Safe at Home Class
For many parents and children, the decision to let children stay home alone can be daunting. For children it can be both scary and exciting to be able to stay home alone and be responsible for yourself. On August 26th the Red Lodge Area Community Foundation held ‘Safe at Home’ classes by Safesitter for children ages 9-11. The classes are designed for children who are ready to be home alone safely.
Being home alone brings with it a lot of personal responsibility. The Safe at Home class taught children how to be safe indoors, outdoors, online and with others. The students learned how to care for themselves by eating snacks that do not require cooking, to always locking all windows and doors, not going outside without parental permission and to not answer the door when parents are away. If they do have permission to leave the house they were taught rules to always follow: tell your parents who you will be with, what you will be doing, where you will be, when you will be home and how you will get back. Students were taught how to properly identify and respond to emergency and non-emergency situations and were given a code phrase to text or to tell their parents on the phone if they feel uncomfortable by someone or a situation.
Recent ‘Safe at Home’ graduate Lily was asked what she would do if the power went out or if someone broke into the home when her mother was gone.
‘If you have a cell phone and the power goes out you should call your mom and get a flashlight. Whatever you do never light a candle or touch matches or a lighter. All kids should know if you are alone and someone breaks in call 911 then hide in a closet and be as quiet as you can until help comes. If there is any emergency and you do not feel safe call 911 or your parents right away.’ Lily
The Safesitter Babysitting and Safe at Home classes are taught by Christi Kohley, Youth Program Director at the Red Lodge Area Community Foundation. If you have questions about Safesitte classes, please contact Christi at 406-446-2820 or email: christi@rlacf.org