IT HAPPENED AGAIN! In another shocking incident, a six-year girl of a school run by a trust in Malviya Nagar on 4th October. The class 1 student had gone to the washroom and there was no female attendant and the male attendant went after the girl. Gone are the days when schools were considered to be the second home of children. In the light of recent incidents of sexual abuse and murder of small children in the Capital city of Delhi, more and more parents are getting worried about the safety of their wards in school. As a parent of a 5-year-old daughter, it gives me chills when I remember 8-year-old Pradyuman from Ryan International School, Gurgaon and the 5-year-old girl of Tagore Public School, Shahdara who was raped in an empty classroom. Last year, 6-year-old Devansh Kakora fell into a water tank and died at the Vasant Kunj branch of Ryan International School. It is so shocking to think that our children might not be safe in the school in which we got them admitted to, with great difficulty! Each minute that my child spends away from me – in the school, in the bus, is becoming difficult to pass. I’m sure there are so many other parents who share the same fears as me. It is even more disturbing to know that many times kids suffer from sexual assault for a prolonged period of time and are unable to express their problem due to fear or lack of information.  The school premises are not as safe as they ought to be for kids. Just a month back, Arman Sehgal, a class VI student of G.D. Goenka International School, Indirapuram, lost his life after slipping on the wet floor. In another shocking incident, the senior students of Pathways School, Noida slapped a fellow student in the washroom so hard that his hearing has impacted. And to make it worse, the incident was recorded by another student on his smartphone! Sending your kids to school is inevitable since children learn so much at school. At the same time, it is the joint responsibility of the parents as well as school authorities to ensure their safety. Here are a few measures that parents can take to make sure their child is safe:

• • Tell your child about his Private Parts - Just as you teach your child to look on both sides while crossing the street, parents must make their child aware of his/her body and that some body parts are private.

• Teach your child to say NO - Children should be taught that nobody is allowed to touch their private parts and they should say ‘NO’ and raise alarm if anyone touches them inappropriately.

• • No Fondling - It has often been observed that as children grow, they tend to fondle their private parts and they do it anywhere, anytime. Parents need to educate kids to refrain from doing so at anywhere.
  • No Talking to Strangers - Children should be taught not to interact with strangers and not accept any sweets, chocolates, gifts or favors from them.

• The abuser may not be a stranger - Also, children should be taught that violation of their body boundaries is not acceptable from anyone, be it strangers or family members and come what may, they should not allow it to take place and inform their parents without any fear. Many times, a child gets abused by people known to him/her – family members, neighbors etc and so children must be informed that any secret games involving private parts is incorrect and should be reported immediately.

• Be your child's best friend -  Parents should encourage their child to confide in them and tell them anything they want to. Having a good rapport with kids can prevent a tragedy from taking place. Every year, so many incidents go unreported since children are afraid of being judged or scolded by parents!

• Never leave your child alone at home - Do not ever leave a small child alone at home or send him out to far off places alone. Take care of your child in public places where people tend to take advantage of the crowd.
• Listen to your child - Please listen to your children if they say something. Many such incidents can be prevented from taking place if parents take their child seriously!

• Form a Parent Body - Parents can come together and form a Parent Body that meets every month and reports all the problems faced by students and parents to the school authorities.

What can schools do to ensure child safety?

• • No interaction with outside vendors - School guards should prevent children from going outside the school premises and buy chips, ice creams etc. from outside vendors.
  • Drop your child in the school - The school authorities and parents jointly need to ensure that each child gets dropped off inside the school premises. Many antisocial elements keep lurking around the school gates and are waiting for an opportunity to get hold of small kids.
  • ‘Buddy Concept’ - No child should be allowed to visit the washroom alone. He/she should always be accompanied by another child. No child should be made to visit the school bank to deposit the fee or for any other task. Parents should do it themselves.
  • Female helper in buses and toilets - All school buses and washrooms must have a female helper. No male attendants to handle small kids.
  • Mandatory Police Verification - All staff members, including helpers and teachers, should be verified by the police before being employed by the school. After all, these are the people, our kids spend a lot of time with!
  • Cleaning with care - Cleaning of school premises to be done with extra care and if the floor is slippery, they should put a sign saying – SLIPPERY FLOOR, so that children do not slip.
  • No empty spaces - No room, area in the school should be empty and if it is so, either child should be stopped from going there or there should be more vigilance in such areas.
  • Caregiver for early arriver - Many kids reach school earlier than others and there is nobody to supervise them in the class. There must be some provision for the safety of these kids. 
  • Separate toilets for boys and girls and cleaning staff - There should be separate washrooms for students, cleaning staff and peons of the school.

• No mobiles for cleaning staff - Cleaning staff and helpers should not be allowed to carry mobile phones in the school as these can be misused.
• CCTV - There should be CCTV cameras in all classrooms and corridors and they need to be checked periodically to make sure that they are working properly. Also, there needs to be a person who monitors the CCTV live footage all the time. After all, there is no point looking at it after the damage is done!
• Attendance in every class - Apart from taking attendance in the morning, teachers should take attendance in every class to make sure that all the students are present.
•  I-cards to parents - I-cards should be issued to all parents and caregivers who come to pick up the child from the school and bus stop and a person carrying the ID card should only be allowed to take the child home.
• RFID - All school buses must have a RFID – Radio Frequency Identification system in which information is sent to parents as soon as the child boards the bus. In fact, Delhi Public School, Noida has issued RFID cards to all their students in order to ensure their safety.
• Inform about stay backs - In case, your child is staying back in the school for any practice, rehearsal etc, the class teacher and supervisor need to be informed beforehand.
• Responsibility for School Trips - If your child is going for a school trip, make sure there are enough responsible adults going with the team. Also, many schools make you sign a paper that says that you will be responsible for your child. Better not send your child for such a trip. If we cannot trust them with our child's precious life and well-being, what's the point of taking them for a trip? We can very well do it ourselves!

Image Source: ECA-India Hope the above measures help us keep our kids safe and prevent such incidents from taking place in the future! Want to share your mommy experience with other moms through words or images? Become a part of the Moms United community. Click here and we will get in touch with you Image Source: Google