Moms are being celebrated on 12 May for the important role they play in society and especially in the lives of their own children. Keeping children out of harm’s way is but one of the many responsibilities of mothers, but in today’s world probably the most important.

While it is never an easy topic to contemplate, children continue to be the target of criminals for various reasons with social media often their ‘playground’ of choice.

Charnel Hattingh, Fidelity ADT’s Group Head of Marketing and Communications, urges families to keep personal safety top of mind this Mother’s Day, whether at home or out and about.

Parents should know where their children are at all times. Even if celebrating at home, keep common dangers like a swimming pool or access to household chemicals in mind for younger children.

“Moms are renowned for having superpowers, like ‘eyes in the back of their head’, which is in essence their natural instinct to sense and shield their children from harm,” says Hattingh.

“Moms are round-the-clock security surveillance for their families. Unfortunately, child predators also like to think they are super smart, using very creative ways to lure children in or the slightest opportunity to kidnap a child.”

“Yes, kidnappings are on the rise in South Africa and human trafficking is prevalent too. Sadly, the days of letting your children play outside, walk to the shops or visit friends you don’t know unsupervised are over.

“Moms have a huge responsibility when it comes to the safety of their children. One way of ensuring you can beat the bad guys is to be empowered with knowledge. This includes knowing the trends in crimes related to children and keeping up with the latest technology and terminology children use, especially online.”

Hattingh offers these basic tips for moms to help keep their children safe:

• When parking in public places with children in the vehicle, turn the car off and take the keys out. Unless your child is much older (teenage years), don’t leave your child in the car.Even if you are just running into the shop for bread, don’t do it.
• As unreal as it may seem, it has happened that a sleeping child was forgotten in a car. Newer car seats have an alarm that goes off if your child is in the seat when the vehicle is turned off.
• If you are leaving your children at home in someone else’s care to go shopping, know where they are before you start the car. The seemingly impossible is always possible to an extent. It’s not worth the risk.
• Any criminal incident is traumatic, especially for children. To prevent falling victim to a smash and grab, never leave valuables – your phone, handbag, laptop – in plain sight while driving. Ensure the doors are locked and the windows are closed.
• If you leave your children at home in the care of a babysitter or au pair, they must be as security conscious as you are all of the time and know what to do in an emergency. Make sure all remote panic buttons are working and that areas of the home that are not being used are protected through the alarm system and other home security solutions you have in place.
• Remote monitoring of your home and property while you are out keeps you informed of everything going on in real time. Consider surveillance camera installation with 24/7 security monitoring.
• Make use of community security services, like Whatsapp groups and your local security provider’s value-added services, like meet and greet and extra patrols, for added peace of mind.

“When it comes to social media, there are many ways to try to manage your child’s activity. However, many of these methods are not feasible as children will find a way around them. It is best to not step over that line in which they begin to feel you don’t trust and, therefore, become secretive and deliberately hide things from you,” Hattingh says.

“A method that could work is to actually follow them on social media and have open and honest discussions about accepting friend requests from people they don’t know, etc.”

In conclusion, Hattingh says children should know they are loved, no matter what.

“Keeping them safe and reinforcing an open relationship with your children, is an expression of this. While Mother’s Day is special, remember you are their superhero 365 days a year. Happy Mother’s Day to all our super moms!”