Criminology graduate explains how having a family code word helps parents protect their kids

Parents are always concerned about their kids every time they leave them alone at home or they are sending another individual to pick them up from school. In situations like these, families can start using a simple hack that is actually effective enough to ensure the safety and security of the kids to an extent. Dannah Eve, a criminology graduate and content creator who uploads videos on safety tips for kids, families and women on her TikTok (@dannah_eve), sparked a thoughtful conversation after giving out an important safety hack that every family should follow.

In her video, Eve assured that this number one safety hack could prevent kids in every family from falling prey to dangerous situations and it starts with the family setting a secret code word that can be used between the members. "Here's a safety tip for all of my families out there. This is something I use throughout my entire life and this is something that to this day we still use," she started. "This could be used in dangerous situations or just in simple situations where your child wants you to be the one to say no to something." 

Then she shared an example of how to use the secret code word for certain situations. The times when a child is required to be picked up from their school and neither of the parents or family members can arrive on time for some reason, the family can send someone they trust to fetch the kids from school after giving them the secret code. If that individual is able to tell the code correctly to the kid, then the kid will know that it is someone their parents trust and it's safe to go with them. 

"Make sure that they know no matter how believable the story is unless they use that code word, you are not to go with that individual. A code word is something that you could also use in a dangerous situation as well," Eve explained. Using code words can also be helpful when a child is home alone and they feel like they are in danger or something isn't right. The kids can call and alert their parents using the secret word. She also recalled instances from her childhood where using code words in her family helped her a lot.

"There are times when I wanted to send a secret message to my parents so that they knew they were the ones to say no so I didn't look like the bad guy," Eve said, adding that a child can use these code words to communicate with their parents even if they are in a situation where they feel a sense of danger in the company of their own friends. "There are truly so many benefits to having a family code word," Eve stressed.

In a follow-up video, Eve also provided some examples of code words that are not too obvious and families can use them. "When it comes to a family code word, this is something that you definitely don't want to overthink," she advised. "This could be absolutely anything, but in my personal opinion it's not something that should be too common or something that's used in your family every day." For example, she suggested that the secret code could be anything from a sport that nobody in the family has played or a food or activity that no one likes. 

"This code could be anything and everything. Get creative. Sit down with your family and figure out your code word today," she concluded. The TikTok community was grateful for the clever hack presented by Eve and they left tons of personal experiences and positive comments under the video. @brendaclarkelifecoaching wrote, "We had a code word when the kids were small and didn’t think of using it still now that they’re adults! I will be bringing it up again." 

@belmontt52 commented: "My daughter is 23. We started this when she was 5. We still use one to this day. Of course, it's changed through the years." @nojustnouser added: "Out of all 7 of my siblings I was the only one to ask mom’s friend what the code word was. I got a donut for being awesome." Despite having code words, it is also important for parents to openly discuss the dangers one can face in society with their kids and educate them about it from a young age.