Fall is a great time to get your kid’s health and safety organized. It may not be something that you want to think about, but a little bit of preparation can make all the difference. We urge you to take a few minutes this week and make a plan.
Alicia on “Stranger Safety”
“Nothing is more important than the safety of your child. As the old adage says, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The most important thing is to teach your child what to do if they are lost or are approached by a stranger. A few minutes of preparation will give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing your child is prepared. Some of our favorite tips come from missingkids.com and include:
• Always check first with a parent, guardian, or trusted adult before going anywhere, accepting anything, or getting into a car with anyone.
• Do not go out alone. Always take a friend with when going places or playing outside.
• Say no if someone tries to touch you, or treats you in a way that makes you feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused.
• Tell a parent, guardian, or trusted adult if you feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused.
There will always be someone to help you, and you have the right to be safe.
Sarah on “Get Your Flu Shots”
“Doctors across the world are gearing up for more than just a regular flu season this year. With the swine flu (H1N1 virus) posed to re-emerge this fall, parents and caregivers need to be extra vigilant about vaccinations. Experts say that, unlike seasonal flu, which typically strikes hardest at the very young and the elderly, H1N1 swine flu has proven more troublesome for children and young adults. It has also been hard on pregnant women. So if you’re expecting, or have young, school aged children, you should make an appointment with your physician and/or pediatrician now to get properly vaccinated. Don’t wait.”
Here are a few more tips to get your child’s safety Buttoned Up:
1. Get an ID Kit
Many schools have ID days, where safety experts come and create basic ID kits for young children, including fingerprints. Call your school’s administrator to find out if they will have one. If not, it only takes a few minutes to make one of your own. We like the he kits made by http://www.911childid.com/ and http://www.safety-identification-products.com/child-fingerprint-card.html, both of which you can order directly online. These cards make it easy for you to capture and store critical elements of identification, like fingerprints and photos. A few minutes of preparation will give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing your child’s ID information is organized and stored in one place.
2. Role Play
Another important thing to do is teach your child what to do if they are lost or are approached by a stranger. Consider role playing with them during calm or quiet moments. Good questions to try out are:
• What would you do if we were in a store and you looked up and you couldn’t find mommy or daddy? Good answers are: find a policeman, and if a policeman wasn’t there, go to a person at a cash register or find another mommy with children.
• What would you ask the person to do? Good answers are: tell them your first and last name, ask them to help you find your mommy or daddy, and wait there until mommy or daddy come back to get you.
• What if someone tried to make you go with them that wasn’t mom or dad? A good answer is yell and scream and say “NO! You are not my mom or dad!”
3. Make Sure They Have Important Info Easily Available
Your child should always have important medical and contact information with him at all times, just in case something happens. We strongly recommend parents get something like a Pocket.doc (or laminate your own information card), available at Office Depot Stores and online at www.FranklinPlanner.com, which keeps critical emergency, medical, and contact information at the ready. Fill out one for each child and place in the front pocket of each child’s backpack.
We are the co-founders of Buttoned Up, inc., a company dedicated to helping stretched and stressed women get themselves organized and co-authors of “Everything (almost) In Its Place.” We welcome your thoughts! Please send ideas and questions to us at: yourlife@getbuttonedup.com or visit us at www.getbuttonedup.com
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