Teen & Tween Safety (11-18)

Home Safety

  • Change the batteries in your fire alarm yearly.
  • Keep all guns locked away, unloaded, and with ammunition stored separately.

Drug & Alcohol Safety

  • Teach your child to NOT smoke, vape, use tobacco, drink alcohol, or use drugs – they’re bad for their brain and their lungs.
  • Set a good example – model the behavior you want your child to have.
    • DO NOT smoke or let anyone smoke around your child. Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk of heart and lung disease.
    • DO NOT drink to excess or use alcohol inappropriately around your child.
  • Encourage your child to avoid situations where alcohol is readily available.
  • Teach your child to NEVER drink while driving, swimming, boating, or riding a bike or motorcycle.

Sports Safety

  • Ensure your child always wears protective gear when playing team sports including a mouthguard for contact sports.
  • Remind your child to drink plenty of water to prevent heat-related illnesses.
  • Learn to recognize the signs of a concussion.

Vehicle and Driving Safety

  • DO NOT let your child sit in the front seat until they are at least 13 years old.
  • Use a booster seat if your child is still under 4'9.
  • Remind your child to always wear a seatbelt in a vehicle and a helmet when riding a bike, motorcycle, or ATV.
  • Teach your teen to NEVER drive after using drugs or alcohol and to NEVER ride with someone who has been using drugs or alcohol.
  • Limit the time your teen drives at night or drives with other teen passengers.
  • Tell your teen to call someone to pick them up if they feel unsafe driving or riding with someone else.

Personal Safety

  • Tell your child that it is NEVER ok for someone to touch their private areas without their consent. Teach them that if they are ever in that situation, to say “no” and tell a trusted adult. Saying no is always ok.
  • Remind your child that they can always call you if they feel unsafe in someone else's home.
  • Teach your child to avoid risky situations and violent people.
  • Teach them to leave a relationship when they see signs of violence.

Sex Safety

  • Teach your teen to protect themselves and their partners from STDs and pregnancy by using condoms and birth control correctly every time if/when they are sexually active.
  • Remind your teen that abstaining from sex is the best way to prevent pregnancy and STDs and that STDs can still be spread through oral or anal sex.

Other Safety Tips

Look over the safety tips on these pages: