Danbury Police Department’s Suggestions for Keeping Your Kids Safe and Sound This Holiday Season

The world I was brought up in during the 50's and 60's was vastly different than what we're dealing with in 2016/2017.

If you're a parent, you would like to think that your kids are safe at all times, which was pretty much the norm when I was growing up in the Village of Fairport, NY in the 1950's and early 1960's. No parent had to worry about their child's safety when they were in school. We were sent outside to play all day long during summer school vacations without a worry in the world. Times have changed and parents realize they need to be more vigilant when it comes to their kid's safety. The following are some suggestions from the Danbury Police Department concerning child safety.

1. Keep Your Kids Close - Train your kids to stay with you and not wander off while shopping. It's always a good idea to accompany them to the bathroom in a public facility.

2. Make A Plan - If you're at the mall with your older kids, it's a good idea to set a designated place and time to meet after shopping. If you and your younger child accidentally get separated at the mall, train them to go to an authority figure like a security guard or a store associate with a name tag.

3. Never Leave A Child Alone - Dropping off a younger child at the arcade or food court, playground, or any public facility is just asking for trouble.

4. Leaving Your Teen At The Mall - Are they really meeting a friend at the mall or are they smoking pot behind a dumpster. Yes, we dropped our kids off at the mall but we had a designated time and place arranged to pick them up. The other option is to say 'NO' and get into a shouting argument where they get pissed off at you for a week. GOOD TIMES!