August 2006 Newsletter

BACK TO SCHOOL

August/September means summer is over and school has either just begun or will be beginning soon for most families. Whether your child is starting school for the first time, is returning, or even if your preschool child is just starting daycare, it’s essential for parents to prepare them to be as safe as possible. Preschool to middle school children in particular need to know some very important and necessary basic safety safeguards and strategies. Many working parents have times during the day where their child may be without or with limited adult supervision. So I have listed some age appropriate Do’s and Don’ts to help prepare you and your child to experience an enjoyable and safe new school year.

DO’S :

• DO make sure your child knows their address, home phone number and Mom and Dad’s cell numbers.
• DO create and map out SAFE neighborhood routes (include several alternate routes) between school and home.
• DO create SAFE houses (trusted friends, neighbors, family) approved only by Mom and Dad where your child can go in case of an emergency if neither of you is around.
• DO make sure your child has been taught and knows how to call a 911 operator in case of an emergency (see July KSEG newsletter for instructions).
• DO make sure your child knows how to exit your home and/or any other building in case of an emergency (see July KSEG newsletter for instructions).

DON’TS:

• DON’T allow your child to go to the homes of people whom you are unfamiliar and/or don’t trust.
• DON’T place your child’s name on the exterior of any clothing, backpacks, lunch bags, etc. (Predators use any ‘hook’ available to make contact with your children. We all respond to our name when it’s called, especially children. Don’t ever allow your child’s name to be visible to a “Don’t No”).
• DON’T allow your children to be with a “Sorta No’s” and/or a “Don’t No” alone in your home without a SAFE adult present.
• DON’T allow your child to be on the computer (web or chat-rooms) unsupervised and/or without permission.
• DON’T ever make any assumptions about your child’s safety. Always prepare with multiple safety strategies for a variety of emergencies.

These are a few things to think about regarding your child’s safety, especially younger children. Raising ours and our children’s safety awareness and creating safe environments is a 24/7 responsibility for parents. Sometimes we might simply feel overwhelmed, especially when we see a disturbing or upsetting news report on the TV, web or in the newspaper.

At KSEG, we are continually researching the latest and best safety strategies to make us all safer in our changing daily world. Although the majority of people in the world are trustworthy, the unfortunate fact is that we still have a segment of our society that will cause our children harm. Our mission at KSEG is to make your job as parents easier when it comes to your and your family’s safety. Our KIDZ safety programs and SAFE KIDZ kits have been designed with the most state of the art safety strategies and tools to make your job a lot easier! These complete and comprehensive safety programs and kits are age-appropriate safety information. They have been created to make assimilation of the information quick and easy and empower our children with action strategies.

Contact us to book a KIDZ Program (which can be given as a fundraiser too!) near you and/or consider the purchase a SAFE KIDZ kit from our product page.

Have a great school year and remember to email me: Mark Spencer, mark@kseg.org, with any questions, ideas or safety stories you would like to share. We would love to share safety testimonials each month with all our subscribers.

Definitions:

“Don’t No", Someone you 'don’t know'.
“Sorta No”, Someone you just 'sorta know', like a neighbor, coach, teacher, cashier, friend’s older sibling, even a relative, etc.

Mark Spencer, M.A., S.A.F.E.


© Copyright 2006 S.A.F.E. All rights reserved.