The Principal's Corner:
Six Safety Tips from Officer Banfield Regarding Strangers
Yesterday morning, Superintendent MacGregor shared some information regarding a stranger danger incident that occurred as a Howell student walked home from the bus. While the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate this matter, there are currently no additional updates for us to share. However, these situations are always a reminder of the importance of speaking to our children about their safety. Below are six safety tips from Officer Banfield, our School Resource Officer, that you can share with your children.
1. Be sure your child knows at least one neighbor whose house they can go to in an emergency.
2. Teach your children the difference between “good” and “bad” strangers. A good stranger is someone they can turn to for help (a police officer, firefighter, security guard, store clerk, etc.).
3. If a child ever feels threatened, they should immediately run as fast as they can while making a lot of noise to a trusted adult. They should tell the adult exactly what happened.
4. Review telephone numbers, addresses and home safety practices with your children.
5. Whenever possible, have children practice the buddy system. There is safety in numbers.
6. If a stranger ever tries to grab your child, they should scream, kick, hit, bite, drop to the ground and whatever else they can do to attract the attention of others.