This article is part of the following topics:   Middle School School & Student Safety

Talk to Your Middle Schooler About Safety Concerns

You may let them do more without you than they did as elementary students. And as your child gains new freedoms, it’s important that she also gain a stronger awareness about her safety.

Your child will be safest if she:

• Sticks with a friend or a group when she’s not with a trusted adult. If someone wants to harm a child, he is most likely to seek out a child who is alone.

• Listens to her own feelings. If your child feels unsafe, tell her she can call you for a ride home. If she is in a public place, tell her to find a police officer or security guard.

• Is home, or is supervised, after dark. Far more crimes happen in nighttime hours. Once evening comes, your child should be with you or in the care of an adult you trust.

• Has friends who are about her age. A middle schooler who spends a lot of time with high school students may find herself in situations she is not mature enough to handle.

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