How to Keep Your Child Safe When They Leave For College

Watching our children leave home for the first time brings with it many tears and fear of the unknown. We live in a harsh world, so it makes sense that you want to send them out well-equipped to tackle any hardships that come their way.

One way to do achieve this is to teach them about self-defense. This will help them be prepared in the case of an emergency.

Personal Self-Defense Weapons

Consider teaching them how to safely use self-defense weapons to protect themselves. Stun guns and tasers are effective ways to protect oneself, but they are not legal in every state. Therefore, it’s important for your child to do due diligence beforehand to feel confident and comfortable if they’re going to carry these around. If your child is allowed to carry self-defense weapons like these, contact us for more information.

Personal Alarms and Security Systems

Personal alarms are newer and in high demand.

Let’s take the self-defense key chain for example. It will ward off the aggressor with the push of a button. It emits a piercing alarm that rattles the assailant, giving the victim time to getaway. It also warns those around that there’s someone in trouble. The current models incorporate GPS, which notifies the police of the victim’s location and makes it easier to reach your family.

Pepper Spray or Mace

Every female should have pepper spray they can easily reach if a situation becomes unsafe. Pepper spray has an inflammatory agent. When blasted with the spray, it swells the mucous membranes in the body, causes the eyes to close involuntarily, and renders the predator blind for 15 minutes.

Mace is a brand name often referred to as tear gas. Police use it for riot control. It’s an irritant and sometimes takes 5-30 seconds to affect the attacker. It causes stinging pain or tearing and can be ineffective in dangerous circumstances.

Arm Them With Knowledge

What can your child do to mentally prepare and fortify themselves against unsafe situations?

Psychology Today offers a few suggestions:

1. Remain alert. Look at your surroundings. Be aware of who is around you at all times and stay off your phone.
2. Don’t stop. If someone tries to stop, you keep moving. Do not follow strangers.
3. Walk with purpose. Don’t look lost. Ask a store clerk, not a stranger, if you need directions.
4. Don’t walk alone. Always try to avoid walking alone, but if you have to stay in well-lit areas.
5. Keys in hand. Approach your car with keys in your hand instead of your head down digging in your purse.
6. Don’t flash money. Criminals are always looking for a victim. Do not take all of your cash out of your wallet to pay.
7. When leaving your home or college dorm. It would be best to let someone know where you’re going, the route you plan on taking, and your estimated arrival time. The police will learn how to find you if something were to happen.

The Importance of Safety on Campus

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports an average of 2,221 deaths yearly because of alcohol poisoning, with individuals ranging from 14 to 24. Drinking impairs judgment for both females and males, and impaired judgment places them in unsafe situations where they may not respond appropriately.

It’s normal for young people to want to experience new things and have new kinds of fun when they move away from home. But college campuses can also be common targets for people looking to do some harm. Make sure your child understands the importance of keeping themselves safe so that their time on campus is a positive experience.

Keeping our children safe is a necessity. Hopefully, they won’t find themselves in a dangerous situation, but preparing them ahead of time may be what helps them most in the long run.