To help increase a child's awareness of potential danger, parents should consider these general rules:

• Make sure your child knows his/her full name, address (including state), telephone number (including area code), and how to reach the operator or make a long-distance call.
• Teach your child that a stranger is someone that he/she doesn't know, or doesn't know very well. "Bad" strangers are people who want kids to go somewhere with them or want to give them a present, like candy or a puppy, or want to take their picture. Tell your child that if he/she meets any bad strangers, he/she should tell you about them immediately.
• Some parents set a code word with their children. The children are not to go with anyone unfamiliar to them, unless they give the code word.
• Tell your child that it is unusual for adults to ask children for help or for directions and that it is best to ignore them. If a stranger calls your child to a car, he/she shouldn't go near it. If he/she is followed by an automobile or on foot, he/she should run home, to the nearest public place, or yell "Help!" Children should not run and hide in a deserted place.
• Keep a copy of your child's fingerprints and be able to locate dental records. Take photographs every year (four times annually for children under two). Take a picture of the child's profile and full face.
• Don't buy items with your child's name on them, such as t-shirts or lunch boxes. Children will respond more readily to a stranger if they are addressed by name.
• Instruct your child never to answer the door when home alone or tell anyone over the phone that he/she is home alone.
• Outline what your child should do if he/she becomes separated from you. If separated while shopping, the child should not look for you but go immediately to the nearest checkout counter and ask a clerk for assistance. Tell him/her never to go to the parking lot.
• Never leave a child unattended in a car.
• Don't leave children unattended in grocery carts or let them wander through stores alone. Parent's should be especially careful about leaving children in the toy department while they shop elsewhere.
• Be sure your child's school or day-care center will not release him/her to anyone but you or someone designated by you.
• Tell your child that no one has the right to touch him/her or make him/her feel uncomfortable or ask him/her to keep a secret from you.
• Make sure the child knows the full name of his/her parents.