Selling Girl Scout Cookies? Keep Your Daughter Safe With These Tips
Girl Scout cookies are big business! It is estimated that nearly 200 million boxes of these tasty treats are sold each and every year, amounting to over $700 million dollars in sales. The mini forces behind these sales? An army of, potentially, 1.9 million girls who are active members of the Girl Scouts today. They descend our neighborhoods, go door-to-door, and ply us with tasty treats we can’t seem to get enough of.
If you’re a parent of a Girl Scout, their safety should be front and center in your mind! While the chances of anything truly dangerous happening to your daughter while selling cookies is unlikely, do you want to take the risk? Of course not! There’s no peace of mind more valuable than knowing your little one is safe when she is doing something she loves.
It’s Girl Scout Cookies season and to keep your child safe while selling Girl Scout Cookies we partnered with Green Law Firm, personal injury law firm with offices in North Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina to share 10 Easy-to-Implement Tips to help keep your child safe.
10. Fundraise in groups.
This is the most basic and obvious of all our suggestions; make sure your daughter sells with a group. There is safety in numbers! Public place + a small group + adult supervision = safety.
9. Sell during the day or daylight hours only.
While you may not capture the “after work” crowd, there is no denying that daylight is simply a more safe time for kids walking around neighborhoods. If they must sell in the evenings, make sure they are accompanied by an adult; if it’s not you (maybe they think you’d cramp their style?) then hire a college-aged babysitter, bring in their Cool Aunt or a coach.
8. (Never) show me the money!
Teach your child to be responsible with money. For example, make sure they know not to wave wads of dollar bills around, which might be tempting to someone passing by. You may consider giving them a fanny pack to carry money safely! Also, and this important, teach them that no amount of money is worth their life! If someone tries to take money from them, make sure they know to give it up and run. If an adult is accompanying the group, make sure they handle and hold money on their person.
7. Make sure they have a fully charged cell phone…
Your daughter may want an iPhone so she can Snapchat, but you want her to have one so that she can call the police in case of an emergency! Make sure each child in the group (yes, every child – just in case someone gets separated from the rest) has a phone on them. Make sure they know how to call 911 and to call you. You may want to disable all their apps before they leave so that they aren’t distracted by technology when they walk!
6. And that you have a GPS tracker on it.
This is one of those “just in case” kind of tips. We know you trust your daughter! In the event, something happens, and you are unable to locate her, you have another way to get some peace of mind. Speaking of locating her — we suggest asking her to text you every 30 minutes (or lob a quick phone call) just to touch base. It may feel silly? But it’s not.
5. Write contact info into their clothing with a permanent marker. Better yet? Write it on them.
Unpleasant but true reality. It is easy to cut a label out of clothing. Write contact information for an emergency on the inside of their uniform (even their socks) with a permanent marker. One to go one step further? Write it on their wrist and cover it with a liquid bandage!
4. Make it a teachable moment about “instincts.”
Even as a child, they have a sense of what feels right and what feels wrong. Teach them to honor and listen to their inner voice when they feel something is dangerous, funny or just plain weird.
3. Stand away from house doors and car doors.
After they ring a doorbell, make sure your kids stand several feet away from the door, out of arm’s reach and a safe distance away. Also advise them not to sell cookies to anyone in a car, approach cars or walk near open car doors in general.
2. Know your neighborhoods.
Keep your daughter safe by having her avoid dangerous intersections, busy streets and places where accidents are likely. Streets without stop signs or crosswalks, neighborhoods with heavy car traffic and poorly lit areas are all places to avoid!
1. Get your child fingerprinted.
This is a basic safety essential for parents to protect their kids. While some parents have conflicting views about the possibility of instilling fear into their child unnecessarily, we still think it’s a good idea. At some point in time, every parent should have their child fingerprinted. While it doesn’t help keep them safe, in the event of an emergency, it can help them to be identified.”