Parking Lot Safety With Kids: 3 Rules From a Protection Professional
Parking lots are one of the few places where families deal with moving cars, distracted strangers, and loose toddlers all at once, and we usually cross them on autopilot. Our founder Isaac Ferland, CEO of executive protection firm The EP Source, has spent over a decade in the protection space, and his approach to lots with his own kids comes down to three rules. No gear required, no paranoia required. Just three habits.
Rule 1: No phones
From the moment you open your door to the moment you're inside the building (and again on the way back), the phone stays away. Every bit of attention you have goes to your surroundings and your kids. A parking lot is a bad place to be reading a text: cars reverse without seeing small people, and small people dart. The email will still be there in ninety seconds. This one rule does more than everything else combined.
Rule 2: Pause after you park
Before anyone unbuckles, take the extra five to ten seconds and just look. Scan the lot through the windows and ask one question: does anything look out of place for this lot at this time? A person lingering with no car, a vehicle idling oddly close, anything that doesn't fit. Almost every time the answer is no and you carry on, having spent ten seconds. The habit isn't about expecting trouble. It's about giving yourself a chance to notice it while everyone is still buckled and the doors are still locked.
Rule 3: Trust your gut, and lock the doors
Two habits in one rule:
- Listen to your body. If something feels off, treat that as information. You don't need to justify it or figure out why. Take the action that gives you more room, more time, or a different path: park somewhere else, wait a minute, walk a different route, or head into the store and ask the establishment for help. Asking is always allowed.
- Lock first, then everything else. On the way out, the sequence is: kids in, you in, doors closed, doors locked. Then worry about starting the car, the seatbelt argument, and where the sippy cup went. A locked door costs nothing and buys you control of the space while you're busy with buckles.
Make it boring
The goal is for all three rules to be so routine your kids don't know they're rules. Phones away, a short pause, locked doors. Pair them with the basics (hands held or a hand on the car, and something bright on the kid, the same visibility logic as our swim color guide) and parking lots become just another part of the errand.
And the line we end every safety post with, because it's the whole philosophy: routines, bright colors, and locked doors are layers. None of it replaces an adult paying attention, and in a parking lot, your attention is the entire system. More on everyday awareness lives in our Safety Hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I keep my kids safe in a parking lot?
Three habits cover most of it: keep your phone away so your full attention is on your kids and surroundings, pause five to ten seconds after parking to scan the lot before anyone unbuckles, and lock the doors as soon as everyone is inside the car, before doing anything else.
What should I do if something feels off in a parking lot?
Trust the feeling and act on it without needing a reason. Choose the option that gives you more room, more time, or a different path: wait, move, change your route, or go inside and ask the establishment for help. Acting on your gut costs seconds and is always allowed.
Why lock the car doors before starting the car?
Locking immediately after everyone is in gives you a controlled space while you're distracted with buckles, bags, and settling kids. It takes one second, costs nothing, and means the several minutes a parent spends busy inside a parked car happen behind a locked door.
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