Preparing Your Kids for Violence at School

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It isn’t easy to imagine that the school your child attends every day could turn into a dangerous place. No parent wants to imagine willingly sending their children into harm’s way. But reality is harsh. Children face a wide variety of violence at school. The gamut runs from teasing to bullying to physical abuse and occasionally even violence perpetrated with bombs or firearms.

Just yesterday a shooting took place at a school in Kentucky. The question every time America is faced with violence at schools is, “what should be done about it?” There are myriad ways schools, police forces, and governments can better protect children, but it’s up to parents to talk to their kids about violence at school.

Your child or grandchild shouldn’t have to face any abuse or violence at school, and the first step to saving them from abuse is letting them know it’s not OK, and that, even as small as they are, they can have an impact on their own safety. Teach your child to think and act for themselves.

But how do you prepare your child for a shooter? The Department of Homeland Security recommends the Run, Hide, Fight strategy. The plan has many critics, but despite that, it’s easy for kids to remember and it’s a great place to start. The plan breaks down like this:

1. RUN
   • Have an escape route and plan in mind
   • Leave your belongings behind
   • Keep your hands visible
2. HIDE
   • Hide in an area out of the shooter’s view
   • Block entry to your hiding place and lock
     the doors
   • Silence your cell phone and/or pager
3. FIGHT
   • As a last resort and only when your life is
     in imminent danger
   • Attempt to incapacitate the shooter
   • Act with physical aggression and throw
     items at the active shooter

The same plan is also recommended for adults who could find themselves facing a shooter at the office or in a public place. Here’s an explanation video created by the city of Houston in 2012.

Despite some flaws, the Run, Hide, Fight plan is a simple way to focus kids and adults on protecting themselves in the face of violence, not just at school, but anywhere.

Most importantly, Run, Hide, Fight is a way to get a conversation started about your own situation. If the plan doesn’t work for your circumstance, at least you have established that and can work toward a plan that does. Don’t let inertia prevent you and your family from thinking about your own safety BEFORE tragedy strikes.

Originally posted at Yoursurvivalguy.com.