The authoring rule. Write from the principle, never from their page. Concepts overlap because the subject matter is what it is — nobody owns “don’t open the door.” What we never do is reproduce their wording, their acronyms, their badge names or their order of events. Where they have a named device, we build our own.

The Feeling Dial. Five states a kid can name and point at: Fine · Funny · Twitchy · Scared · Angry. The dial is how we teach reading a situation, and it grows with the band — at K–3 it names what you feel, at 4–5 it reads other people, at 6–8 it reads a message on a screen.

Keeping you safe is a grown-up’s job — the child can say that being looked after is owed to them, not earned.

Grown-ups are supposed to keep you safe. That’s their job, not a favour.

If a grown-up doesn’t, that’s about them, never about you.

You are allowed to ask for help, and allowed to keep asking.

Do · three short scenes, tap “that’s a grown-up doing their job” or “that’s not.”

Drill · tell one grown-up in your house one thing that made you feel good today.

Your four people — the child can name four actual humans, not four categories.

Somebody you could ring at nine at night. If you wouldn’t, they’re not on this list.

At least one who doesn’t live in your house.

People move on and off your list. That’s normal.

Do · build the card — type four real names, save it, print it.

Drill · say all four names out loud to a parent without looking.

Secrets and surprises — the child can tell one from the other.

A surprise has an end. Everybody’s happy when it finishes.

A secret you’re told to keep forever, especially from your own people, isn’t a surprise.

Nobody gets in trouble for telling.

Do · eight situations, sort into surprise / secret / tell somebody now.

Drill · practise the opening sentence out loud — “Something happened and it made me feel funny.”

Being the kind of kid people trust — the child sees that the same rules protect everyone around them.

Noticing when somebody’s left out, and doing one small thing about it.

You can be kind and still say no.

Do · a playground scene, pick the small thing that helps.

Drill · do one of them tomorrow and tell somebody you did.

The five feelings — the child can name what they feel instead of swallowing it.

Fine, funny, twitchy, scared, angry. Point at the one.

The feeling shows up before the words do. It still counts when you can’t explain it.

Nobody gets to tell you your dial is wrong.

Do · the Feeling Dial, first use. Four short scenes, move the dial.

Drill · at dinner, say which one you felt most today and why.

When the dial moves — what to do the moment they notice it.

Stop. Look around. Find a grown-up you know.

You don’t need a reason. “I felt funny” is a whole reason.

Do · the dial again, now with “what do you do next” after each.

Drill · practise walking to the nearest grown-up in your house without being asked.

Bodies belong to their owners — consent at six, taught as ordinary and unfrightening. See the hold at the end of this document.

You get to decide about hugs, including with people you love.

“No thank you” is a complete sentence and it’s allowed with anyone.

If somebody does something to your body you didn’t want, that’s for telling.

Do · six pictures, tap okay / not okay / I’d check first.

Drill · practise saying “no thank you” out loud in your normal voice, three times.

Say it, leave, be loud — the first three, in order.

Say no in your ordinary voice and stand up straight.

Leaving isn’t rude. You never have to finish a conversation.

Loud is a tool, not a tantrum. Practise the actual volume.

Do · put the moves in order, then a branching scene at a park fence.

Drill · say NO loud enough that somebody in the next room hears it.

Tell tonight — the fourth move gets more room than the other three combined.

Telling is not tattling. Tattling gets somebody in trouble; telling gets somebody out of it.

If the first grown-up doesn’t do anything, tell a different one. Keep going.

A kid who only manages the telling has still done the important part.

Do · a sentence builder — the child assembles their own opening line.

Drill · tell a parent one small thing you’d normally not bother mentioning.

Grown-ups ask grown-ups — the single rule that covers most of it.

A grown-up who needs help asks another grown-up. Always.

A grown-up asking a kid for help — directions, a lost dog, carrying something — is doing something odd, whoever they are.

Do · four approaches; is this a grown-up asking a grown-up, or not?

Drill · walk to your door and back with a parent, naming the safe places on your street.

Crossing — the child crosses deliberately instead of by habit.

At the corner, at the lights, or with the crossing person.

Look both ways, then look again at the near lane before you step.

Catch the driver’s eye. If you can’t see their face, they can’t see yours.

Do · four street scenes, tap when it’s safe to step off.

Drill · cross one road with a parent and say each step out loud.

Driveways and parked cars — the ones that actually hit children.

Never step out between parked cars. The driver is looking at the road, not the gap.

A car backing out of a driveway can’t see somebody your size.

Never chase a ball into a road. The ball is gone, that’s fine.

Do · spot what’s wrong in three pictures.

Drill · stand behind a parked car at home while a parent sits in the driver’s seat and tells you what they can see.

Helmets — the child can fit their own.

Two fingers above the eyebrows.

The straps make a V under each ear.

One finger fits under the chin strap. No more.

Do · drag the helmet into place, three checks scored.

Drill · fit your own helmet and have a parent check all three.

Fire is a grown-up thing — prevention framed as an ordinary house rule.

Matches, lighters and candles are never yours, even to move. Tell a grown-up where they are.

The stove is not yours yet.

If you see fire, you leave and tell. You don’t put it out.

Do · tap the things in a kitchen that aren’t a kid’s job.

Drill · walk to the smoke alarm and have a grown-up press the test button while you listen.

Getting out — the child knows two ways out and where to stand.

Two ways out of your bedroom. Know both.

Walk, don’t run. You’ll trip.

Outside, at the meeting place, and you don’t go back in for anything. Not a toy, not a pet.

Do · draw your own floor plan with two exits marked, and print it.

Drill · walk both routes out of your bedroom with the lights off.

Calling for help — the child can make the call, including their address.

What they’ll ask: what happened, where you are, your name.

Stay on the phone. They’ll tell you what to do — you don’t need to know first.

You are never in trouble for calling. Not once.

Do · a practice call with the questions coming one at a time. Address is a saved field.

Drill · say your full address out loud without looking at anything.

The route you agreed — chosen on purpose, not by habit.

One route, agreed with a parent, walked together once before it counts.

Changing it needs permission first, every time, even for a good reason.

Somebody expects you at a time. That expectation is a safety net, not surveillance.

Do · the route builder — pin start and end, drop the safe places along it, print it.

Drill · walk your route with a parent and point out every safe place.

The shortcut you walk past — the lesson is the walking past.

Alleys, empty lots, wooded paths, the gap behind the shops. Not in daylight either.

Being late is a smaller problem than every problem the shortcut solves.

Do · a branching walk. Take the shortcut and see what the film does.

Drill · time your proper route once so you know how long it really takes.

Head up — the posture that makes a kid a bad target and a good pedestrian.

Phone in the pocket, not the hand. One earbud out, or none.

Look at faces. People notice being noticed.

Do · two versions of the same walk, one head-down, one head-up. Spot what the second one sees.

Drill · walk to the end of your street with your phone in your pocket the whole way.

The key — the child arrives without advertising it.

In a pocket or a bag. Not on a string round your neck, not in your hand from the corner.

Have it ready before the path, not on the doorstep.

If it’s lost: don’t hunt for it on the step. Go to the agreed backup.

Do · three arrivals, pick the one that gives nothing away.

Drill · practise getting your key out in under five seconds without looking.

Nobody comes in — the flat rule at this age, before the judgement calls.

The door stays shut. You can talk through it. You never open it.

A uniform is a costume anybody can buy.

A parcel can be left on the step. That’s what steps are for.

Do · four visitors, the dial and a choice on each.

Drill · answer your own front door without opening it. Practise the words.

The one who keeps knocking — the persistence is the lesson.

Somebody who won’t take an answer through the door has told you something.

Message a parent now, not after. Then stop answering.

If it doesn’t stop, that’s a 911. You will not be in trouble for it.

Do · the scene runs long on purpose. The child decides when enough is enough.

Drill · send a practice “somebody’s at the door” message to your parent right now.

The phone — the script is one sentence.

“They can’t come to the phone right now — can I take a message?” That’s the whole script.

Never that you’re alone. Not to anyone, not even someone who sounds like they know you.

A caller who pushes after that is the same problem as the one who keeps knocking.

Do · three calls, pick the reply.

Drill · say the sentence out loud five times until it’s automatic.

People you know — the harder half, and the one most courses skip.

Most people who hurt kids are people the kid already knows. That’s said plainly, without fear.

The rule doesn’t bend for a neighbour, a coach, an older friend or a relative.

Watch what somebody does, not what they look like: gifts, secrets, wanting to be alone with you, knowing a lot about you.

Do · the dial, four people the child already knows.

Drill · name your four people out loud, and one grown-up you’d tell if it was about another grown-up.

The routine — boring on purpose.

Lock. Message. Eat. Sit down.

A routine you don’t have to think about is the one that holds on a bad day.

Do · put the four steps in order, then watch it run at normal speed.

Drill · do the whole routine tonight, timed.

Locked means locked — the small habits behind the big rule.

Front door, back door, and the window you opened this morning.

The chain or bolt isn’t decoration.

Do · a walkthrough — tap everything that should be shut.

Drill · do a lock check of your own home and tell a parent what you found.

What you’re allowed to do — the boredom problem, answered honestly.

The list is agreed in advance and written down, not negotiated at four in the afternoon.

Some things wait until somebody’s home. That’s not a punishment.

Do · fill in your own allowed / waits list.

Drill · agree three “waits” items with a parent tonight.

Cold food is your friend — what a kid can do unsupervised.

Everything that needs no heat is yours.

The microwave rule is whatever your family sets, written into the agreement.

Do · build a snack from what’s in an on-screen fridge; the page scores it for safe-and-actually-food.

Drill · make yourself something cold and clear up after.

Things that get hot — kettles, toasters, stoves.

Handles turned in. Nothing on the stove you walk away from.

A tea towel near a hot ring is how kitchen fires start.

Do · tap the six things wrong in one kitchen.

Drill · with a parent watching, show them how you’d unplug the toaster properly.

Knives — taught, not banned, because banning doesn’t work.

Cut on a board, not in your hand. Fingers curled back.

A blunt knife slips more than a sharp one.

Do · three grips, pick the one that keeps fingers.

Drill · cut something soft with a parent watching, using the curled-finger grip.

Choking — the most likely serious emergency at this age.

Coughing hard means air is moving. Stay with them, let them cough, don’t hit their back.

Silent, can’t cough, going blue — that’s a 911, immediately.

Prevention beats all of it: sit down to eat, cut round food lengthways, no hard sweets for little ones.

Do · three scenes, tell the difference between coughing and choking.

Drill · practise sitting down for one whole snack, no walking about.

Stopping one starting — the three that actually start house fires.

The kitchen. Chargers under pillows. Anything cloth near a heater.

Unplug what you’re not using.

Do · the hazard hunt — one room, eight things.

Drill · find and unplug one thing in your house that didn’t need to be on.

Knowing early — detection, at a level where they act alone.

Test the alarm; know what it sounds like so you don’t freeze.

Smell and feel count too. A hot door is information.

Do · four “is this something?” clips.

Drill · press the test button and time how fast you get to your exit.

Getting out — the seven-second version they’ll actually remember.

Touch the door, not the handle. Hot door, use the other way.

Low, under the smoke, and moving.

Never go back. Not for a phone, not for a pet.

Do · branching escape, wrong turn plays the consequence.

Drill · crawl your escape route once, for real.

Your plan, written down — output is a printed plan, not an intention.

Floor plan, every exit, two ways out of each room, alarms marked.

Meeting place outside, and who needs help getting there.

Call from outside. Never from in the house.

Do · the escape plan builder. Prints.

Drill · run the plan with your whole family, once, this week.

Is this actually an emergency? — the real skill at this age.

Most things aren’t. Knowing the difference is the lesson.

Three buckets: handle it · message a parent · call 911.

Do · the sorter — ten situations into three buckets.

Drill · tell a parent which bucket three real household problems go in.

Power, water, locked out — the three most likely.

Torch, not candles. Fridge stays shut.

Water: stop it if you can reach the tap, then message.

Locked out: never wait on the step. Go to the agreed backup.

Do · three branching scenes.

Drill · find your torch and your water shut-off with a parent.

Smells and sounds you can’t place — when to leave without being sure.

Gas: don’t touch a switch, don’t use the phone inside. Get out, then call.

If you’re not sure, being outside costs nothing.

Do · four “leave or stay” calls with the reasoning after each.

Drill · practise the “just leave” route from wherever you usually sit.

Message like an adult — a skill nobody teaches.

What happened, where you are, what you already did.

Don’t bury it. First line says the thing.

Do · rewrite three rambling messages into one line.

Drill · send one real message to a parent in that shape.

Making the call — including the part they dread.

What they ask, in order. Your address, out loud, from memory.

Stay on. They’ll tell you what to do next.

Nobody has ever been in trouble for calling.

Do · the practice call, questions one at a time.

Drill · say your address and nearest cross street from memory.

Bleeding — the one that looks worst and is simplest.

Press. Hard. Don’t lift it to look.

Keep pressing while you wait. Add on top, never take off.

Do · time a full sixty seconds of pressure on screen.

Drill · hold a folded cloth on your own forearm for a full minute without peeking.

Burns and bumps — the everyday two.

Cool water, long enough to be boring. No ice, no butter, no cream.

Head bump: stay with them, watch, tell a parent even if they seem fine.

Do · pick the treatment from four options; wrong ones explain why.

Drill · run the tap and count to sixty so you know how long it feels.

The order — our four questions.

Am I safe? → Call → Do what they say → Write it down.

Your safety first, always, and that’s not selfish.

Writing it down: what happened, when, what you did.

Do · the order applied to three scenes.

Drill · write four lines about something that happened today, in that shape.

In charge of the house, not a parent — the honest framing.

You’re responsible for the house and for keeping them safe. You’re not their parent.

Say what you actually control and what you don’t.

Do · sort ten situations into “mine to handle” and “not mine.”

Drill · agree with a parent what you’re actually in charge of.

Arguments — decided in advance.

The rule gets agreed on a calm morning, not at four in the afternoon.

Step apart, wait, then talk. Nobody wins an argument at volume.

Do · a branching row with two ways out.

Drill · agree one house rule for arguments with your sibling and a parent.

If they’re hurt — the rule that removes the judgement call.

You call. You don’t decide whether it’s serious enough.

Stay with them. Don’t move them unless they’re in danger where they are.

Do · three injuries, and the answer is the same every time on purpose.

Drill · practise the sentence: “My brother’s hurt and I need you now.”

Weather and dark — being seen is the whole job. Light clothes, phone light, cross where there’s a lamp. Do: four scenes, spot the invisible pedestrian. Drill: stand at your kerb at dusk and have a parent tell you if they can see you.

Walking with somebody — two kids are a much harder problem than one. Agree who you walk with; nobody peels off without saying. Do: pick the plan. Drill: agree a walking buddy and tell a parent their name.

Being followed — the specific one, taught calmly. Cross the road. If they cross too, go somewhere with people and staff. Don’t go home. Do: branching, three routes. Drill: name the three closest places with adults in them on your route.

Somebody stops in a car — never approach, whoever it is. Step back, not forward. Walk the way the car isn’t facing. Do: three approaches, dial and choice. Drill: practise stepping back and turning, out loud.

Fit your own helmet — the three checks, done by the kid. Do: the fit check. Drill: fit it and have a parent verify.

Roads on a bike — same direction as traffic, signal, eye contact, and stop meaning stop. Do: an intersection, pick the moves. Drill: ride your route with a parent following.

Where a scooter stops being a toy — speed, pavements and people. Nobody expects you to be moving that fast. Do: speed judgement scenes. Drill: walk the busiest stretch of your route and count the blind spots.

Waiting and riding — back from the kerb, sit near the driver, know your stop. Do: order the steps. Drill: find the stop before yours so you’re never surprised.

The pickup — who’s allowed to collect you, and how you know. Agreed in advance, no changes by text. Do: four pickups. Drill: agree who’s on the list.

Your family word — one word, agreed, never written down, never told to a friend. Anybody collecting you without it doesn’t collect you, even somebody you know. Change it if it’s ever used. Do: the word goes into the family agreement. Drill: agree it tonight and say it once.

Before you’re separated — the sixty seconds of planning that make the difference. Agree a meeting point on arrival, every time. Do: pick the meeting point in four venues. Drill: next time you go somewhere, pick one within a minute of arriving.

The first minute after — stay put or go to the point. Don’t search. Searching is how two people get lost. Do: branching, one right answer. Drill: practise saying your parent’s full name and phone number.

Who to walk toward — a uniform, somebody behind a till, a parent with children. You pick them; you don’t wait to be offered. Do: a busy scene, tap who you’d ask. Drill: in a shop, point out to a parent who you’d go to.

The dial, at ten — reading the situation rather than the face. Sometimes you’ll be wrong, and being wrong costs nothing. Do: harder cases where “not sure, so I check” is correct. Drill: describe one situation this week that moved your dial.

Grown-ups ask grown-ups — the rule that covers most approaches, restated for a kid who now goes places alone. Do: five approaches. Drill: practise “I need to check with my mum first” in your normal voice.

Saying no out loud — volume, posture, and leaving mid-sentence. You never owe anybody the end of a conversation. Do: three scripts. Drill: say all three out loud at full volume.

The background gives you away — house number, school logo, the street sign. Do: find the giveaway in four photos. Drill: look at the last photo you took and find one thing you’d crop.

Everyone in the picture has to agree — including grown-ups. Do: three posts, who needs asking. Drill: ask before you post one thing this week.

Nothing is only for friends — screenshots exist. Post as though it’s the whole school, because sometimes it is. Do: a message travelling through five hands. Drill: name one thing you’ve posted you’d take back.

People are not their profile — anybody can be anybody. Do: four profiles, spot what can’t be verified. Drill: count how many of your contacts you’ve met in person.

The friend of a friend nobody has met — the specific pattern, named plainly. Do: a group chat where one person is new. Drill: ask a friend how they actually know one of their contacts.

Anyone asking you to move somewhere private — the single clearest warning sign at this age. Do: three invitations to a different app. Drill: practise the reply: “No, I’ll stay here.”

What the phone is for — agreed with a parent, in writing. Do: fill in the phone contract. Drill: sign it with a parent.

Where it sleeps — not the bedroom, and why that’s not a punishment. Do: pick the charging spot. Drill: do it for one week.

Telling without losing it — the promise that makes everything else work: telling a parent about something bad never costs you the phone. Do: three “would you tell?” scenes. Drill: get a parent to say that promise out loud.

What a photo tells a stranger — uniform, street sign, house number, the view from the window, the time of day you’re always somewhere. Do: build a stranger’s profile of you from four of your own posts. Drill: audit your last ten posts, note what you’d change.

Location, on and off — which apps are broadcasting and how to check. Do: a settings walkthrough. Drill: check three apps tonight and turn two off.

The account you forgot — old profiles, old photos, the account you made at nine. Do: the sweep list. Drill: find one old account and delete or lock it.

It’s slow on purpose — the single most useful thing a thirteen-year-old can know. Weeks of ordinary friendly conversation is the method, not the absence of one. Do: a conversation played over six weeks in ninety seconds. Drill: describe the pattern to a parent in your own words.

They already know what you like — your music, your game, your team, the thing you’re upset about. It’s research, not coincidence. Do: spot what was researched in a chat. Drill: name one thing about you that’s findable in ten seconds online.

Somebody who listens more than your friends do — the hardest one, because it feels good. Attention is the currency. Do: the dial, on a chat that reads warm. Drill: tell one friend one real thing this week, out loud, in person.

“Let’s talk somewhere else” — moving you to a private app is the step before everything else. Do: five invitations, one is fine and four aren’t. Drill: practise refusing without explaining yourself.

The ask, however it’s dressed up — a dare, a trade, a relationship, a hack, “everyone does it,” or a picture sent to you first. Do: six openings, all the same thing underneath. Drill: say out loud what you’d reply. Once.

The first sixty seconds after — it moves fast on purpose. Stop replying. Screenshot everything. Don’t block yet. Tell somebody tonight. Do: the clock runs; the child chooses under time pressure. Drill: know now which grown-up you’d tell. Say their name.

You are not in trouble and it is not your fault — the line the whole track exists for. Adults who do this are good at it. It has happened to thousands of kids exactly as sensible as you. Do: three kids’ accounts of telling somebody and what happened next — all of which end fine. Drill: get a parent to say the promise out loud: “If this ever happens, you tell me and you are not in trouble.”

Paying makes it worse — every time, without exception. Sending more makes it worse. Deleting your account makes it worse. Telling makes it stop. Do: branching, all four paths, honestly. Drill: write down the two numbers or names you’d contact.

Voice chat with people you’ve never met — what’s normal and what isn’t. Do: four voice-chat clips, dial each one. Drill: count how many people in your last game you’ve actually met.

Free things aren’t — skins, currency, “I’ll gift you,” account boosting. Do: four offers, find what’s actually being bought. Drill: name one thing you’ve been offered in a game.

The chat that turns — pile-ons, and leaving one. You’re allowed to just go. Screenshot first. Do: a chat that escalates over twenty messages. Drill: leave one group chat that’s making you feel bad.

Faces and voices can be faked — cheaply, fast, from a few photos. Do: four clips, pick the fake, then find out you were wrong about one. Drill: agree a family word for phone calls, same as the pickup word.

“Your mum’s in trouble, don’t hang up” — urgency is the tell. Do: three calls, all urgent, all fake. Drill: practise hanging up and calling the real number back.

If a picture of you is faked — it isn’t your fault and it is reportable. Screenshot, don’t argue, tell tonight. Do: what to do, in order. Drill: find the report button on the app you use most.

A password worth having — length beats symbols. Never reused. Do: the strength meter, with reasons. Drill: change your most reused password tonight.

Two-step, on the accounts that matter — and what a code request you didn’t ask for means. Do: a walkthrough. Drill: switch it on for one account.

Nobody needs your code — not a friend, not support, not somebody in the game. Do: five requests. Drill: say the refusal out loud.

It is not a bicycle — mass, speed, and how much longer it takes to stop. Do: a stopping-distance comparison at 12 and 22 mph. Drill: find your bike’s class and top assisted speed and tell a parent.

Helmets, properly — the three checks, plus why a loose one is close to no helmet. Head, face and neck are about a third of e-bike injuries. Do: fit check. Drill: fit and verify.

Brakes, tyres, lights, battery — the ninety-second check before you go. Do: the pre-ride list. Drill: run the check and report one thing you found.

Passengers and the load — one seat means one rider; handling changes the second it doesn’t. Do: three loads, pick what’s rideable. Drill: ride your normal route and notice what changes with a bag on.

Roads, paths and pavements — and the fact that the answer changes by town. Do: four settings, decide, then see the range of local rules. Drill: look up your own town’s rule with a parent and write it down.

Being predictable — signals, lane position, not weaving between parked cars. Drivers can only avoid what they can anticipate. Do: an intersection, pick the moves. Drill: ride one junction with a parent watching your signals.

People on foot — you are now the fast thing. Pass wide, slow, and say something. Do: three shared-path passes. Drill: ride a shared path at walking pace for two minutes.

Dark — lights front and back, and the reflective thing you’d rather not wear. Do: a driver’s-eye view of the same rider, lit and unlit. Drill: have a parent look at you from 50 metres at dusk.

Wet and loose — braking earlier, cornering slower, painted lines and metal covers. Do: four surfaces ranked. Drill: practise braking on a wet flat surface, safely, with a parent.

Traffic you can’t see — turning vehicles, opening doors, driveways. Do: three near-misses, spot the moment it was avoidable. Drill: ride your route and name every driveway.

Transit on your own — planning it, missing one, being on the wrong one. Do: three problems on a route. Drill: plan a real trip and show a parent the plan.

Being dropped off and picked up — where to wait, who’s collecting, and what happens if they’re late. Do: four pickups. Drill: agree the fallback for a late pickup.

Getting home from somewhere that stopped being fine — the exit plan, agreed before you go. Do: three situations, one exit each. Drill: agree the text you’d send that means “come get me, no questions.”

Is a grown-up home? — asked in advance, by you, not assumed. Do: three invitations. Drill: ask the question about one plan this week.

Rooms with doors that close — and the ordinary right to leave one. Do: the dial, three scenes. Drill: practise “I’m going to go find the others.”

Older siblings and their friends — the specific dynamic, named without panic. Do: four situations. Drill: name the grown-up you’d tell.

Vapes, drink, pills — what’s actually offered at thirteen, and by whom. Do: four offers, three refusals each. Drill: say your refusal out loud until it sounds normal.

Refusing without losing the room — the social skill, taught as a skill. Do: pick the line that works. Drill: try one on a friend as a joke and see how it feels.

When a friend is in trouble — you call. You do not decide whether it’s serious enough, and you don’t get in trouble for it. Do: three scenes with the same answer. Drill: agree the no-questions call with a parent.

Job scams and “easy money” — the ones aimed at teenagers. Do: four offers. Drill: describe one to a parent.

Meeting somebody from online — never alone, never without a parent knowing, public place, own transport. Do: the conditions checklist. Drill: state the four conditions from memory.

Somebody wanting your account — bank, gaming, or a “money transfer favour.” That’s a crime you’d be in. Do: three requests. Drill: practise the refusal.

What you’re actually being asked to do — keeping a child safe and well, not watching TV in a different house. Do: rank ten duties. Drill: write your own one-sentence description of the job.

In charge means in charge — kids will test whether you mean it, and they’re supposed to. Do: three tests. Drill: practise a calm instruction, out loud, twice.

What you’re good at already — the honest inventory, revisited at the end of the track. Do: pick five strengths and two to work on. Drill: ask a parent which two they’d pick for you.

Your reputation, including online — what a hiring parent finds when they look you up. Do: audit a fictional profile, then your own. Drill: look yourself up and note one thing to change.

Your one-page résumé — courses, experience with siblings, references, availability, first aid. Do: the résumé builder. Prints. Drill: ask one adult to be a reference.

Finding work safely — family, friends, neighbours. Meet the family first with your own parent there. Do: four leads, rank them. Drill: list three households you’d actually approach.

You can say no to a job — the centrepiece, and the most unusual thing we teach. Too many kids, ages you haven’t learned, a house that felt wrong, a parent who wouldn’t answer your questions, a time you can’t get home from. Do: four offers, accept or decline with a reason. Drill: practise the one-sentence decline.

What to charge — how a rate is built, agreed before the job, said out loud without flinching. Do: the rate calculator, then a scripted practice of saying the number. Drill: say your rate out loud to a parent, no hedging.

Somebody knows where you are — address, family, times, agreed before you go. Do: the pre-job checklist. Drill: send the details to a parent for a real or imagined job.

Your ride home, arranged first — never dependent on the person paying you. Do: three endings to a night. Drill: agree your standing ride-home plan.

You are allowed to leave — said plainly at twelve, with the how. Do: three situations, and the exit for each. Drill: practise the call.

Babies — what they can’t do, what’s normal, safe holding, never shaking. Do: what’s safe for this age. Drill: practise a supported hold on a cushion.

Toddlers — mobile, fearless, no sense of danger. Where most accidents happen. Do: the room from a toddler’s height. Drill: crawl a room and find three hazards.

Preschool and school age — negotiation, boundaries, and giving space while still being present. Do: the same situation at three ages. Drill: describe how your answer changes.

Children with additional needs — ask the parent, never improvise. Communication, routine, triggers, medication, what calms them. Do: build the handover questions. Drill: write the five questions you’d ask.

A crying baby — the checklist, then the honest part: sometimes nothing works, and that isn’t your failure. When to ring the parents. Do: the sequence. Drill: say out loud when you’d call.

Tantrums — normal development, not defiance. Find the trigger, stay calm, redirect, stop anything unsafe immediately. Do: three tantrums, pick the response. Drill: practise a calm voice while somebody shouts at you.

Feeding — bottles and solids, temperature tested, upright, pace set by the child, wash your hands. Do: order the steps. Drill: test a warm liquid’s temperature the proper way.

Sleep — taught as a rule because getting it wrong is fatal. On their back. Cot empty — no pillows, no bumpers, no toys, no loose bedding. Follow the family’s routine exactly. Do: four cots, one is right. Drill: say the rule from memory.

The handover — the questions asked before the parents leave, including the address you’d give an ambulance. Do: the checklist builder. Prints. Drill: run it with a parent playing the client.

What you’re allowed to do — going out, visitors, screens, food. Agreed at handover, never decided on the night. Do: five judgement calls. Drill: add three of your own to the list.

Fire, with children who aren’t yours — get them out, count them, never go back. A route planned before you need it. Do: branching, two children, one exit. Drill: walk a route carrying something heavy.

Who do you call first? — five situations, three answers each: handle it · the parents · 911. Taught by letting you get it wrong once, where it costs nothing. Do: the sorter. Drill: say the order out loud — emergency services first, parents second.

The call, for an address that isn’t yours — which is why the address is question one at handover. Plus bleeding, burns and choking with a child in your care. Do: the practice call. Drill: hold sixty seconds of pressure, and say a stranger’s address from a card.

12 written lessons. Prose plus one tool each — the shape that works, because the parent is the one who reads and the one who pays. Fast to produce, searchable, and it’s what Google finds.

Wave 1 — sellable in three weeks. Readiness Check · Home Alone Ready (all 8 badges) · the House Agreement, Contact Card and Escape Plan · 12 drills · the parent assistant · one certificate.

Wave 2 — weeks 4–7. Online Ready (all 6) · the Phone Contract · the parent track · 20 more drills. This is the wave that gets shared and that partners want.

Wave 3 — weeks 8–12. Out and About · Getting Around Without a Car · First Job Ready · résumé and handover tools · the last 20 drills · re-certification.

Wave 4 — during the member’s year. Band 1 · First Screens · On Your Own, Out There · seasonal tracks. Members who joined in week one already own all of it. That sentence is what makes the annual price work.

Consent, touching and disclosure — Band 1 badge 1.2 lesson 3, Parent lesson 7, and anything in First Job Ready about a sitter suspecting harm. Highest-stakes copy in the library, with mandatory-reporting implications. Not a place for a confident first draft. Needs a qualified reviewer to sign the approach before a word is written, and it should be disclosed on the sales page that the material is in the course. Out of Wave 1 entirely.

A kid-facing assistant. A child in a safety course may type something real. A general-purpose chat aimed at children in this subject matter is a duty-of-care surface, not a feature. Recommendation stands: the kid’s side is narrow — practice, quizzes, drills, “explain that again” — with a designed, visible path when something real comes up. Needs a deliberate decision and probably a professional opinion before a single child account exists.