Top Safety Tips for Children From Seasoned Global Travelers

Traveling with children is one of the most enriching experiences you can share as a family. It’s an opportunity to introduce them to the wonders of the world, fostering curiosity, resilience, and a sense of adventure. But as any seasoned parent knows, there’s a balance between exploration and preparation—and ensuring your child’s safety while traveling is an essential piece.

As a parent of two young children and a professional with expertise in early childhood development, I’ve spent years honing strategies to communicate important concepts to kids in age-appropriate ways. Below are the most essential safety tips for children to use both while traveling and at home.

Talking about safety doesn’t have to be daunting or fear-inducing. With thoughtful preparation and intentional conversations, you can equip your children with the tools they need to navigate new environments confidently and securely.

In this post, we’ll explore practical strategies for talking to kids about safety while traveling, including age-specific approaches, actionable tips, and real-world scenarios to help guide your conversations.

Why Safety Conversations Matter

When kids feel safe, they can fully engage with the joys of travel—the excitement of exploring new places, meeting new people, and experiencing new cultures. Safety isn’t about instilling fear; it’s about empowering your children to trust their instincts, recognize potential risks, and respond effectively. These skills not only protect them during travel but also foster independence and self-confidence.

For many parents, the challenge lies in balancing the seriousness of safety with the excitement of the journey. That’s where intentional conversations come in. By introducing safety topics in a calm, age-appropriate way, you can set the stage for a fun and worry-free adventure.

A Personal Note On Safety In Kinshasa

We currently live in an “unsafe” city, Kinshasa, DR Congo (deemed a level 3 travel advisory). When we first moved here, I was truly aghast at many subpar safety standards. For instance, the driving situation here is absolutely wild. People will drive the opposite direction of traffic on the freeway, speed over giant potholes, nearly miss pedestrians, and drive as if there is no care for human life.

Walking anywhere in this sidewalk-less city with children is anxiety inducing. Honestly, crossing a single street by our house with two young kids in tow is one of the most stressful things of my day.

The safety recommendations below stem from actual conversations I’ve had with my young child in the United States and overseas. These recommendations will of course, be dependent on your child’s age, family preferences and the locations in which you are visiting. Please tailor these tips accordingly and as always, trust your gut and take good care.

1. Tailor the Conversation to Your Child’s Age

Children’s ability to understand and respond to safety concepts varies significantly with their age. Tailoring your approach ensures they’ll grasp the key ideas without feeling overwhelmed.

For Toddlers (Ages 1-3): Keep It Simple

At this stage, children thrive on routine and repetition. Use simple, clear language and focus on basic expectations:

• Stay close to me. Explain the importance of staying nearby in crowded places or busy streets. Use phrases like, “We hold hands to stay safe.”
• Introduce visual cues. Point out uniforms (e.g., store workers, firefighters) or a family with other young kids as “helpers” they can turn to if they’re ever lost.
• Practice routines. Turn safety behaviors, like stopping at crosswalks, into songs or games to make them memorable.

For Preschoolers (Ages 4-5): Role Play and Reinforce

Preschoolers are curious and love to play, making role-playing a powerful tool:

• What to do if you’re lost: Practice scenarios where your child pretends to get separated and finds a trusted adult. Teach them to look for helpers, like a store employee or another family with kids. Practice what your child will do and say if they get lost.
• Our family’s practice: For our family with a 5 year old, we teach our child to find a family with kids and ask the grown ups for help. They are not to run or wander, instead they stay close to where they are and find a helper.
• Introduce safe boundaries: Use landmarks to establish boundaries, like “You can run in the grass and stay on this side of the trees.”
• Repeat contact information: Help them memorize your phone number or write it on a small card they can carry. Reinforce this daily until it’s second nature.

For School-Age Kids (Ages 6+): Encourage Critical Thinking

Older children can understand more complex safety concepts:

• Discuss situational awareness: Talk about paying attention to surroundings and avoiding distractions.
• Empower them to speak up: Let them know it’s okay to say “no” or seek help if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
• Discuss tricky behaviors: For our 5 year old we also talk about “tricky” behaviors such as a person acting erratically or a grown up asking a child to keep a secret.
• Differentiate between secrets and surprises: In our family, surprises are ok, but secrets are not. Secrets are exclusive and are intended to hide information while surprises are only temporarily hidden.
• Practice emergency plans: Review specific scenarios, such as what to do if someone they don’t know approaches them or if they get lost.

2. Teach Basic Safety Rules

Regardless of your child’s age, there are foundational safety rules that every traveler should know. These principles can be adapted to your family’s specific travel plans:

• The Buddy System: Teach your kids to always stick with a family member or buddy in unfamiliar places.
• Meeting place: When you go to a new place, discuss a meeting spot. For instance, when we go to a new place like a park, we say, if we get lost, meet at this fountain.
• Stranger Awareness: Explain that while most people are kind and helpful, it’s important to check with a trusted adult before talking to or accepting help from strangers.
• Tricky Behavior: For our family we do not teach “stranger danger” as we want our children to feel comfortable around strangers. Instead, we teach about tricky behavior- if someone asks you to keep a secret or does something to make you uncomfortable, this is tricky behavior and you need to tell a trusted adult.
• Know Key Information: Ensure your child knows your full name, your contact information, and the name of your hotel or accommodation.
• Stop and Stay Still: If they get separated, teach them to stop, stay where they are, and look for someone who can help.

3. Role-Playing: A Fun Way to Practice

Kids learn best through play, and role-playing safety scenarios can make these lessons engaging and memorable. Here are some scenarios to practice together:

• Getting Separated: Pretend you’re in a crowded market and act out what your child should do if they can’t find you. Use props like a stuffed animal or map to add realism.
• Crossing the Street: Practice looking both ways and waiting for a signal before crossing.
• Asking for Help: Role-play approaching a store employee or family with kids to ask for assistance.

Role-playing not only reinforces safety skills but also gives your child the confidence to respond effectively in real-life situations. We try to practice these scenarios monthly, and then do a quick refresher before we go someplace especially crowded.

4. Cultural Nuances in Safety

When traveling internationally, cultural differences can influence safety practices. Take time to learn about local customs and laws, and teach your children how these differences affect their surroundings:

• Traffic Norms: Explain how traffic rules might differ (e.g., cars driving on the opposite side of the road). Practice crossing streets together.
• Cultural Greetings: Teach your child what respectful interactions look like in the destination culture. For example, they may encounter people who approach children with friendly touches or gifts, which might differ from what they’re used to at home. Reinforce that even in cultural differences, everyone still has their own right to their boundaries and what they feel comfortable with. For instance, in the Congo, people will come up and touch my 5 year old’s hair or pinch his cheeks. We’ve practiced saying “stop, do not touch me” or “no thank you” in the local language. It’s important that children know their bodily autonomy.
• Emergency Contacts: Make sure your child knows the local emergency number and how to say key phrases like “I need help” in the local language.

5. Create a Family Safety Plan

A well-thought-out safety plan ensures everyone knows what to do in different scenarios. Here are some elements to include:

• Meeting Points: Establish a clear meeting place in case anyone gets separated.
• Safety Cards: Give each child a small card with your contact information, hotel details, and any allergies or medical conditions. If you’re traveling to a country with a different primary language, print the card in the other language.
• Code Words: Use a family code word for urgent situations, signaling that it’s time to leave or seek help immediately. You may also want to have a code word that is only shared with other trusted adults to signal to your child that they are safe.

6. Empower Kids with Practical Tools

Equip your kids with tools that make safety accessible and fun:

• Wearable ID: Consider bracelets or tags with essential information.
• Child-Friendly Apps: Use apps or a kid-friendly watch that allow older children to check in with you.
• Personal Tracker: Use AirTags or GPS trackers. We use these AirTag holders on a keychain.

7. Keep the Conversation Ongoing

Safety isn’t a one-time talk. Make it a recurring conversation that evolves with your child’s age and experiences. Use travel moments as opportunities to reinforce lessons:

• At the Airport: Review staying close during security checks or boarding.
• On Public Transit: Discuss being aware of personal belongings and surroundings and the importance of sticking together. With little ones and busy subways or busses, it’s important to enter doors at the same time. As we’ve learned, subway doors can close quickly and it would be very scary to have a door close separating a grown up and child. In DC, we had this happen, thankfully a grown up was with each child, but I’m now acutely aware of entering a train at the exact same time as my child.
• In Crowded Areas: Remind them to hold hands or stick to designated areas. For instance, in the DC metro, my 5 year old either had to hold on to the stroller or my hand and stay on the inner side of the yellow line.

Encourage questions and listen to their concerns. Creating an open dialogue helps build trust and ensures they feel comfortable sharing their observations.

8. End on a Positive Note

While safety is critical, it’s equally important to celebrate the joys of travel. Reassure your kids that these precautions are helpful and there when they need them. Emphasize the excitement of exploring new places while feeling prepared and confident.

Remind them that you’re always there to guide and protect them. Building this foundation of trust allows them to focus on the adventure ahead, knowing they have the skills to navigate the journey safely.

Safety Tips For Children Final Reflections

Talking to kids about safety while traveling is about more than just protecting them from harm. It’s about empowering them to explore the world with confidence and curiosity. By tailoring your approach to their age, practicing through role-play, and creating a thoughtful family safety plan, you can set the stage for meaningful and joyful travel experiences.

At Full Passport Family, we believe that travel is one of the most powerful tools for raising resilient, empathetic, and globally-minded children. Do you have any family safety tips to add to the above list? Comment below or connect with me on Instagram @fullpassportfamily. Safe travels!