Home alone is not always fun for kids

Dubai - Khaleej Times spoke to some parents, schools and authorities on how to ensure children's safety during the holidays

School summer vacation has started. It's days of fun and frolic for students but there's anxiety and uneasiness in store for all working parents. From now on, working parents have to depend on day-care centres, friends, relatives and in some cases leave their children home alone.
Khaleej Times spoke to some parents, schools and authorities on how to ensure children's safety during the holidays.
Pakistani parents Tariq Mohammed and wife rely on summer camps and housemaid during the long holidays.
"We are both working and have two children but they get bored staying at home alone during the vacation. We take them to different summer camps in Abu Dhabi and they enjoy with other children."
Mohammed said although his 14-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son are grown-ups but he can't risk leaving them home alone.
"It's not right to leave kids alone at home. We leave them with a housemaid," said the 49-year-old expat living in Mohammed Bin Zayed city.
On stranger danger, Mohammed said he told children not to speak or move out with strangers.
"I also tell them not to chat with old people or people they don't know on social media," he said pointing out the dos and don'ts for his children.
Egyptian working parents Ahmed Hassan and wife are depending on a part-time housemaid during summer break.
"We have two boys aged six and eight. We don't have a permanent housemaid as we always drop and pick up kids from school," said Hassan. "But during the summer holidays, we always hire a part-time housemaid who stays with us for three months. We can't leave our boys home alone because it's risky."
The 35-year-old accountant said besides children tampering with electronic equipment or playing at windows or balconies which can result into them falling, children left home alone can easily move out of the house to go out and play.
"There the kids can meet 'bad' people, who could lure them into following them and end up being abused or assaulted," said Hassan.
Meanwhile, schools in the Capital are doing their bit to allay parents' fears and concerns.
Islamia English School Abu Dhabi vice-principal Salman Khan said teaching students about their safety and security at home is part of their syllabus.
"We have subjects where teachers educate children about their safety at home and not to move out with strangers," Khan said. "We emphasise on the need to inform their parents or teachers if they have any personal problems or they face any form of bullying or abuse."
Khan said the teachers always speak to children about their safety and security and also show them videos about child safety at home, school and in public places.
"Sometimes, we invite experts who give safety tips and also teach students how they can detect bad people who can cause them harm," said Khan.
Parents are also invited to attend workshops at school on child safety and protection.
"We also send circulars to parents and warn them about the dangers of leaving children alone at home, especially during the summer holidays. If we hear about any parents leaving their children alone at home, we contact them or speak to the community police to warn those parents because we know this is very dangerous," said Khan.
St Joseph's School student counselor Prajitha Naiju said teachers and parents have equal responsibility to prepare a child to face any real-life situations.
"Children should be made to understand how to distinguish between good and bad touch. They should realise that bad touch can happen even from close relatives or sometimes siblings. Parents can talk to their child about these things from an early age. Then they won't feel shy to discuss such matters with the parents in future," Prajitha said.
She pointed out that children should be told how to deal in a situation than become frightened.
"If parents find the child unwilling to go for extracurricular classes, relatives' houses or tuitions, find the reason behind it. If they show unusual mood swings, sit and talk with them. Be very calm and talk to them without panicking if they complain about any bad experiences they had. Make them realise that it is not their fault and do the necessary steps to deal with it. Make some family time every day to discuss about any topics with all the family members," Prajitha elaborates as things each parent should know.
She further added: "Children should be told to scream or to say 'no' in dangerous situations. Tell them in case of any stranger danger whom they should run to - security, staff or police, be it in malls, flats or shops. Give a strong message that their body is their personal property and no one is allowed to touch it without their permission. This awareness is being given in most schools."
The counselor noted the school shows videos on child safety and discuss issues afterwards. She also pointed how self-defence training is important today.
"Giving our students training in martial arts not only helps them to become strong but also gives them confidence to deal with dangerous situations."
She added students should remember at least one of the parents' phone numbers. "Children should be told not to talk to any strangers or to accept anything from them. Parents should try their best to never to leave their child alone at home. In case of working parents, always make sure that the child is back home safely from the bus stop," she added.
Be it parents, teachers or counselors all realise the danger of leaving children alone at home. They stress on openness in parent-children relationship and on awareness about steps to be taken during dangerous situations. The domineering message is: 'don't leave kids home alone'.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com
 
'Don't make maid a substitute for parents'
Ismail Sebugwaawo
abu dhabi - Parents should stop leaving kids to housemaids all the time without monitoring them and also should find ways to keep children engaged during summer vacation, Abu Dhabi Judicial Department officials said.
"It's important for parents to monitor children all the time - be it at home or when they move outside - to ensure their safety and security. Parents should know who their children's friends are and other persons they deal with," Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) general counsel for family and children Amer Al Amiri said.
Al Amiri noted that the Children's Rights Act provides for basic rights to children including good health, safety and security and proper guidance.
"The law also prohibits abusing or mistreating children and exposing the child's mental, psychological, physical or moral well-being to danger," said Al Amiri, adding parents reported for mistreating children are always prosecuted.
Dr Salah Khamis Al Junaibi, director of corporate communication and international cooperation department at the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, said parents should not make children redundant during the summer holidays.
"Many children are found to be idle during the summer holiday which is not good. Parents should make them busy by doing activities like yoga, swimming, horse riding or go for summer camps to avoid the redundancy," he said.
Al Junaibi noted that children, especially teens, lacking ideas on what to do during holidays can end up joining bad peer groups, which pose threat to their safety and security.
Al Junaibi said the department always sends out awareness messages to parents on the need to protect and safeguard their children, and not leave them home alone.
He said the department also uses short educational films on their social media sites and television to educate children about their security and safety, stranger danger, bad groups and bad habits and misuse of social media.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com
 
Do you know what your child is watching?
Ashwani Kumar
abu dhabi - Hot and humid summer vacation means children spend most of the time indoors. In the digital age, it means spending hours with smartphones and laptops, and mostly without any parental monitoring or guidance. Doctors and association heads said mobile device addiction is a dangerous sign.
D Santosh Gurmukhdas Kumar, specialist in psychiatry at Universal Hospital, advocated smart use of the Internet.
The doctor highlighted the ill-effects of social media. He said that children being Internet-savvy is good but it is also dangerous.
"The mind of children is formed by what they see or read on the various websites. Parents need to have control on what their children are seeing and reading on the Internet. Children need to be exposed to the right content," Kumar said.
He noted counselling sessions with both parents and children help to create awareness about the dangers one could face in today's society.
The doctor laid the onus on openness in the child-parent relationship.
"It is always difficult for a child to judge strangers. If they fell into a trap and have a bad experience, then they need to have the confidence to frankly talk about the incident with their parents. A child should have the confidence to confide in a father or mother when they face an issue. They shouldn't be afraid of speaking out," Kumar added.
When it comes to spreading word of caution, Indian Ladies Association has frequently held workshops to create awareness among housewives, working moms and children.
Sunita Wagle, president of the only registered women's association in Abu Dhabi, said social media has its bane and boon, and it is imperative that both parents and kids are made aware of the dangerous trends.
"We conduct workshops where children and parents are trained to tackle such situations. Recently, we had a cyber awareness workshop, which focused on cybercrimes. There are many social media trends that children follow without understanding the hidden dangers," Sunita said.
"We do not prepare our kids for any difficult situations. We always think such situations may not befall on our children. We should inform them of the physical abuse and different forms of dangers in society and equip them with training to tackle such situations."
She pointed out social media forums like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are very popular among children, where sharing of intimate information or photos are a rage, and all this isn't a heathy trend.
"We find children casually using mobile phones, tablets, laptops and other gadgets from a very young age. They don't know about the crimes and dangers involved, and neither do their parents have awareness to monitor their children. We had conducted a workshop in association with Emirates Safer Internet Society (E-Safe) and Community Police to alert the parents about the dangers involved. The session also helped prepare children tackle a particular situation," Sunita said.
She noted the association has planned many awareness programmes in the near future.
St Joseph's School student counselor Prajitha Naiju said it is not just children and parents but everyone needs to be careful these days as social media is influencing people both in positive and negative way.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com
 
SAFETY TIPS

• Don't leave children alone at home
• Ask your children not to speak or move out with strangers
• Ensure that children don't tamper with electrical equipment or play near the windows or balcony
• Spend time with your kids and be friendly to them
• Talk to them about good touch and bad touch
• Children should be told to scream or to say 'no' in dangerous situations
• Find safer ways to keep the children engaged during vacation
• Make sure that your children remember the necessary phone numbers, especially of parents
• Monitor your kids' cyber activities
• Let children be aware of the dangers of social media