Parents and guardians of children, who will be out at various locations during the Carnival period, are being urged to tag their off-spring in the event they are lost or wander off.
Issuing the advice as he spoke during the weekly TTPS media briefing at the Police Administration Building, Port-of-Spain – Carnival Gold Commander, ACP Collis Hazel said, “Nothing is wrong with you placing a name-tag or a number, affixed on your child, whether playing mas or out of mas costume, so that they can be easily identified and there can be some communication should something go wrong with these children.”
Also in a release, the Children’s Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (CATT) urged the national community to make child protection a priority during the Carnival festivities.
The authority said while Carnival provided children with an opportunity to participate in cultural activities, enjoy a break from their normal routines, as well as play and rest, “it is also a time of heightened danger for children as they are more vulnerable to neglect, accidents, harm and abuse if there is a lack of proper supervision.”
The CATT advised parents and caregivers, “Before You Ramajay, Make Sure The Children are Ok”.
The authority said: “Children should not be left at home alone but under the supervision of a trusted and responsible adult.”
They reiterated that it was an offence to exploit children for free labour, and to force them to work to provide for themselves or to help their families meet every day needs.
The CATT’s acting director, Sharon Morris-Cummings, said there needed to be a collaborative approach to reduce incidents of child labour and child abuse.
Among the safety tips for adults were to verify the safety and trust-worthiness of any club or group facilitating carnival activities or camps; teach and remind children about recognising abuse and how to protect themselves; creating and maintaining free-flowing communication with children; and setting boundaries about places children may go and enforcing them.
For anyone aware of incidents of child abuse, maltreatment or neglect, they are advised to call the Authority’s Hotline at 996 or the Police at 999 to make a report.