Teaching Children What To Do if They are Lost

A Parent’s Nightmare-

You’re Child is Gone!

Teaching Children What To Do if They Are Lost 

Designed by Sensei Dan Rominski, 

TheDOJO in Rutherford 

The Intelligent Curriculum of Our Martial Arts Education

TheDOJO’s Basic Conversation Guide for Parents & Children

Dear Parents, 

Are you confident your child knows exactly what to do if they become lost or separated from you?  At the beach?  A town event?  An amusement Park?  Hotel?  While on vacation or traveling? In a large crowd?  While out shopping?  At TheDOJO our Martial Arts Education of Intelligent Curriculum includes teaching children what to do if they are lost.  This is practical self-defense for children in today’s world as taught regularly by Sensei Dan Rominski Chief Instructor at TheDOJO.  

“As a parent what I like best about my child attending lessons at TheDOJO with Sensei Dan are the life lessons he teaches.” 

-Jessica S. Parent of a 5 year old daughter

Here are 3 simple idea’s for parents to teach children:

1. Don’t Wonder Off

The best thing is for children to not get lost in the first place.  Children are impulsive.  Teaching them about self-control, patience, discipline/following directions all starts at an early age.  Then remind them before venturing out of the house how & why to stay nearby so as not to get separated.  Sometimes children get lost because they simply wander off after being told to wait or to stay near by.    

Delayed Gratification teaches children about patience and self-control and parents can teach this in a number of ways.  We started with introducing self-control to our children (twins) early on are through old fashioned table manners.  Basically once food is placed in front of the children or on the table they exercise some self-control. Our children have been taught to wait until everyone is seated & ready to eat before they touch or even taste their food.  If children want a new toy, have them earn it by doing some chores.  Our children earn poker chips during the week based on behavior, self-discipline, respect, self-control and responsibility.  They earn privileges such as watching their favorite show or a new toy by turning in the poker chips they earned.  This is the concept of dinner before desert.  Self-Control is like a muscle the more it is exercised the stronger it gets.  Having children experience delayed gratification is difficult to teach in the short term yet is extremely beneficial in the long term.  However hard, parents must be consistent and their is no better way than to teach self-control than parents leading by example.  

Another great way for parents to teach children about listening & following directions are playing games such as red light green light.  After they get the idea of the game “practice” through calling out to go & stop while playing.  Make it fun!  It’s also a “teachable moment” which will come in handy when needed, such as calling out “stop” to a child chasing a ball rolling into the street. The other day while our children were running around & playing we practiced calling out STOP!  Then GO!  This taught them that while playing in an excited state of mind they were able to shift mindset quickly & listen instantly.   

Children Protect themselves with their knowledge.  Self-defense is about learning what to do before it is ever needed which can help prevent something dangerous to happen in the first place.  These types of “teachable moments” offer parents the tools they need to keep their children safe.  

Lastly, simply discuss with children about what wondering off is & why it’s important to stay near parents when told to do so.  At TheDOJO our martial arts program teaches children self-control on a weekly basis.  It takes a village to raise a child, we are part of that village to help parents. 

2. Stay Calm & Stay Put

Once children become separated from parents panic may ensue from both parents & children.  Teach children to “Stay calm & stay put”.  Teach them to stay in an area with lot’s of people but near where they saw their parents last.  Also let them know it’s ok to stay put but in a safe place to move out of harms way such as traffic.  If separated briefly, parents will know where to look to find the child.  Also make sure the child knows their parents first name & to call it out loudly rather than just shouting “mom or dad”.  Parents can also establish a meeting place that’s easy to spot for children to go to if they become separated.   Meeting places could be a check out counter or cash register, the DJ stand or announcer/band stand or stage, a security or first aid booth, or a life guard station.  

3. Ask for Help

Teach children how to ask for help & who they should ask for help from.  Obviously teach children to ask for help from a Police Officer, Fireman or Paramedic.  However teaching them to ask for help by a person in a uniform may be the next best thing.  Upon arriving at a destination such as a shopping center, the beach, a carnival or amusement park or town event point out to the child who they would go to for help.  Have them take note of what color & types of uniforms, badges or name tags the Employees, Life Guards, Cashiers, Security Guards are wearing.  Point out places they would go and ask for help at such as the check out counter or cash register, the DJ stand or announcer/band stand, a security or first aid booth, or a life guard station.  It’s also a good idea to point out to children where emergency exits are such as movie theaters or shopping centers just in case a fire or some other emergency.

If these meeting places are not near by then teach children to ask for help from a “mom with children” or a “dad with children”.  Teach them it is ok to ask for help from more then one person as the more attention they can draw to themselves from different people the better.  Children should have memorized their full name, parent’s full name, cell phone numbers of both parents & address.   Teach children that in self-defense there are no rules.  Give an example such as if they become separated from you in a place like a library it’s OK for them to loudly call out your name.   

Here are a list of other ideas for parents:

• Remember what the children are wearing before they leave home so you can quickly give a description for them to be found.  Or take a picture of the children before leaving home.  Also parents stay alert. Distractions such as cell phones, texting & internet surfing can create an opportunity for something dangerous to happen.
• Do your children know to a make a phone call from a cell phone, landline or pay phone?  Teach them how to call 911, how to stay on the line so the call can be traced and to tell the operator what the emergency is.  Also 911 calls are free from a pay phone.
• Write your cell number in your child’s shoe.  Teach them to show it to a grown up if they become separated from you.
• Read safety books to your child that are reassuring, such as The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers ($4; amazon.com). 
• Check out the National Crime Prevention Council web site, www.ncpc.org  Search on their sites “Strangers”, this helps clarify how you can teach children, as they grow, about identifying safe strangers and recognizing dangerous situations.
• Obtain Child Identification Kits offered through local Police Departments & other community organizations.  

For more information about how we teach safety to children please visit our website www.TheDOJO.org

Parents, as a martial arts educator my mission is to teach every child in our community a FREE MONTH of self-defense.  Call me Today to try it FREE.  See why so many other parents have asked us to help them develop confidence, focus, respect, self-control, self-discipline, fitness, and self-defense in their children.  Parents like best that we Unleash Human Potential, give your child that opportunity.

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From,

Sensei Dan Rominski

TheDOJO

 TheDOJO

  52 Park Ave. Rutherford, NJ 07070 USA

(201) 933-3050  www.TheDOJO.org

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