I had a plan for this morning that involved getting up at 5am. That did not happen at all. Last night I was awoken to loud noises of giggling and lights. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and try to focus on the clock it was pitch black. The clock read 3:40am. I stumbled out of bed only to find the twins light on and them wide awake playing in their room. I very forcefully made them go back to bed. I went back to bed and was asleep in seconds only to be awoken again by the same noises. This time I carried Sydney to her brothers room (screaming and waking the whole house). Then I went back tried to go back to sleep only to hear Hailey out of her bed playing again! Needless to say it was a long night and I did not get up at 5am.
Last week where I live an Amber Alert was issued. A little girl had gone missing. Just 7 yrs old, missing her two front teeth. She did not live near us but it affected all of us when she was found and was dead. Thankfully they caught the guy who did it, a neighbor. All this really got me all worried about the safety of my kids. We do live in a safer area than where this event occurred but nothing is safe enough. So last night for family night we went over safety. One of the things we used was this list. I thought I would share it here so you could also have a starting point to use with your children.
Safety Check-Points for Kids
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| You cannot tell what a person is like on the inside of the heart and mind by looking at the outside of the body, so you must follow these safety CHECK-POINTS all of the time. - CHECK FIRST before you go anywhere with anyone (for any reason at any time)! Check with the adult who is in charge of you at the time. If you cannot check, then the answer is NO!
- Adults can get help from other adults. You do not need to help anyone find a lost puppy, unload a truck, etc., unless you Check First.
- Know your full name, address (including state), and telephone number with the area code. Know your parents' names, too.
- If you are separated in a store, Freeze and Yell your parent's or guardian's first and last name. You may ask a clerk or parent with children to go get help for you, but stay where you are.
- If anyone tries to move or hurt you, make sure you scream, kick, fight, and yell, “You're not my dad (or mom)!”
- Use the buddy system; go in groups.
- You are in charge of your body. No one has the right to touch you or talk about your body in a way that is wrong or that makes you feel uncomfortable. Use the Power NO, and then tell someone.
- If you find a gun, do not touch it. Get away from it and tell someone. If a friend wants you to touch or hold a gun, use the Power NO. Use the Power NO (and Refusal Skills) for bullies, dares, and drugs, too.
- When you are home alone, keep the door locked and closed for everyone. Let the phone ring, use caller ID or the answering machine, or work out a system with your parents so that no one realizes you are home alone.
- When you are on the Internet, keep personal information to yourself! Ask your parents which sites you can visit.
- Be a Kind and Caring Kid! Use non-violent words and actions.
- Be a STAR and tell an adult if you think that something is wrong or someone could get hurt. It is not snitching----it is Responsible Reporting!
Make good choices! | |
One of the points here that really struck me that I had never told my kids before was #2. Adults do not need children to help them they can get other adults to help them. It never occurred to me to tell them this before but its totally important. There is no reason any adult should need their help. I always told them to not talk to adults who asked for help but it never occurred to me to explain to them why the need was so absurd.
The parent talking points really encouraged the parent to not use the word stranger. More often than not children think they know people and when you tell them things apply only with strangers it makes them vulnerable. The other issue is that many problems happen within people they think they know or people who know them. It's very important kids know that these things are NOT okay.
Anyway I hope it will help my kids be more aware. I know it has helped me get the conversation going. Make today a great one!
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22 comments:
thanks for sharing this list - we need to go over that stuff, too (and that news story broke my heart!).
there are 20/20 type shows every few years where kids (who HAVE been taught safety) are asked to go help a stranger adult find his dog - and they nearly always go. scary.
I hate when we hear those Amber alerts. It gives me chills. It scares my kids and for the rest of the day we all live with it in the back of our mind that some sickos are out there preying on children. We have to keep them safe.
Thank you for sharing that. We try to teach our kids everything about being safe but from that list I can see I need to go over a few things.
You can't be too careful when it comes to little ones and safety!
I like this list. I also like that it doesn't refer to strangers. So often nowadays the perpetrator is someone the victim knows. It is sad but necessary to teach kids these rules.
Thank you for this post. What a great reminder for us all to remember to review safety with our children. I know I definitely need to more often.
What a great list...I agree about #2...I read it twice, I've never thought of that either. It is so nice to have something to keep us on track when having this talk as well. Thanks for posting it!!
This is a great post! Sure does give a parent lots to think about. We have gone over most of these rules with our kids. I agree I like the #2 is explained. I had never heard of the 7 yr old girl that was killed. That's terrible. I'm glad they caught the creep.
:)Rachel
I'm so glad you posted this. I never thought about #2 either. That adults can get other adults to help them. And, even though we've all had the safety talk, our kids haven't necessarily. THANKS for this!
Great tips! Thanks Laura! I love your blog...too cute! Hope to talk to you soon...
♥ Like everyone else #2 hit me too! I know Emma "thinks" she knows a lot of people just because she's seen them at school or because they're a neighbor!
THanks for posting this I've already printed it off and it's time to have a refresher course here! Thanks again!
Thanks for this list. There were a couple of things I had not thought of, and it is so nice to have something to refer to instead of just trying to get it off the top of my head.
Even though this was not talked about in the list The amber alert made me realize I had not talked to Joseph enough about it. So I talked to my kids and gave Joe a password and reminded Emily what hers was. Then I reminded them how important it was that they never tell it to anyone. Joseph has been really good about not telling his, but he went around all week telling everyone Emily's. So I had to change it.
Great post - thanks for the reminder.
Love the new look blog
Those are amazing tips! I'll have to go over those with my boys as well.
These are great points to go over with kids. It scares me to death to think about Amber Alerts and missing children.
This is so great Laura. I am scared to death of something happening to my girls. I never let them outta my sight. Today at the play area in our mall it's hard to keep an eye on both girls all the time. So I sat by the exit so they were sure not to run out. After a few minutes I got this weird vibe someone reaching over the little wall and picking one of them up. I got so freaked out I packed them up & left. I know I was just being paranoid but I had never thought of that happening and it was freaked me out.
This is excellent! Thank you for the tip....we'll be using it too!
i am so sorry that happened so close to you. i know what you mean by never feeling safe enough! thanks for sharing that list. i really like #2!
Thanks for sharing this list! Really helpful tips.
That's a good bit of information. I never feel safe really, I've always been paranoid. My parents lived on a back road out in the country and STILL someone slowed down on the road and tried to get ME into the car when I was a toddler. A week later, my parents had a large, stockade fence put up and felt a whole lot better. In the village we live in, I know I wont be able to let the kids out alone. When we move, neighborhood will be a huge selling point for us. ANyhow, thanks for the message. I'm keeping it for future reference!
until last week I'd never known of an Amber Alert in my small town, but we did have one. the kids were found across the state and the mother was found in another state. Scary! My little kids are not outside without the older ones. I hope that we've taught them what to do, but you never know. Now we have a missing woman ... yesterday there were hundreds of people searching the area for her. Thanks for sharing these tips!
Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
Laura, the best book I have read on child safety is "Protecting the Gift" and I recommend it to all parents. It is very eye-opening and a must-read!
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