Before you know it, your sweet toddler is a big, surly teenager spending nights over at a friend’s house. Maybe you don’t even know both parents, and you certainly haven’t been informed by your teen about what they’ll be getting up to while they’re there.
As a parent, you no doubt spoke to your child about stranger-danger and you instilled some simple rules for them to abide by. You know that as they grow up, your ability to shield them and keep them safe starts to diminish. And yet there are safety tips they need to be aware of for going out alone.
Safety tips for teens
Just as you warned your small kids about the dangers out there, you need to still be involved with your teens. Before they leave home, whether in a group or alone, you can give them a reminder of the tips you have been instilling in them to keep them safe.
One of these is to always be aware of their surroundings and the people moving around them. By now, teens should be able to sense when things don’t feel right after teaching them how to identify safe people.
Make sure your teen always has their charged cellphone with them so that you’re just a phone call away. Remind them again never to get into the car of a friend who has been drinking.
Parental control tools
It is illegal to install an app on someone else’s phone without their knowledge. As a parent, however, you need to be involved with your teenagers and know what they’re getting up to. You will need to explain to them the necessity of parental control tools such as blocking and filtering software.
A spy phone app that your child is aware of means that parents can be aware of their child’s location at all times. The software enables real-time GPS tracking. So, if you’ve got doubts about where your teen is, you simply check the GPS for confirmation. There is also a camera that is activated for parents so they can view their teen’s surroundings.
Watch those drinks
You can’t expect clubs to not be policing their establishments. Many teens get into clubs and other venues and drink. Those that haven’t been warned by the parents need to know that they can have their drinks spiked. Are you as a parent, even aware that your teens are frequenting these establishments?
Management can only do so much to ensure the safety of patrons. They can’t stop drink-spiking and the damage that happens as a consequence, and your teen needs to know this.
As a parent, you need to educate your teenagers that they shouldn’t allow people they aren’t totally familiar with to buy them a drink and to leave the drinks unattended.
Online safety
The Internet is a wonderful world of entertainment and information. For a child, you need to teach Internet safety from the moment your kids start using a connected device of any sort. Kids need to know that, particularly social media sites are full of false identities.
There are many dangers online and parents need to be vigilant. Your teenager can be exposed to a host of people and images. Risks don’t only include exposure to sexual material but also sexual exploitation and harassment.
As a parent, arm yourself with important information, such as acronyms that have been designed to dupe unsuspecting parents. Constantly be reinforcing to your teen that you are there to listen to them. Keep your cool and don’t admonish any admission as this may well shut down the impulse to disclose further info.