Children's Safety Issues

It's a beautiful day - the sun is shining, the birds are chirping. What could be more perfect than a bike ride? But wait! Before you pull your bike out of the garage, let's find out how to stay safe on two wheels.

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Click on the title to read the full article Cartoon policeman and dolphin to warn children about online paedophiles

By Adam Fresco, Crime Correspondent

Child abuse experts are targeting children as young as five for the first time to teach them about the dangers of online paedophiles.

Pupils in primary schools across the country will be introduced to Hector's World, a series of five animated characters including Hector the dolphin and PC Jim, who will explore how to use the internet safely.

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Two basic 'Need to Know' safety protocols that every parent absolutely must teach their children regarding home fire safety emergencies and 911 emergency calls. As soon as a child is able to verbally communicate clearly with us, they are also able to understand and take simple instruction. Without basic, simple and clear instructions including roll playing/rehearsals, we cannot assume that a child will be able to respond effectively in emergency situations. Federal laws require schools to have fire drills and all buildings to have both clearly accessible and marked exits. But how many of us have planned or discussed home exit emergency strategies, let alone even thought about what we would do if we had such an emergency? I frequently survey women at our safety programs to see how many have discussed emergency home evacuations with their family members and am amazed at how few actually have done so. So, let's all put this on an immediate 'TO DO' list and create some family emergency plans today!

FIRE EMERGENCIES

Every child from at least age three (if not younger) is able to comprehend and perform basic tasks given simple and clear instructions, especially when rehearsed, performed or roll played as a game. First, draw a simple floor plan of your home and highlight all exits in RED showing all the possible escape exits, windows included. Next, bring your child to all of them so they have a physical experience of seeing them and being there next to them (even the obvious ones like front doors, back doors, etc.) Remember the famous Coach Bear Bryant from University of Alabama? He started every football season off with both new recruits and returning players showing them a football and started his training with, 'This is a football.' Always assume whatever information you are sharing with your children has never been heard before, even if it has. And remember that repetition is the mother of learning.

A child needs to know that if a door is blocked or cannot be exited, a window can be used to escape and if the window is locked, it can even be broken to create an exit. Be sure your child knows that in an emergency it's OK to crawl out a window to get to safety. Also, do not assume for example a child would know how to unlock a locked window without being shown. Roll play and rehearse by actually letting them unlock a locked window and crawl out to safety. Make up different emergency scenarios and have them perform home drills just as they do in school fire drills. Create alternative escape routes, plan B, plan C, etc. to get them thinking about what to do if plan A won't work. Have roll play situations where you now block an exit they used in a previous drill making them have to get creative and think about alternative exits to get to safety. They need to know how to exit their home in any emergency that may arise that requires a fast escape.

WHAT DEFINES AN EMERGENCY?

It's very important that your child knows exactly what defines an emergency.

EMERGENCY: A serious situation, occurrence, unforeseen crisis or a combination of circumstances than happens unexpectedly, (usually involving danger) that requires or calls for immediate action.

I recommend that you also research from your local fire department or Google tips on the web on how to safely exit a burning house, how to deal with smoke, flames, etc.

EMERGENCY 911 CALLS

All children need to be taught how to call 911 on a variety of types of phones (even a rotary dial phone as their grandparents may still have one!). For very young children, it might be a good idea to draw an enlarged phone dial pad on a piece of paper to introduce them and teach them about the number locations. Use toy phones if they are available and let them practice on them. Make sure your child is familiar with and able to use all types of phones; wall, desk, cordless, rotary dial, cell, etc. It's even a good idea to take the batteries out of your cordless and cell phones and unplug others to let them practice using the actual phones.

CALL INSTRUCTIONS

Your child needs to memorize and be able to clearly recite their Name, Street Address, and Home Phone Number. Knowing each parent's cell numbers or knowing where they are written down and easily retrievable in case of an emergency is important and valuable too. Instruct your child that when they are talking to the 911 Operator they need to: Stay Calm, Speak Slowly and Clearly to the 911 Operator. Make sure they know they must stay on the phone and that once a 911 Operator knows their address/location and the emergency, that they have help on the way. Also, as an alternative to dialing 911, make sure your child knows that they can simply dial 'O' for Operator and ask for a 911 emergency Operator.

REHEARSAL/ROLL PLAYING

Rehearse frequently so your child knows this important information by heart. Set up some potential emergency scenarios and let your child practice some 'What If'' scenarios (these might include things like; Grandma/pa has fallen, Dad/Mom Brother/ sister won't wake up, Mom's choking on something, etc.). Teaching children proper emergency responses about potentially life threatening situations does not create fear, it actually empowers them with knowledge. Instead of being immobilized by fear now, they now have a learned response that enables them to take action immediately.

GIVING OUT HOME ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER

Be sure it is clear to your child and that they understand it is OK to give out their home address and phone number to the 911 Operator. Since you have taught them that you should never give out this information to "Don't No's" (someone they don't know), it might be confusing unless you are absolutely clear about this important distinction. Giving out this information to a "Don't No" is the exception only when it is a 911 operator or an authorized emergency person such as a uniformed policeman or fireman in an emergency situation.

SUMMARY:

Develop emergency home escape routes and practice them just like they do in school.
Instruct your children on how to call 911 and how to give the operator the FOUR critical pieces of information the Operator needs: NAME, PHONE NUMBER, LOCATION/ADDRESS & PROBLEM/EMERGENCY.
Make sure your child understands exactly what constitutes an emergency and that information never given out to "Don't No's" is OK only within the context of an emergency.
Rehearse emergency procedures routinely with your children.

Most parents have probably had the thought that their own childhood was a lot simpler and a lot safer than their children's. The fact is that it actually was simpler and safer in many ways. The 'Information Superhighway' was still under construction, and as a result, information flowed into our lives much more slowly --- and there was less of it. I grew up in the TV generation, and my sons, now both in their 20's are a product of the video game generation. During the last couple of decades, we experienced the introduction and explosion of cell phone and internet use. Little did we know the impact this information age would have on us all, in terms of personal safety. Children are vastly different from us in the ways they negotiate daily life, in their use of everything electronic and in the way in which they process information. Another major effect of the electronic invasion is how easily accessible each one of us is via the internet and cell phones (forget about pagers%u2026 but there is text messaging).

VIGILANCE IS KEY

As a result, we all need to be more vigilant about our own as well as our family's personal safety. All parents without fail, even in the animal kingdom, must teach their offspring about predators and how to protect themselves in their environment. Internet predators now can reach our children in the sanctity of our own homes! Although my parents talked to me about being safe, it just didn't seem as big an issue or as important when we were kids. Maybe there weren't as many 'Bad Guys' out there, maybe they weren't that visible or maybe we just didn't know about them. Life seemed a lot safer when I was a kid growing up in the 50's and 60's. Today we all live very hectic and fast-paced lives and our exposure to potential crime situations is much greater. What remains constant, though, is basic human behavior and the fact that a percentage of the population is and always will be deviant and dangerous. In the U.S., our crime statistics are reflective of this problem with crime on the increase in all forms.

PREDATORY BEHAVIOR

When you study predatory behavior in the animal kingdom, you can clearly see how they choose their victims. It is no different for humans. A lion or wolf, for example, studies its potential prey, observes its behavior and then chooses its victim. If its prey is part of a pack, the lead of the pack is never chosen. The predator looks for a slower moving, physically weaker animal, one that looks and acts more defenseless, exhibits fear, etc. In humans we refer to the manner in which one carries themselves as their 'demeanor'. A shark is considered to be the master of all predators. It has earned its reputation because it seems to always be successful in getting its prey. A shark will test its prey before an attack, circling its prey, observing and then physically bump it, sizing up the situation. Once the shark has accumulated its 'data', it decides whether to attack or not. Human predators have similar ritualistic 'bumping' behavior. Usually it is a verbal bump with test questioning as common and simple as talking about the weather, asking the time of day, offering an unsolicited comment or compliment, etc. With Children, there are eight common lures, like asking a child for help in finding a lost puppy, or giving them unsolicited compliments. What a predator looks for in a potential victim, is someone who is putting off a 'vibe' of fear, is unaware of their surroundings, presenting a demeanor and behaviors that say, "I am an easy target".

PROJECTING A 'TOUGH' DEMEANOR

In crowded situations like buses, subways, bars, etc. where someone is looking for their next victim, why is one person chosen over another? The selection process is far from random. If we are fearful, those are the 'vibes' we will project. If we are sending out confident 'tough' demeanor vibes, we are less likely to be chosen. So, is it that simple to just project a tough demeanor to keep the Bad Guys at bay? Well, there are NO absolutes in the world, but we can stack the safety deck in our favor. A friend of mine who is an ex-prison guard with over 8 years experience shared some valuable and interesting insights he learned from prisoners he encountered over the years. One felon said he would wait in an alley and choose his next victim as randomly as selecting every 9th person who walked by. If number 9' s demeanor demonstrated a confidence or 'don't mess with me' kind of attitude then he would simply pass and pick number 10. This same friend, who had no martial arts experience, gave off a 'vibe' he did, a confidence and an impression that he could handle himself if physically attacked. The collective perception by the prisoners was a 'Don't mess with me' demeanor. Now, the most surprising thing about this friend, is that his inherent nature is very peaceful and mild mannered. His demeanor however clearly projected a 'vibe' of "you probably don't want to risk messing with me".

IMPRESSIONS

Years ago, working as a recruiter I routinely coached applicants on how to interview and taught them what to do to make a good initial impression. One of my favorite quotes is: "You never get a second chance to make a second impression." Human behavior dictates that we typically take someone at face value initially while we gather more information either reinforcing that initial impression or changing it. Now, when first encountering someone, if there is any incongruence between a their words, their actions, their body language, etc., your intuition or 'gut feeling' will alert you that something is wrong. (NOTE: Always listen to and follow your intuition, ALWAYS!) A key segment we teach in our Children's Safety Program, is to always honor and trust your 'UH-OH' feeling because it's always Right. Without fail, children immediately know and understand when we talk about their 'UH-OH' feeling. The 'vibes' you project work either for you or against you. The 'vibes' you get from others are equally as important and could alert you to a potential threat against your safety.

Our best defense, then, is to be proactive --- raise our safety awareness and be vigilant 24/7 about our safety. If just one person of the several who saw the stranger in the Jeep that was parked for days outside Platte High School in Bailey, Colorado had a call placed to the police to check out this guy out, this tragic killing might have avoided and 16-year-old Emily might be alive today. We will never know for sure, but the fact is that no preventative action was taken. We need to be constantly aware of our surroundings and be prepared to act in the defense of our personal safety at all times. We need to constantly monitor our surroundings and notice things out of place, out of the ordinary or people we get a bad feeling about (like a strange man and vehicle parked outside our school for several days!). Our intuition is constantly signaling us, but all too often we disregard these 'gut feelings' and fail to take action. We simply can no longer do this.

Now, out of all this recent tragedy what positive comes from the loss of precious young lives? Well in Bailey, they started a foundation called: "I Love You Guys", the last text message from Emily to her parents and adopted a program called: Do A Random Act of Kindness for Emily. People are embracing the loss of this 16-year-old girl and seeing what positive changes they can make on her behalf. In her death, she will touch so many people and in so many positive ways. From the Amish Community, we learn that these people not only embrace forgiveness, but live it with the kind actions they demonstrated to the crazed man's family who too were victims. Even our president called together a committee to see what we need to do to make our schools safer.

We cannot get the 'Bad Guys' off the street as easily as we can learn how to live more safely. We need to teach our children how to be empowered in a world that could easily teach them only to be fear-based. The Heart of our Kidz Program and our 'Safe Kidz Kit' is to help make our children as predator free as possible, with safety skills and strategies to protect them when there are no 'Safe Adults' around. Through extensive research, we created a comprehensive program with skill sets, games and even internet safety software to make our children as safe as possible. All of our trainers and staff at KSEG are passionate in helping to protect our children and empower them with the very best non-fear-based safety skill sets available. Help us to help you and let us come and do a live, interactive program. At the very least, consider purchasing a 'Safe Kidz Kits' online for each of your children and begin teaching your children how to live safer.

This kit provides all the tools a parent needs to create a pair of credit card sized cd-rom disks that contain all the essential information for their child. The disks are designed to be carried by a parent or caretaker in the wallet and come in their own sturdy plastic case. The disks contain a self-running program that allows the parent, in about 10 minutes, to enter all their child's information, plus three photos, and any other pertinent information, such as adoption papers, birth certificate, etc. that they feel might be important if their child was injured, missing or lost.

For more information or to order click here