Be Safe

No one should have to fear for their safety, grown adults or children. Be confident that you and your family are safe by taking some simple precautions around the house, following safety guidelines when you go out at night, and being secure when you're surfing the Internet. Make sure children are familiar with basic safety guidelines as well, so you can go about your life confidently and as safely as possible.

Steps

Being Safe at Home

  1. Keep a first aid kit handy. To make sure your home is as safe and prepared as possible, it's a good idea to keep a quality first aid kit on hand for emergencies. You can buy one, pre-packaged, or you can assemble one yourself and keep it in a tackle box or another plastic case. Make sure it includes:
    • Clean bandages and gauze
    • Isopropyl alcohol and hydrogen peroxide
    • Antibacterial ointment
    • OTC painkillers
    • Surgical tape
    • Antibiotics
  2. Assemble an Emergency Roadside Kit for Winter. In the event of an emergency, you want to be prepared. A safe home should have the following items stocked in a safe place, in case you need them:
    • Batteries and sturdy flashlights
    • Pocketknife
    • Needles and thread
    • Canned goods and other nonperishable items
    • Lots of water
    • Matches or lighters
    • Radio
  3. Prevent Electrical Fires. Whether you're a home owner or a renter, it's important to take steps to protect your home against the threat of fire. Take the following steps to sleep secure, knowing that you've done what you can to protect your home from fire damage:
  4. Protect your home against the risk of burglary. Burglary is one of the most traumatic and confidence-shattering things that can occur to someone. Take the steps necessary to make sure it doesn't happen to you and your family:
  5. Child Proof Your Home. If you have kids or are planning on having kids, it's a good idea to make the process as safe and smooth as possible by taking a little time to child-proof your home. Kids don't know any better, so it'll be your job to make sure accidents don't happen.[1] Keep in mind the following steps, when child-proofing a home:
  6. Invest in disaster insurance. Natural disasters can ruin your ability to lead a happy life. Make sure that sudden and impossible to predict natural carnage doesn't leave you out in the cold by investing in disaster insurance. To be really safe, it's worth the investment now.

Being Safe at Night

  1. Carry a cellphone. When you're going out at night, even if you're just going around the corner, it's a good idea to carry some form of communication, so you'll be able to be in touch in an emergency. Make sure that you've got a fully-charged cellphone in your purse or in your pocket at all times.
    • If you have an iPhone, set it up so your phone can be tracked via your Apple account, should you lose it, or it should be stolen.
    • Sometimes, it's a good idea to keep your cellphone tucked away, unless you absolutely need to use it. If you've got the brand-new smartphone, it might be more attractive for muggers.
  2. Travel in groups. It's always the best bet to stick with people when you're walking at night. Man or woman, young or old, you're safer if you've got some back-up. Don't walk late at night all by yourself.
    • If you must walk alone, stick to well-lit areas, using reliable routes and get where you're going as quickly as possible. Call someone to let them know your travel plans, as soon as possible.
    • If you go out drinking, make sure you get rides figured out before it gets late. If you end up downtown at 2am without a plan for getting home, you might end up in a sketchy situation.
    • Avoid neighborhoods with high crime rates. Generally, you can contact the census in your area to find out which areas of your town are statistically more dangerous than others. Avoid these areas when you're walking alone.
  3. Let people know where you're going. Try to keep in touch when you go out. You don't need to make a big deal out of checking in periodically with someone, just to be on the safe side. Let a parent, a close friend, or some other loved one know where you are, where you're going, and when you're likely to be back. At the very least, you'll keep people from worrying about you.
  4. Consider carrying some personal defense. While it's not necessarily advisable for everyone, learning to safely carry pepper spray or mace can be an effective safety tool, if you absolutely must walk alone regularly. These deterrents are effective against assailants, stray dogs, and more importantly can help to keep you feeling safe as you walk around.
    • Learn to use mace or pepper spray before you start carrying them. In many areas, it's illegal to carry these modes of defense without the proper training.[2]
    • Carrying concealed knives and guns can be more dangerous than safe, but if you're interested, learn to do it safely by enrolling in a personal defense course and learning to defend yourself properly.[3]
  5. Learn to defend yourself confidently. Learning a bit about how to defend yourself in the event of a confrontation will help keep you feeling safe as you move through the world. You don't need to be paranoid, and you won't have to be if you're confident that you can defend yourself if it comes down to it.
    • Avoid physical confrontations at all costs. The best way to win a fight is to avoid it entirely.

Being Safe Online

  1. Choose secure passwords. Never use obvious passwords like "password" or "12345"." Password crackers can get past these types of common passwords quickly and effectively, making them as useless as having no password at all. Choose secure passwords with a mix of letters, numbers, and special symbols for the best password.
  2. Log out of sites when done using them. Always log out of any website that requires you to log in. This includes email sites, social networking, and other sites you wouldn't want messed with. This is especially true on public computers, but it's a good idea to do it on your personal computer as well, to be safe.
  3. Keep private information private. Never give out identifiable information such as your full name, address, phone number, email, or credit card number anywhere on the Internet, whether in a chat room or on Twitter or Facebook.
    • Control your privacy settings so that absolutely nothing that you post is public to anyone who you've haven't approved. Going to the effort to restrict everything so that can keep prying eyes away from your posts and pictures is worth it to feel safe.
    • If a stranger asks for personal information, tell them, "There are some things best left unsaid on the Internet."
  4. Read the terms and conditions. Before you sign up to any site, read the terms and conditions, and read all of the fine print to make sure that you're not agreeing to any terms you're not aware of. It may be tedious, but it's worth the extra measure of safety.

Staying Safe (For Children)

  1. Don't take dangerous dares. Do not even take dares in truth or dare. If someone dares you while playing Truth or Dare, just walk away and Say No.
  2. Always say no if a friend offers you drugs or cigarettes, especially if you're underage.
  3. Don't hang out with dangerous people. If you hang out with dangerous people, you are more likely to get peer pressured in a negative way.
  4. Stick with trusted friends (like kids you knew for quite a while), and trusted adults. They'll keep you safe, and keep you out of trouble.
  5. Never leave your house without a guardian aware of the situation first. Give them a time you'll be home, where you're going, and who you're going with.
  6. Don't take anything from anyone. If you take something from someone, and don't know what it is, don't take it! You could get in trouble for getting caught with it, even if someone gave it to you.
  7. Never accept rides from anyone. If a stranger tries to coax you into their car, run in the opposite direction screaming as loud as you can. Do not lead the person that is following you home; instead knock on a near home and ask for help.
  8. Don't go alone. If you must go, let's say, to the mall, instead of going alone, go with a group of friends so it's harder to single one out.
  9. Don't go at night. Night is even more dangerous than day, since it is hard to see. If you must go at night, stay in areas where there is adequate lighting.
  10. Go the normal way home. Instead of trying that road you never noticed until 20 minutes ago, go on the roads you are familiar with and your parents know to find you at.
  11. Don't stay after school unless it is something approved by your guardian and run by the school.
  12. Never stray from the school premises. If you see your cellphone on a bench, tell a teacher before running back and getting it.
  13. Never reply to any disturbing texts while at school. If you come across a disturbing text, don't reply, and tell a teacher immediately!
  14. Don't accept rides from friends without telling a guardian first.
  15. Know your school's evacuation drills/procedures. Pay attention during drills, and encourage your classmates to do the same.

Tips

  • If something bad happens to you, tell your parents about it. Don't try to be brave and carry it around inside; you will need to at least talk about it and something may need to be done about any person involved.
  • Heed your parents' advice about places that aren't safe to be.
  • When you head out, tell your parents where you're going. That way they can be reassured they know where you are and can find you quickly if needed.

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.babycenter.com/0_childproofing-around-the-house_460.bc
  2. ↑ http://www.selfdefensesuperstore.com/How-to-Carry-Pepper-Spray.html
  3. ↑ http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/preparing-to-go/staying-safe-and-secure/top-tips-to-stay-safe/
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