I can't sleep because I'm worried about my child's answeringApril 4 at 10:16

"What if I get involved in a crime..." "
What if an earthquake occurs when my child is alone?"

The new school year has finally begun. It is the season of enrollment and going on to higher education, but some of you may have had to leave your child alone from this spring.

What should I be careful about when my child's "answering debut"?

(Network News Department Reporter: Chiu Hirooka, Akiko Shimizu)

I couldn't leave it in after-school care

"I can't sleep when I think about my life tomorrow, so I leave my daughter at home for a day and go to work. I wonder if it's okay,"

April 4. A mother in her 2s in Fukuoka Prefecture expressed her anxiety on social media.
My eldest daughter, who is now in the fourth grade of elementary school, has to start leaving the house by herself.

Until March, we used after-school daycare for elementary school students from dual-income families.

However, this year, many families wanted to provide after-school care for their new students, so they had to leave the upper grades.

What I am worried about is the crime prevention aspect. Every time he sees news of an incident targeting a child who is away, his anxiety grows.

Mother
: "We live in a detached house, and a child enters the house by himself, taking the key out of his school bag, opening it, and who is watching it. I'm very worried."

On the first day of his absence, he didn't feel comfortable even when he was working, and he exchanged messages with his eldest daughter many times to see if anything had changed.

Her husband and mother, who lives at home, were also worried and sent emails.

Mother
: "If you are in school, you can have an adult close to you and take care of you, and you can contact your parents immediately, but you can't do that when you're away alone. When it comes to answering, I don't know what to do, and I'm just worried."

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, as of May last year, about 5,1 elementary school students were unable to use after-school care. Although the number of children on waiting lists had decreased due to the progress of telecommuting due to the Corona disaster, the number of children on waiting lists increased by more than 5000,1700 from the previous year and started to increase again.

It seems that the number of children who have been forced to leave alone is increasing.

Be careful while leaving school

What should I be careful about when my child is away from home?
We asked Professor Nobuo Komiya of Rissho University, who specializes in criminology.

◆ Look back when unlocking

the houseWhen the child comes home, there is a risk that a suspicious person will break into the house with him. In some cases, he would stand behind a child with no sign of it, and as soon as he opened the lock, he would push his back and enter the house with him. Once you enter the house, it will be difficult to hear even if you say "help". When unlocking, it is important to look back.

In addition, it is said that it is necessary to be careful not only in front of the house, but also while leaving school.

◆ Go home
with multiple people, not alone ◆ Do not

put the key where you can see
◆ Check dangerous places on the school route with your child

It is also important for parents and children to check dangerous places on the way to school together. When checking, be aware of avoiding "places that are easy to enter" and "places that are difficult to see" and being vigilant.

"Easy to enter" = No guardrails ▽ Guardrails and guardrails are interrupted ▽ These places with

broken shrubbery and shrubbery are also at high risk of car abduction.

"Places that are difficult to see" = ▽ The wall is high and you can't see the windows ▽ Around shrines and temples ▽ Look around
the school ground
side 360 degrees and see how many windows you can see. The fact that you can see the window means that it is more visible.

When you have to go through a place that is difficult to see, it is desirable to decide on a place where you should always look back, such as when waiting for a traffic light, and get into the habit of checking it.

What should I pay attention to when I am at home?

◆ Keep

the door tight ◆ Never answer the phone or intercom

Keep your phone on the answering machine so that you can take it when you know it's your parent. Alternatively, try to communicate directly with your parents on your mobile phone.

◆When telling children who are doing

simulations, it is important to make them think "what to do?" assuming various situations. Even if the child says, "I will never leave!", "What will you do if the courier comes?" And so on. It also tells them that "adults are strong" and that there are dangers lurking in the absence of children. And he says that it is important to teach them as a set that "it will be okay if you do it this way."

I'm worried about disasters, but...

An earthquake may occur when children are at home alone.
We asked Naho Kiyonaga, who is familiar with child safety and disaster prevention measures, about the key points for preparing for disasters.

Evacuation drills don't teach you practice protecting yourself

◆Practice

hiding as soon as it shakes There is some time between the start of the shaking of the earthquake and the change to a large tremor. According to Kiyonaga, the time is about 1 to 8 seconds.

Practicing escaping to a safe place with these 8 seconds in mind will help protect your life.

"It's an earthquake!!" he said suddenly, clapping his hands, and within eight seconds to hide in a safe place. It may be a good idea if you can learn it like a game.

No matter where you are in the room, you can react immediately when an earthquake occurs. Try to create as many places as possible where you can escape.

◆ Protect

yourself in the animal pose When protecting yourself, it is said that what you should be aware of is the movement of the animal.

First, rabbits.

If you feel a tremor, bend down like a rabbit and look up. It makes it easier to detect dangers such as objects that are about to fall.

If you escape under a desk, it's time to pose as a turtle.

The point is to cover the back of the neck and the cheeky spine with your hands or notebook to protect it. If the glass breaks or something falls, and you make a loud noise, it's important to tell them not to jump out in surprise.

Find out how to contact us in case of an emergency

◆ Even if you have a mobile phone to learn how to use the disaster message dial, you may not be able to

communicate when a disaster occurs. In preparation for such a case, let's check how to use the "Disaster Message Dial".

You can try the Disaster Message Dial (171) for free on designated days such as the 1st and 15th of every month. It is also important to practice how to use public phones on a regular basis.

◆ Let's

decide the meeting place specificallyLet's decide the meeting place in advance for parents and children in case you need to evacuate.

After an earthquake, many people gather in parks and other evacuation centers. Instead of just saying "○○ Park", let's decide specifically "the tree on the left side of the entrance of ○○ Park".

Also, it is possible that you will not be able to go to the promised place due to the road being cut off by an earthquake, so it may be safe to discuss two or three meeting places while prioritizing them.

You're not alone

It can be very terrible for a child to be lonely just to be alone and have to worry about the risk of crime and disaster.

Moreover, they are still small and may not be able to express their anxieties well.

Mr. Kiyonaga himself has the experience of leaving his two children at elementary and junior high school.
He wants you to be close to your child's feelings.

Naho Kiyonaga:
"Taking a bath together, reading a book to them before going to bed, hugging them tightly, etc., the feeling that someone is always caring for them is a great support for children. When you get home, listen to more about what happens at school, communicate with them, and guess your child's feelings from casual conversations."

I hope that your child's anxiety about being away will be alleviated even a little.