Personal Safety
The topic for these Counselor lessons is personal safety. We will be discussing a variety of situations where students need to understand how to apply personal safety skills.
The goals of the lesson are:
Students will be able to:
•Understand the difference between good/comfortable touch and bad/uncomfortable touch
•Realize they have a right to privacy
•Feel comfortable saying “no” in uncomfortable or unsafe situations
•Understand the importance of not keeping secrets from their parents
•Know how to effectively seek assistance from an adult
•Understand what to do if an adult tries to trick or threaten them
•Identify adults who they trust and who can help
A special thank you to Sandy Griego who volunteered her time a few years ago to join me during all my lessons to help teach the students ways to keep themselves safe in dangerous situations. I learned a lot from her and am excited to share what I learned with the students again this year.
The main focus of our personal safety strategies we discuss include being hard to hold and creating a commotion. I will also go over what to do after escape and will also talk about how to be helpful when they are with an adult so the adult can keep them safe (ie. not playing around in the parking lot / getting in the car quick and helping carry things so the adult can maneuver quick). Below are some key points. Please let me know if you have any questions about any of them:
The students learn to say "no" in a big voice, get away to a safe place, and tell a grown-up who can help.
The above is taught to all grade levels. See below for additional resources used for specific grade levels.
The goals of the lesson are:
Students will be able to:
•Understand the difference between good/comfortable touch and bad/uncomfortable touch
•Realize they have a right to privacy
•Feel comfortable saying “no” in uncomfortable or unsafe situations
•Understand the importance of not keeping secrets from their parents
•Know how to effectively seek assistance from an adult
•Understand what to do if an adult tries to trick or threaten them
•Identify adults who they trust and who can help
A special thank you to Sandy Griego who volunteered her time a few years ago to join me during all my lessons to help teach the students ways to keep themselves safe in dangerous situations. I learned a lot from her and am excited to share what I learned with the students again this year.
The main focus of our personal safety strategies we discuss include being hard to hold and creating a commotion. I will also go over what to do after escape and will also talk about how to be helpful when they are with an adult so the adult can keep them safe (ie. not playing around in the parking lot / getting in the car quick and helping carry things so the adult can maneuver quick). Below are some key points. Please let me know if you have any questions about any of them:
- Be aware of your surrounding at all times - not all strangers are bad, but we don't know which ones are safe and unsafe, so we have to be careful no matter what
- If anything doesn't seem quite right or if you notice someone who doesn't belong there, then be sure to tell a trusted adult right away
- If you are being followed by someone and it seems like they are trying to get you, you should throw anything you have at them. Great examples are: a water bottle (either throw it, hit them with it, or open it and throw water in their face), keep money(change) in your pocket (you can throw that at their face and they will be distracted while you run away), if you have a ball (throw a ball at their feet so they trip)
- How to appropriately make a fist (fold your four fingers down and cover your thumb on top, don't tuck your thumb under the fingers)
- If you feel like you are being followed by someone in a "big" (assertive) voice yell: "Get Back", step forward, and show your fists
- If the "get back" doesn't work and someone tries to grab from the front then "beat the drum" - keep your hands in fists and keep moving them back and forth as if you are playing a drum. If the person tries to pick you up, keep beating the drum and if you can beat their face, especially on the nose because it is very sensitive.
- If someone tries to grab from behind do the "explosion" - stick your rear out and move your arms up and out away from your body. You can also try to step on their foot.
- If someone tries to choke you, put your arms up in a touchdown looking position and forcefully turn your upper body to the side, your arms will then hit their arms and they won't be able to have their arms around your neck anymore.
- If someone tries to pull your hair, put your hands on theirs to anchor it down and then twist your body around, forcing them to twist their arm backward.
- All of these above are examples of what to do at first and then you should immediately run away as fast as you can to nearest safe adult. Run to a place where you know there are a lot of people. While you are running, scream words loudly. Don't just scream (because sometimes we don't know the difference between a typical child "I am having fun" scream versus an "I need help" scream, so we have to say the words like: "I need help!" "I don't know this persons" "Call the police." "He/She is trying to get me."
- Never, ever go with someone you don't know no matter what! Even if the person threatens to hurt you or your family. We talk about how we can help kids who are hurt (even with a gun or knife - we can take you to the hospital to get better), we can't help you if you get a car with someone and we don't know where you are. Even if the person looks friendly and the situation they tell you about seems real, NEVER go with them. If you think it is a safe situation, then tell your parent and they will help you decide.
- We give permission to the students to do whatever they need to do to get away from a dangerous situation, it is okay to bite, kick, punch, whatever to get away!
The students learn to say "no" in a big voice, get away to a safe place, and tell a grown-up who can help.
The above is taught to all grade levels. See below for additional resources used for specific grade levels.