At some point in time, children will have their first taste of independence when they travel alone. For a child, travelling alone is inevitable; be it by plane, train or taxi. Elizabeth Beggs, a child psychologist at the kidsFIRST Medical Centre, said: “Allowing a child to travel alone depends on the maturity of the child. You have to be sure that your child feels confident enough to manage on their own.” Here are some of her tips to ensure children’s safety when travelling alone:
1. Make sure that there is someone to meet you on the other side of your journey and maintain daily contact.
2. Discuss appropriate behaviour before the trip, for instance:
• Carrying extra money in case you need to take an extra taxi or Metro ride, because you missed your stop or underestimated the cost of the trip.
• Making sure your mobile phone always has enough battery life.
• Refusing rides, food, drinks from strangers. Walk away from strangers and if they persist, turn to the nearest adult and ask for help — even if it just to ask for directions, until that person gives up and goes away.
• Learning to find someone in authority when lost — someone from the Metro station authorities, police officials, or from information departments.
3. Instructions for when on a plane:
• Call the air hostess if anyone is making you feel uncomfortable.
• Do not get involved in personal discussions with strangers.
4. Rules to follow in a taxi:
• Take note of the name of the driver and the taxi number.
• Never sit in the front seat.
• Do not get involved in personal discussions with the driver.
• Do not take taxis on your own to desolate locations — stick to popular, busy areas.
5. Advice for travelling on trains or the Metro:
• Carry a map of the routes of the train or Metro that you are using. If you sleep through a stop or miss it, you can track where you are and how to retrace your steps, to get to where you are going.
— The writer is an intern with the Readers Desk at Gulf News.
