BACK TO SCHOOL SAFETY!

For many Florida kids the time has come… school has started! Or if it hasn’t, it will soon and parents are either cheering or dreading that first very early morning.  Kids everywhere will be dressed in their new outfits, sporting their spiffy new backpacks, wearing shiny new white tennis shoes, and parents will start their beginning of the school year routines. You know we always start off with a bang!

So parents – the start of the school year… we all know how busy this time is…filling out all the paperwork, adding lunch money to their account, setting up a homework system, getting everyone back into the early morning routine.  But please don’t forget a very important task on that to do list of yours: teaching kids safety tips for traveling to and from school. Here are some to get you started – and if I’ve missed any, please let me know:

For walkers/bike riders

• Make sure you plan a safe route and walk/ride it with your child ahead of time
• Kids should always travel in pairs/groups (if someone is sick/an adult should accompany the lone child)
• Of course your child should wear all appropriate safety gear if riding a bike or scooter to school (I would personally say skip the scooter, but that’s coming from a mom whose child suffered bilateral arm fractures on one of those things, well falling off one of them really  - personal choices aside – safety gear on all items should be a mandatory rule.)
• Teach your child to follow all safety rules, including staying on sidewalks or within designated paths and  crosswalks, etc… and listening to safety guards. Encourage them to ask you or the school questions if they are unsure about their route.

For bus riders

• Teach children when waiting at the bus stop to stay with the group, stay out of the street, and an adult should be present if possible (maybe your neighborhood could rotate bus stop duty). Instruct your child to follow all safety rules taught by the school and bus driver.

For all kids

• Teach kids to never go with a stranger, or even someone they know from your neighborhood, unless you have pre-arranged it.  You might want to consider having a family password that only your family knows that you give to others in emergency situations that need to pick up your child.  If a person has the password, your child will know you really did send that person to pick them up, and it is safe to go with that person.
• Teach kids their personal identifying information, their full name, parents/caregivers full names, address, home and cell phone(s). Also teach them who it is and isn’t appropriate to share this information with. 
• Develop a personal safety plan with your child.  For this and other resources and safety tips, please visit MoniqueBurrFoundation.org/SUBS/resources 

Parents, please don’t forget this very important “to do” on your back to school check list.  It won’t take THAT long – and it’s great information for your child. It educates and empowers them and while ultimately it’s your job to keep them safe, it helps them follow the safety rules which helps you do your very important job of keeping them safe! 

p.s. Don’t forget to periodically check in and make sure they are following the rules, however.  They are after all – KIDS!   

Making SAFE summer decision for your kids! (Safe, Abuse Free, Educated)

Trying to figure out what to do with those last few weeks of summer?  I won’t ask who is going crazy, whether it’s you or the kiddos – or maybe both! J  But if you are looking for some last minute camps, activities or agencies that are offering refuge, I’m asking you to please make sure you are thinking with safety in mind first.  Our good friends at Darkness to Light (D2L) in Charleston put out tips on how to choose youth-serving organizations wisely. 

They include:

1.      Be proactive and ask questions, even if it makes you feel uncomfortable.

2.      Ask how employees are screened and make sure it is sufficient, don’t accept excuses!

3.      Ask if there is a policy limiting one adult – one child interactions? Most sexual abuse occurs in one adult – one child situations, so if there isn't a policy in place, question this gap.

4.      Ask if staff and volunteers (including older youth) are trained in prevention and mandatory reporting. If not, insist that they begin training right away!

Don’t be afraid to be an advocate for children.  Speak Up Be Safe™, the new safety and child abuse prevention curriculum from the Monique Burr Foundation for Children, Inc., educates children to Speak Up and Be Safe by giving them tools to be aware of dangerous situations and asks children to follow 5 Safety Rules that help the adults in their lives keep them safe.  What a great foundation for a safety net!  These tips from D2L offer parents even more suggestions to help keep kids safe when choosing organizations for summer activities (and into the school year as well) and we hope they help you make wiser, safer decisions – expanding that safety net even further!

You can find the full list of tips on the Darkness to Light website here:

http://www.d2l.org/site/c.4dICIJOkGcISE/b.6292395/k.72F8/Step_Up_and_Speak_Out.htm

Crowded Spaces – Dangerous Places! Overprotective or Preventive Maintenance?

Our family just returned from vacation, and while I’d hardly call it relaxing, a week in Orlando, 2 families, 4 adults, 6 kids, 2 condos, 4 pools, several theme parks, well, you get the idea…. It was a ton of fun for all of us. But I will tell you I noticed some very brave parents out there when it came to their kids and walking around inside theme parks, which were crazy busy packed by the way.  It was after all the middle of July.  Well, they were either very brave or very naïve. I can tell Florida needs a lot of education about the dangers facing their children and about the steps they need to take to protect them!

At one point we even saw a mother leave her two kids, approximate ages 2 and 4, at the exit of a ride while she walked somewhere completely out of site, to get her stroller and personal things. 2 and 4! So of course I go into hyper-attentive mode – didn’t she see the news back in February when a 2-year old was molested at SeaWorld? Doesn’t she know that’s extremely dangerous? Maybe I should say something?

My kids of course tell me to stay out of it, that I’m an overprotective mother, always worried about the worst that can happen.  I don’t think I’m overprotective at all – I think I’m just about the right amount of “prevention focused.”  So of course I watched those two little ones until their mom returned, and then, do you think I said anything?  Well I’ll leave you wondering about that, but I’d love to know if you would have said anything?

I do know this: we can’t ever assume because we are in public our kids are safe; kids disappear from public places every day.  Never let your kids out of your site in crowded public places, and be prepared in case you get separated. Don’t assume it won’t happen to you.  Have a plan for where your child should go, who they should look toward for help, and most of us don’t carry our full purses and wallets with us to public venues like that, but at least make sure you have a recent picture of your child that can be copied and distributed if you did find yourself in need of assistance to help locate your child (even a photo on your phone is better than nothing).  And teach your kids that screaming “help, this person is not my parent” is okay if a stranger is trying to take them… the point is to make a scene and get a safe adult to intervene and stop them!  Let’s hope it never happens, but you and your child want to be prepared, just in case!  Here’s to a healthy and safe rest of summer from your Monique Burr Foundation for Children friends!

Internet INSECURITY

Many parents are already starting to feel that sense of dread as we move ever closer to the start of the school year.  For some it’s because those expensive school supply lists are beginning to arrive in the mailbox or inbox; for others because we dread the early morning departure or afternoon homework routines. But don’t count summer over just yet. And if your kids are bored, done with camps and vacations, maybe they’ve turned to the computer to fill some time.  If so, make sure you are watching their online activities.

With 90% of children between the ages of 5 and 17 using computers and 1 in 5 youth receiving unwanted sexual solicitations online*, it’s a fact that the Internet is a dangerous place for many children. Yet even more parents are unaware of the dangers faced daily by children online, and of those parents who are aware, they are unsure how to protect children.

So the Monique Burr Foundation for Children, Inc. decided we would help parents, professionals, and anyone interested.  When we joined Childhelp in the development of Speak Up Be Safe, we included Internet Safety and Cyberbullying as a part of the curriculum because of the importance of these topics in the lives of children and teens today.  And how great is it that others are taking notice and acting as well?

Facebook and Time Warner have joined forces to help stop cyberbullying, a real and dangerous threat facing youth today.  Read more about their Initiative, Stop Cyberbullying, Speak Up and their joint efforts here. 

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eschoolnews.com%2F2011%2F07%2F25%2Ffacebook-and-time-warner-join-to-stop-cyber-bullying%2F&h=YAQBqhSR-

And although Facebook rules require a teen to be 13 to create a profile, let’s not be that naïve – there are much younger kids on social networking sites and ALL parents need to be educated and vigilant.  Florida’s 1^st through 5^th grade students will learn Internet Safety and Cyberbullying prevention tips as Speak Up Be Safe sessions are implemented in all Florida public schools over the next 5 years.  But why wait? Parents, go to www.moniqueburrfoundation.org to download information and tips so you can become educated and empowered and teach your kids to be smarter and safer online now!

*http://kidsafe.com/freereports/Internet%20STATS%20Presented%20By%20CEN.pdf

Florida United for Kids!

We know Florida is a state divided with some fans sporting orange and blue and others garnet and gold, and while we happened to be on the beautiful campus of UF this week, the MBF team and the summer academy participants were anything but divided.  We were there to train new Speak Up Be Safe™ facilitators, our first group of facilitators trained since the pilot phase ended. And while the groups both days were small, we were all united in our motivation to keep kids safe from the dangers facing them today!  As Dante Alighieri said, “A mighty flame followeth a tiny spark!”  Even with the small number trained, their motivation and commitment ensures we will see great things from them in the future.

The team also enjoyed a little time doing some teambuilding and preparing the Speak Up Be Safe™ program for the big “roll out” in the fall.  We have finalized the curriculum changes and are working hard to ensure the implementation for schools, districts and facilitators runs as smoothly as possible.  For our team, work and fun are NEVER mutually exclusive. We sure had a lot of both in Gainesville this week and we’ll see a tremendous outcome for it – a lot of safer kids in Florida because of this great program… So Speak Up with us Florida – it doesn’t matter if you’re in Gainesville wearing Orange and Blue or in Tallahassee with your Garnet and Gold or anywhere else in the state – on this issue we can all stand united!

90% of child abuse is preventable - time to Speak Up and Be Safe Florida!

Florida has long been known for sandy beaches and theme parks but we've also been known for some other - not so sunny and fun - distinctions as well. Like having the 4th highest rate of child abuse in the country and having some very high profile cases of child abuse with very public and very bad outcomes. Come to think of it, one recent case actually happened at a theme park, and that was completely preventable. In fact, 90% of all child abuse is preventable.

While we'd much rather be sitting on one of those sandy beaches, the team at the Monique Burr Foundation for Children, Inc. is hard at work revising our new safety and child abuse prevention curriculum that we plan to make available to every 1st through 5th grade class in Florida by 2015, appropriately titled "Speak Up Be Safe™!" Our team, along with Childhelp, has been hard at work developing this program with the insight and contributions of experts for over a year now, and after a successful pilot phase in four Florida counties and with great feedback from our facilitators, we will be ready for full implementation in the fall. For the full history and more information about future implementation plans visit moniqueburrfoundation.org. 

Until then, stay tuned in the upcoming weeks for more details about Speak Up Be Safe™, the MBF team, and our very ambitious but achievable plans (you'll soon learn a bit more about some of the overachievers on our team which is why I say that). You will also be able to find great information on this blog about child abuse prevention, bullying and Internet safety - all important issues facing our kids, schools and communities today. Watch for some cool guest bloggers occasionally too! In the meantime you won't find us at the beach, but we are going on a road trip - so catch the team next time from Gainesville!