Worried Much? Tips to Help Keep Your Kids Safe

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has issued some tips for keeping children safe in October, National Crime Prevention Month.

Noting that no neighborhood is immune to crime, suggestions were offered
for making the neighborhood as safe as possible.

• Know where your children are and have them ask permission before leaving the house. If possible, have them leave a phone number where they will be;
• Help children learn important phone numbers and have them recite these numbers, including your work and cellphone numbers;
• Set limits on where your children can go. Keep them from crossing busy streets or playing in alleys or abandoned buildings;
• Get to know your children's friends;
• Chose a neighbor's house where your children can go in an emergency and point out places like stores, libraries and police stations where they can go for help;
• Teach children to settle arguments with words, not fists;
• Work with neighbors, watching out for suspicious or unusual behaviors;
• Get involved in Neighborhood Crime Watch Groups or re-activate old ones; and
• Learn who your neighbors are and how to work with them.

- City News Service