Confessions from Parents Who Learnt About Child Safety in Schools the Hard Way
The single largest stretch of time when most parents worry about the safety of their children is during school hours. The recent tragic child-violation incidents in Gurugram and Ghaziabad are enough to make any parent paranoid. But, is there anything you can do for your own child’s safety? Turns out, you can do a lot. We spoke to 2 parent- couples who learnt it the hard way and came forward to share their life lessons on child safety in schools.
Note: Names and other details have been changed to protect the identity of respondents.
It was around 4 pm and the school bus was on its way. Mrs. Patil was waiting at the bus stop. While other children boarded down the bus, Mrs. Patil’s son was nowhere to be found. They dialled their son’s friends and school authorities but with no success, and ultimately resorted to the police. The bus conductor too went missing since then, and was never found. Luckily, their son was found shortly by the side of a park between the school and their house. The best guess made by the police is that the conductor probably tried to kidnap him from school and then extort money from Mr. and Mrs. Patil, but something must have gone wrong in between, and luckily, he was forced to let their son go. However, as Mr. and Mrs. Patil think back to that incident, they admit that they had overlooked a lot of critical child safety issues. “Schools deal with thousands of children, and once a child crosses the school gates, it is
impossible for them to track any child individually. I should have been more active about creating appropriate fail-safes for ensuring my son’s overall safety and well-being.” Indeed, while simple things like training the child to detect and report malicious or suspicious behaviour can go a long way in making your child’s life safer, it is not possible to
watch over your children 24×7. “Of course, the ideal thing would be to be able to watch him any time anywhere,” says Mrs. Patil. Luckily technology is at help today. GPS-enabled wearables for children, device trackers and live camera feeds in schools and buses are a few ways in which this can be achieved.
The importance of technology for child safety in schools has come to the forefront in yet another, more recent case. Mr. and Mrs. Gulati were shocked to learn that their 12-year old daughter had been admitted to the nearest hospital after she tried to take her life during school. When probed, it was found that she had attempted suicide after facing constant cyber bullying by a few of her seniors at school. “A lot of things went wrong in our daughter’s case,” Mr. Gulati sighs as he speaks with a heavy heart. “First of all, we should have noticed her changing mood during the last few days and should have discussed the problem. Secondly, why didn’t the teachers and authorities notice when she went missing from class after lunch break?”
Indeed, given that Mr. Gulati’s daughter went missing during school hours, live CCTV solutions would have brought a situation like this to immediate notice of school authorities. In fact, with so many safety issues arising within school premises, it is of utmost importance that constant monitoring and real-time tracking are enabled through live CCTV technology in schools.
Are you concerned about your child’s safety? Stay tuned to our blog to learn more about
what you can do. Have an experience to share? Drop a line at info@c-live.in – we will post your
story anonymously to help other parents learn from your experience.
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