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15 Personal Safety Tips and Strategies for Mothers

Terry Vaughan

Personal safety is a critical concern for women and mothers, who often bear the primary responsibility for protecting themselves and their loved ones. Unfortunately, women and mothers are often at a higher risk for violence and crime, whether on the streets, in their homes, or in the workplace. To ensure their safety and the safety of their families, women and mothers must take an active role in protecting themselves and planning for potential dangers.



Below are 15 tips to help make women harder targets for criminals:


  1. Developing great situational awareness starts by acknowledging that the potential to be targeted exists.

  2. Admitting this potential doesn't mean it will happen, only that it could. This shift in mindset opens the door for your brain to look for anomalies it might have missed.

  3. The next step is to be fully immersed in the moment with your and your children's safety as the only priority.

  4. Scan every new environment at least twice.

  5. Not only will you see more of your surroundings, you'll also give the impression to anyone watching you that you are rightfully alert and aware of what is going on around you.

  6. When spending more than a few minutes in any environment, continue scanning and periodically ask yourself, "What have I missed?"

  7. This question challenges the brain to seek out anomalies and not just assume everything is hunky-dory.

  8. Stay off your mobile device as much as possible. Not only is it a distraction causing a phenomenon known as innattentional blindness, but the device itself could also be an attractive target.

  9. If you see the same person twice, never assume it is a coincidence. Unless you are going around the store in circles, seeing the same person twice could be an indicator that they are tracking you and weighing up whether you are a good target for an approach or crime.

  10. The same is even more critical if you see the same person in a much higher-risk environment like a parking lot or a gas station.

  11. If you think you are being followed driving away from a store, make three right or left turns being cognizant to use only the busiest roads. If the same car is still behind, you are correct and should verbally direct your map app to drive you to the nearest police station.

  12. Call 911 once your device has you going in the direction of the police station. Be ready to describe the vehicle make and model (if possible) and the drivers.

  13. Trust your instincts. Always. If something doesn't feel right, trust your gut and respond as firmly or aggressively as you see fit to dissuade anyone from considering you a good target.

  14. This includes being physically and emotionally ready to utilize whatever self-defense tool you have at hand. Do not wait until the last minute, as it may be too late.

  15. If in doubt, scan! Habitually scanning the environment will help you to develop great situational awareness and is like having a superpower you can deploy anytime you leave your home. It also helps ensure that you and your children are not the easy target criminals are looking for.


Situational awareness is a crucial aspect of personal safety, and it's important to be aware of one's surroundings to avoid a dangerous situation. If you are interested in learning how to recognize dangerous individuals based on their nonverbal signals, please check out my online course D.I.R.T. Dangerous Individual Recognition Training® available now.


If you are interested in more personal safety tips leave a comment below. Don't forget to share this with family and friends!





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