logo
Moms Share Their Most Unusual Tricks for Keeping Kids Safe

Moms Share Their Most Unusual Tricks for Keeping Kids Safe

Yahoo12-07-2025
A mom asked TikTok for tips on keeping kids safe and the village showed up en masse.
'Some things are non-negotiable,' Paige Catherine Johnson, a mother of four, tells TODAY.com.
'Tell me something you teach your kids to help keep them safe,' Johnson wrote as text in her TikTok video. 'I'm not talking about, 'Don't talk to strangers.' Give me the good stuff. Give me something unique that sticks with them and gives you peace of mind.'
Moms divulged their tips on water safety, stranger danger, body autonomy and self-defense. Some were controversial (screaming curse words in public to fend off child abductors), others were psychological ('Adults never ask kids for help' and 'Don't be nice to people who creep you out'). There was advice on situational awareness (memorize a parent's outfit in case kids get lost in a crowd) and using code words to communicate covertly.
Tips included:
'If someone asks you to keep a secret, you tell Mommy ASAP.'
'We have a code for when they're invited somewhere and maybe don't want to go. 'Did you clean the bathroom?' 'Yes' means they want to go and 'No' means they don't want to go and I step in and be the 'Bad Guy' who won't let them go play.'
'Take a picture of them before entering any crowded event: amusement park, aquarium, fair, etc. God forbid they go missing but if they do, you have an up-to-date picture, including the exact clothes they were wearing, for authorities.'
'I tell my daughter there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that a grown man will need your help with. Never, ever.'
'We use anatomically correct names for body parts and teach our kids that they can say no to family members who want a hug/kiss.'
'If you are lost or hurt, find a mom with kids. My oldest got hurt as a 22-year-old Marine while snorkeling ... he found a mom with kids and she had a first-aid kit and gave him a snack. Moms can fix anything.'
''No' is a full sentence. You don't have to explain yourself. You can just say 'No.''
'How to use the emergency dial on a locked phone.'
'If you're ever in trouble, yell 'Mom!' even if Mom isn't around. This will get the attention of all Mamas.'
'Validate their feelings and teach them to trust their gut.'
'No second locations — you fight like hell. Whatever they do to you in public, it's going to be way worse in private.'
'All three of my daughters do Jiu-Jitsu.'
'I taught them our address in a song. We used the tune of 'Mary Had a Little Lamb.''
'I tell my kids that if they ever find anything that's ... shaped like a pill, they can bring it to me and I'll give them a piece of candy.'
'If you can't see me, I can't see you.'
'We have a phrase if they're out and need me to come and get them. They asked me if I've 'fed the gecko.' We do not have a gecko.'
One TikTok user commented, 'This thread is the village.'
Johnson tells TODAY.com that safety is always on her mind, with four children, ages 7, 4, 2, and 5 months.
Pediatrician Dr. Heather Felton weighed in on some of the most commonly given tips.
According to Felton, a pediatrician in Louisville, Kentucky, the mom in the comments is absolutely correct that children should know how to identify their anatomy using correct words.
'This way, we're all communicating clearly,' Felton tells TODAY.com. 'You can then explain which body parts are private.'
She adds, 'When I do exams, I always ask the child for permission and explain the reason for the exam.'
Many TikTok commenters recommended the 'High-Five Rule.'
One wrote, 'I saw a video where the parents make their toddler give a high-five to Mom or Dad before getting in the pool and I think that's such a smart way to make sure your toddler doesn't sneak into the pool alone.'
Felton says the routine makes parents aware before kids enter the water, adding that gated fences around backyard pools and early swim lessons are other barriers to drowning.
'Drowning doesn't look like what we're trained to believe in TV and movies,' says Felton. 'It's very quick and very quiet. People think it's splashing and calling for help but that requires your head to be above water — and that's not what drowning is. It's silent and below the surface, so it can be really difficult to detect.'
Felton recommends that caregivers download a wearable tag called 'Water Watcher Card' from the website of Safe Kids Worldwide.
'A Water Watcher is a responsible adult who agrees to watch the kids in the water without distractions and wear a Water Watcher card,' reads the website. 'After a certain amount of time (such as 15-minutes), the Water Watcher card is passed to another adult, who is responsible for the active supervision.'
Establishing a secret code word with your child cultivates trust, whether it communicates 'I don't want a playdate today' or 'Can you come pick me up?'
'It means, 'Mom, I need an out,'' explains Felton. A secret word can take the pressure off kids who aren't comfortable saying, 'No' to friends.
Felton recommends a gentler alternative to a 'curfew.'
'A 'leave time' means you don't have to be home by 10 p.m. but you do have to leave by 9:30 p.m.,' says Felton. 'That might encourage teens to not stay until the last minute and then race home.'
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Private Plane Crashes Off California Coast with 3 People on Board as Search Is Underway
Private Plane Crashes Off California Coast with 3 People on Board as Search Is Underway

Yahoo

time2 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Private Plane Crashes Off California Coast with 3 People on Board as Search Is Underway

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that it issued an alert for the Beech 95-B55 aircraft off the coast of Pacific Grove A search is underway for three people after a private plane crashed off a California coast over the weekend. On Saturday, July 26, before 10:40 p.m., a two-engine aircraft crashed in the ocean near Sunset Drive and Jewell Avenue in Pacific Grove, Calif., per Flight Radar data, initially shared by NBC affiliate KSBW. A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed in a statement to PEOPLE on Sunday that it had issued an alert notice, which it does for missing aircraft, for the Beech 95-B55 aircraft off the coast of Pacific Grove on Saturday and that three people were on board. The private plane departed from San Carlos Airport shortly after 10 p.m. local time and was headed to Monterey Regional Airport, per the Flight Radar data, which notes that the plane landed around 10:37 p.m. after 26 minutes of total travel and was last seen near Monterey. The flight, N8796R, traveled roughly 70 miles in total, according to Flight Radar. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate the crash, per the FAA, which shared that the NTSB will provide further updates. There has since been a multi-agency response to the crash, including assistance from the Monterey County Sheriff's Office, Pacific Grove Police, the Coast Guard and CAL FIRE, per KSBW. A spokesperson for the Coast Guard confirmed to the Daily Mail that a helicopter and lifeboats were deployed minutes after the crash. The sheriff's office, NTSB and U.S. Coast Guard Southwest District did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for further information on Sunday. Also citing the Coast Guard, NBC affiliate KNBC reported that the branch received a report around 11:15 p.m. local time about a crash roughly 200 to 300 feet off Point Pinos Lighthouse near the Monterey Peninsula — with multiple agencies using drones, boats and helicopters to search the area. CAL FIRE told KSBW that witnesses reported hearing an engine of an aircraft revving before a splash in the ocean, estimating that the crash site could be between 200 meters and a quarter mile offshore. According to an additional report from the outlet, debris began to wash ashore near the apparent crash site and the NTSB will be reviewing them. The area of Sunset Drive between Jewell Avenue and Pico Avenue was closed amid the response, per KSBW. Footage from the outlet shows flares being shot into the sky as first responders scope out the scene. Read the original article on People

Beloved Activities Spoiled By Thoughtless Behavior
Beloved Activities Spoiled By Thoughtless Behavior

Buzz Feed

time33 minutes ago

  • Buzz Feed

Beloved Activities Spoiled By Thoughtless Behavior

If you've ever had something ruined because of someone else's thoughtless actions, you're in the right place. Unfortunately, it seems like it happens to all of us. In one Reddit thread (which you can see here), people shared the perfectly good things that have been ruined by a small group of "idiots," and I honestly have second-hand annoyance after reading these. Ahead, I've rounded up 18 different responses – let's see if you can relate to any of these on this list: "Years ago, Long John Silver's would donate their excess food to a local shelter. One idiot tried to get rich by suing the chain, saying the donated food was tampered with, even alleging it was purposeful to kill the homeless population. The case went nowhere, but it made all the local restaurants hesitant to donate, and now none of them donate any food at all." "A few losers in the senior class before us took beer and booze on their senior trip, hiding it in shampoo containers in their luggage. They got drunk and found out, and all senior school trips were cancelled, starting with ours, the class of 1983. Thanks assholes of '82." "I went to see the Godzilla head up close on top of a hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It's been closed indefinitely because some people were climbing on it and causing too many safety issues. One eventually fell, so we could only look through a window instead. Lame. It was still pretty cool, but fuck those guys." –PresidentLink "Thrifting. It used to be a place to find reasonably priced items. Now, too many people use it as a way to flip items." "Thieves and scammers at retail stores. More and more stuff is being locked up, and you have to jump through hoops to return a broken product." "In Japan, a couple of teenage hooligans went to a Kaitenzushi chain (conveyor-belt sushi) and started licking the sushi and condiments while leaving them on the conveyor belt, all the while filming this for TikTok. Now, half of all the Kaitenzushi chains have outright stopped having the sushi on the conveyor belt to be taken." "You have to order it for it to arrive. The whole joy of Kaitenzushi is to take as it comes, so this is MASSIVELY disappointing."–Kosmonavtlar1961 "When I was growing up, the electric company would offer free lightbulbs to customers. A local business complained that he wasn't selling any bulbs as a result, so no more free bulbs for anyone." "In Sweden, one family let their young daughter play freely in a graveyard, including climbing very old headstones, one of which fell and killed her. This resulted in the government starting a project to secure all gravestones nationwide. All registered graveowners had to pay for this. Cost me 3000 Euro." "Going unsupervised to amusement parks as a kid or a teenager. Here in Southern California, Knotts used to allow teenagers and kids to come and hang out as they pleased." "Because of TikTok and a handful of idiot teenagers starting fights and mass panic over a non-existent mass shooter (Literally, kids were yelling that there was an armed shooter as a 'joke'). So now, if you're under 15, you have to have a chaperone looking after you. Honestly, feel bad for the kids who were fine and now can't just hang with friends and ride roller coasters. If my nephew or nieces want to go, I or another family member have to agree to chaperone them. Idk, I just think that sucks."–brokenbeardman "Every single fandom subreddit eventually gets taken over by a small contingent of toxic fans/trolls driving out anyone wanting to have a normal discussion, just by attrition alone. Video game, movie, show, book – it doesn't matter, eventually it turns into this hate echo chamber over the smallest bs, and people have to create separate subreddits just to share normal opinions that aren't regurgitated hate." "Collecting as a hobby. I want to collect Pokémon cards because I like the art and love collecting cards of my favorites. Scalpers completely ruined that." "Vending machines in schools. They used to be in the common areas, end of a hallway, strategically placed outside near eating areas, obviously the cafeteria. They weren't all super junky food; there were some nice bagged salads and healthier drinks than sodas. Our school specifically had ginger tea, honey lemon iced tea, and hibiscus tea." "Some kid in our school decided to blow over $500 on just the sodas one week. His parents complained about how easy it was for the children to rot their teeth with the vending machines. Our school had them all removed, doubly incentivized by the fact that a school nutrition policy change would be active soon. They were gone by the end of the following week."–PhantomIridescence "Bad dog owners. The ones who don't clean up after their dogs. The ones who let their dogs destroy rental properties. The ones that let their dogs bark. The ones that don't train them. Dogs get banned from so many places because of bad dog owners and when people like me, who pick up after their dogs, train them, control them, can't take their dogs to certain parks, or when I was young had trouble finding places to rent because of people who didn't train their dogs." "The Bells Manor in Newport, RI. One of the largest and oldest abandoned mansions in the U.S, it was part of Brenton Point State Park. Three teenagers decided to hop the fence and go exploring on the roof, and to everyone's shock, the roof collapsed and the kids got injured. One of their fathers, presumably named Lucius Malfoy, decided to try to sue the state. So rather than go through that, the state tore down the building entirely." "A lot of archeological tourism sites like the Egyptian pyramids and Machu Picchu. People kept taking pieces as mementos. Now they won't even let you get close to a lot of these." –Makesyoudownvote "The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie sequels. The first movie was incredible, but too many parents complained about the movie being too dark and violent for kids (it isn't), so we got two progressively terrible, slapstick, nonsensical sequels, and no TMNT movie since has ever come close to matching the first one." "The LL Bean slipper exchange policy. I had one pair for ten years, and they finally ripped. I went to exchange them, and they said they don't do that anymore because of the abuse of it." And finally, "The lazy jerks who couldn't stay productive when working from home. They've basically ruined the only positive thing that came out of the pandemic." What else belongs on this list? Let me know in the comments!

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store