The advice is based on the author's personal experience as an educator and a parent and on interviews with police officers, psychologists, psychiatrists, people involved in neighborhood safety programs, school safety officials, children, and the parents of children who have been victims. Introductory chapters examine the extent of the crime problem, the influence of television and the press, and the need for parents to make safety family policy and to talk frankly with their children about safety issues. Additional chapters deal with safety needs of children between ages 5 and 8, mugging, and street crime. Additional advice focuses on how parents can help a child after a bad experience, preventing and dealing with sexual abuse from someone known to a child as well as from a stranger, school-related safety problems, and safety in traffic and cars. Additional guidelines cover a child's behavior at home, whether alone, with parents, or with babysitters, and suggestions about what to do if a child is missing. An index is included.