Celebrate Safety Pup Day:
Fun, Friendly Tips to Help Kids Stay Safe — Online and Off
Communities across the nation will mark Safety Pup Day on Thursday, February 12, an annual celebration focused on promoting safety awareness for children through engaging and educational activities.
Created in 1985 by the National Child Safety Council to make essential safety lessons both memorable and fun, Safety Pup Day uses the lovable dog mascot Safetypup® to help kids learn how to protect themselves in everyday life.
For more than 40 years, Safetypup® has appeared in schools and community programs, from puppet shows to coloring books, helping young learners grasp key safety concepts including road safety, stranger awareness, and general personal precautions.
Today’s digital world adds a new layer to that mission: keeping children safe online and in digital play spaces. In celebration of Safety Pup Day, local educators and families are encouraged to use the occasion to talk with children about how to stay secure and responsible while gaming and exploring the internet.
Parents and caregivers can introduce their kids to simple online safety tips, such as:
- Protect personal information — don’t share your real name, address, or school online.
- Use safe gamer tags instead of real names in games.
- Play with people you know — only join games with trusted friends or parent-approved players.
- Enable parental controls and review privacy settings on gaming platforms together.
To make learning about online safety fun and age-appropriate, parents can share the Safe Gaming video from Laramie High School (WY), which offers kid-friendly guidance on staying secure while gaming and browsing online:
“Safety Pup Day reminds us that safety isn’t just about helmets and seat belts — it’s also about helping kids build healthy habits online,” said Laura Baker, President Emerita of CyberWyoming Alliance. “Whether it’s crossing a street or logging into a game, teaching children to think ahead and make smart choices protects them in the real world and the digital one.”
Families are encouraged to take advantage of Safety Pup Day as a chance to engage children with fun activities, reinforce important safety lessons, and start conversations that build lifelong habits of awareness and responsibility.
For more information about Safety Pup Day and ideas on how to participate, visit nationalchildsafetycouncil.org and explore local community resources.
