Staying Safe Survey

This week, the government’s Child Safety Unit has published the results of its survey, showing young people and parents’ attitudes towards safety, including accidents in the home and bullying.

Participants were interviewed face to face in their homes, and were made up of 1,433 parents of 0 to 17 year olds and 833 children aged between 12 and 17.

88% of parents said they were satisfied with their children’s safety, while 10% said they were dissatisfied. The biggest safety worry for parents was 'strangers and paedophiles’, although bullying and accidents outside the home were also cited as concerns. A few parents were concerned about internet safety and accidents at home.

Interestingly, 88% of children also said they feel safe most of the time, with only 3% saying they feel safe 'occasionally or less often'. Children seemed to be most afraid of gangs and knife crime, followed by strangers and bullying. Parents seem to grow less concerned as their children get older, but different worries creep in, such as drugs, alcohol and sexual activity.

Most parents said they felt confident about responding to unsafe situations, such as hearing a child cry persistently, or hearing another child suddenly crying out next door. 76% of parents said they would take action in these types of situations – many of those who said they wouldn't were concerned about misinterpreting the situation or causing unnecessary trouble.

As for accidents in the home, most parents said they felt confident most of the time. They felt that their homes were safe and they were watchful enough to prevent potential accidents. About 65% of parents even said that accidents are a part of life and not worth worrying about. Less than a third of parents expressed a desire for advice on home safety.

Bullying was a bigger concern for parents than it was for children although, when prompted, more than half of parents said that their children had experienced some form of bullying. The figures were slightly lower when asking the children themselves, who seemed to feel that bullying was a part of life, and as many as 47% said it would have to be quite bad before they would do anything about it.

Most parents felt they'd be confident in dealing with bullying, citing schools and teachers as trusted places to go for help. Parents said that there wasn't much that would stop them from taking some kind of action, with those that wouldn't saying they were concerned about making the situation worse.

On the whole, the parents surveyed said they were generally satisfied that their children were safe. Let us know if you agree in this week's poll.