What can you do to increase your children's safety?

http://www.spvm.qc.ca/en/service/1_4_2_5_Enlevement-conseils.asp

Make sure your children know their address and phone number.

• Your children should know their full name, address and phone number.

Make sure your children can reach you by phone at all times.

Never leave your children alone (in the car, in the house or anywhere else), even for a few seconds.

• Make sure that your children always go from place to place with a friend, a family member or a trusted adult.

Always know where your children are and who they are with.

• Get to know your children's friends and their parents.

Do not mark your children's names visibly on their possessions.

Always let your children know who will be picking them up from school or daycare.

• Choose a password to use if you send another adult to pick them up.
• Always check the sitter's references before allowing them to babysit your children.

Remind your children never to reveal personal information when they are surfing the Internet.

• Put the computer in a place where it is accessible to the whole family.

Remind your children of the safety rules every time they go out (for example, to daycare or to the mall).

• Always keep your children in sight in public places.
• Help your children identify safe places to turn to for help.

• Make sure your children know the following motor vehicle safety rules:

• Never get into a car with a stranger, for any reason.
• Never get close to the car when someone stops to ask for directions.
• Never get into a car with someone you know without telling your parents first.
• Scream and run if a stranger tries to drag you into a car. Then memorize and write down the license plate and report the incident to your parents, a teacher or a police officer.
• If a friend gets into a stranger's car, write down the license plate and call their parents, a teacher or 9-1-1 immediately.

Tell your children that if they need help, they should tell the first person of authority they see (police officer, crossing guard, school staff member, letter carrier, taxi driver).

• They can also go into a business (a cornerstore, for example) and tell the cashier.
• They can go to a neighbour or friend's house.
• They can go to a house with a Parents-Secours.

Information

For further information, please consult the website of our partner, the Missing Children's Network.

CHILD ID BOOKLET

The ID booklet is designed to help parents and police in case the child is unexpectedly late or goes missing. The booklet includes all of the necessary information to help find a lost child, such as:

• The child's photo;
• Fingerprints or footprints;
• Physical description;
• Health problems (allergies, chronic illnesses, medication).

Provincial identification day

Every year the Missing Children's Network holds a provincial identification day in October, in collaboration with McDonald's restaurants and all of the Quebec police services.

Updates

The ID booklets of children aged 2 and under must be updated twice a year, and those of children aged 2 to 12 must be updated once a year.

Information

For more information on how to obtain a child ID booklet, please contact the community relations officer at your neighbourhood police station or the Missing Children's Network.