.