17 Thoughtful Parents Who Could Have the Phrase, “Better Safe Than Sorry” Tattooed on Their Foreheads

Everybody knows that it’s “better to be safe than sorry,” and many parents can’t stress enough how important this is. With that in mind, they do anything to prevent their children from experiencing situations that could harm them by having a secret code that they can say or send when, for some reason, they are uncomfortable away from home. This method, even though it may seem striking, is a part of the upbringing in many families.

At Bright Side, we thought it was an interesting method to share, so we put together the following list with some of the hidden keys that helped many children get out of trouble.

• My dad was a bank manager, and one day he got worried about us being leveraged to get him to steal money. Since both my granddads were dead, we agreed on “Is Grandpa okay?” as a phrase to suggest we were trouble. A few months later, I decided to try it out. When he called from a bank, I dropped in a question about my granddad. “What do you mean?” He said. " He’s been dead for years." The good news is that we never needed to use the phrase for real. © pilchard-friendly / Reddit
• I didn’t get a cell phone until high school, but the code I used to use with my parents was to call them up and ask, “Did you feed the fish?” We never had a fish, and my parents were always great at coming up with reasons why I needed to be picked up right away. It’s so important to have a system like that with your kids. © getyourownthememusic / Reddit

• My younger sister (22) and I (28) use “velvet.” She says that the first time she ever truly noticed a guy being creepy and, in general, felt very unsafe, he was wearing a velvet tracksuit. She knows that all she has to do is send “velvet” and I’ll find her location and get there if I can’t get her to pick up. She goes to college so we both share our location in 2 different ways with each other. She trusts me because she knows our mother will use it to track her unnecessarily and she doesn’t want that, she wants “freedom, but with safety features.” © themediumchunk / Reddit
• My mom worked a lot, but my sister and I had a similar system since I’m the eldest. She’d text me and ask me if we had York patties at home (we didn’t, all of us hate mint) and that was my cue to call her and make up a reason for her to come home. I’d tell her to pack her stuff and then I’d go get her. Providing her an easy exit kept her safe more times than I could count and I never judged why she wanted to come home. A+ idea for those who don’t use this kind of secret phrase. © homespunhero / Reddit

• My daughter is 9 and we’ve told her that if she ever feels uncomfortable, she can say that she isn’t feeling well and we will come to get her. © t**orr115 / Reddit
• Teaching your kid a code to help them get out of potentially dangerous situations before they escalate is something many parents don’t teach often enough. I remember the code for my family was that if we called our parents and asked for pizza, it meant that we felt uncomfortable and needed to be picked up but we were not in imminent danger/in a situation that could escalate before we got there. If we called and asked for fish and chips, it meant that we needed someone to pick us up right away because something bad could potentially happen. Luckily no one’s really ever had to ask for fish and chips but there were plenty of times where we had to ask for pizza. © Solgatiger / Reddit
• We have a “code text” for our 13-year-old. It’s simply, “I left something upstairs, can you find it for me?” We don’t even have a 2-story house. So I know and my son knows that if he sends me this while out, I will immediately come and get him. This was something that has helped me, especially with my anxiety, navigate the teenage years. © joyluster / Reddit

• I have told mine that I am always willing to be the bad guy for them. If they need to blame me to get out of a situation before things go sideways, it’s fine. It is really important to learn to listen and trust your gut. My kids’ best friends also know they can blame me and I will pick them up as well. One of them used it and I got them. Their parents were very thankful. © lsp2005 / Reddit
• I used this to call my mom and husband at 27 years old. I was out with friends and my car was at a bar 15 miles away. I was getting uncomfortable with an old boyfriend’s comments and advances. Noped right out, felt a little childish, but have never regretted waking them up at 1 a.m. to save me. © alliebogege / Reddit

• My dad and I basically had our own language. I could tell him I saw a buzzard catch a bee and he would know I needed to leave. That phrase came from the old cartoon where the buzzard was singing, “I’m bringing home a baby bumblebee,” and meant someone was being or had done something stupid. Implying someone was being stupid told him I was uncomfortable with either a person or situation.
  Now I have kids of my own. They don’t go places without either my wife or me yet, but we already have a few things with deeper meaning than is obvious to others. One thing is a simple thumbs-up, which is my sign to the kids that they are doing good or are safe to proceed with something. I also know that if they show me a thumbs down that something is bothering them and it’s time to step in or talk to them one on one. © throwrabrotherdrama / Reddit
• Before texting/cell phones, when someone called the house to invite me somewhere I didn’t want to be, I’d hold the phone away from me so they could hear me ask and my mom answer, all while I was violently shaking my head NO at her. © texmarie / Reddit

Did you have a code or signal with your parents in case you didn’t feel right in a place? What was it?