How to teach your children situational awareness

Summer is a season that children look forward to all year. Vacations are taken, friends are seen, and new adventures lurk around every corner. Unfortunately though, in today’s world, adventures are not the only things lurking. With each of these activities comes the risk of crossing paths with a predator. These are people who look for opportunities to cause harm to others.

As parents, we will do anything to keep our children safe, however, it is nearly impossible to have them within our grasp at all times. That is why it is important to teach our children how to be situationally aware, regardless of the circumstance or situation that they are in.

According to the United States Coast Guard, Situational Awareness is, “The ability to identify, process, and comprehend the critical elements of information about what is happening.” Easy enough to define, but how do you teach these concepts to your child?

Remember details

Details are a good starting point. Talk to your children about looking at and paying attention to the small details in everyday situations. This can be made into a game. Pick a building, park, or other location and give them 60 seconds to look around. Then have them list all the details that they can remember, i.e. the coffee shop across the railroad tracks, had two men with beards, who were wearing grey shorts, standing out front by the yellow door. Activities like this help train your child to be attentive to their surroundings.

Have open communication

Instilling cautiousness in children is extremely important because predators do not have one stereotype. It is of the utmost importance that we keep the channels of communication open to our children. Let them know that we are always available to listen and that they can trust us with anything. I am continually reminded that if I do not listen to them when they approach me with the small things, then what makes me think that they will trust me enough to tell me the big things?

Teaching our children that they have a voice is something that cannot be understated. If they see something that seems out of place or just not quite right, then they need to know that they can say something and that you will listen. If your child approaches you in confidence, trust them and let them know you will follow up on their concerns.

Set standards

Openly speaking to your children about things that should never take place is a must-do for parents. When discussing this topic with a group of women, Keriann W. noted that adults who truly need help in a store or any other circumstance will never stop and ask a child. If they need something, they will ask another adult for assistance.

Teach them what types of situations they could possibly have to be aware of. This does not just apply to people who could potentially cause them harm. Natural disasters and man-made emergencies are as real of a threat as any. Have and practice an emergency plan of action with your child. This can include what to do if you are separated and where to meet afterwards, and who they can trust in the event of a true emergency.

Stay calm

In the event of a true emergency, teach your children the importance of not panicking and keeping a level head.

Though there is no way to know everything that may come. Teaching our children these skills and keeping the communication channels open with them can be the difference between a positive and a negative outcome in an unfortunate situation.

Photograph Credit: Angela Abernathy Holcombe



This story was written for CharlotteFive’s latest channel for parents in the QC, called QC Playground. Sign up for the weekly QC Playground newsletter here.

This story was originally published August 13, 2017 at 9:00 PM.