I was typing on my laptop this morning over coffee, searching for some updates on child safety products.
When I surfed across Google I found some posts and resistence building to the latest Child Protection Bill in Washington.
Right!
I’m the first to tell you that I wince whenever the pols get involved in much of anything but in terms of child safety and protection, they do their best. I can live with this. When it comes to kids I want to be safer than sorry.
Who would oppose the Child Protection Bill in any way shape or form? Oh! I forgot, we’re Americans and can do anything we want. Its like in the ’60’s, when many opposed the implementation of the mandatory seat belt law: we’d rather choose to have the liberty to die on the highways than have it mandated that we wear seat belts and be safe and alive. Liberty!
The Bill introduced in March needs to be passed and it will be.I find it silly to oppose it. Its about requiring organizations that deal with kids to run background checks on all volunteers and employees that come inside their doors and interact with the kids. Even we have run into this with some of our work and frankly today, it only makes sense.
Here is the Bill in a nutshell:
CHILD PROTECTION BILL INTRODUCED IN U.S. HOUSE AND SENATE March 13 2008 The Child Protection Improvements Act of 2008 was introduced by Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Arlen Specter (R-PA). The bill will make permanent a child protection pilot program that allows youth-serving organizations to run FBI background checks on prospective volunteers and employees.
The Senators names are on the Bill and we know they have to be to get it passed. The real work has been doen by the American camp Association (ACA) in getting this done. So today, you, your family, perhaps even your goals, plans and hopes for them can continue forward and blissfully as one more child protection measure can go in place quietly for you.
Use child safety education as one of the topics to help you avoid “summer slide,” that brain drain your kids typically go through during summer vacation while out of school.
Research shows that many students fall more than two months behind in math over the summer, and low-income children fall behind two months in reading while middle-income kids make slight gains. Johns Hopkins University researchers recently found that 65 percent of the achievement gap between poor and more advantaged children is due to unequal summer learning experiences during elementary school years.
A recent Ohio State University study shows children also gain as much weight during the summer as they do during the entire school year. The problem is worse for African-American and Hispanic kids, and for those already overweight.
Summer should be fun and memorable, but parents shouldn’t let it be a break from learning. High-quality summer learning opportunities are fun and engaging for kids, while keeping them healthy, safe and on track in school.
What Parents Can Do To Keep Kids Sharp Over The Summer
Locate a summer program. High-quality summer camps and programs exist in almost every price range. Camps offered by schools, recreation centers, universities, and community-based organizations often have an educational or enrichment focus.
Visit the library. Find out what interests your child and select books on that subject. Participate in free library summer programs and make time to read every day.
Take educational trips. These can be low-cost visits to parks, museums, zoos and nature centers. Plan vacations with educational themes.
Practice math daily. Measure items around the house or yard. Track daily temperatures. Add and subtract at the grocery store. Learn fractions while cooking.
Play outside. Limit TV and video game time during summer, just as during the school year. Intense physical activity and exercise contribute to healthy development.
Do good deeds. Students learn better and “act out” less when they participate in activities that help them develop emotionally, such as community service.
Keep a schedule. Continue daily routines during the summer with structure and limits. The key is providing a balance and keeping kids engaged.
Prepare for fall. Find out what your child will be learning during the next school year by talking with teachers at that grade level. Preview concepts and materials over the summer.
What Parents Should Look for in Quality Summer Programs
Low student-to-staff ratios.
Positive interaction between kids and caring adults.
High-interest, engaging activities.
Balanced programming with daily opportunities for reading, math, enrichment and recreation.
A safe, structured learning environment.
Founded in 1992, the Center for Summer Learning works to expand summer learning opportunities for disadvantaged children and youth as a strategy for closing the achievement gap.
For more information, visit The Summer Learning Institute.
Child safety means for us every child has the right to grow up safe in today’s world.
The threats to any child today are everywhere. Most parents think of home, fire, water and bike safety. Keeping Kids Safe is about total child safety. First, there’s preventing unintentional childhood injury.
Accidents. More kids ages 1 to 14 die from accidents such as vehicle crashes, fires, drowning, poisoning and falls than any other cause. These accidents kill one million children worldwide a year. Many more are disabled. Almost all of these injuries are preventable.
There are also intential dangers, predators, trolling for kids. We help with that, too. Abuse prevention is possible, both physical and sexual abuse.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking abuse could never happen to your family.
Did you know that according to the FBI:
1 of 5 girls will be sexually molested before her 18th birthday.
1 of 6 boys will be sexually molested before his 18th birthday.
1 of 5 children has been propositioned for sex over the Internet.
2 of 3 sexual abuses are perpetrated against teenagers or younger children.
90% of sexual assaults are committed against someone the perpetrator knows.
The median age for male molestation victims under 18 is 9.8 years old.
The median age for female molestation victims under 18 is 9.6 years old.
There are 400,000 new victims of sexual assault every year.
There are over 550,000 registered sex offenders in the US.
There are over 100,000 sex offenders that fail to register in the US.
76% of serial rapists claim they were molested as children.
Over 40% of male juvenile delinquents were molested as children.
If you think of your child’s school class, which one of the children would you pick to become one of these statistics?
It’s a pretty horrifying thought. It is even more horrifying for parents to think of it happening to their child. How do you know your child will not be one of these statistics?
You must make sure you do more than wishfully hope it doesn’t. You must and can take action in terms of your child’s safety.
No matter where they live, what their circumstances or who they are, every child born has the right to a full, happy, satisfying life that comes from growing up safe and protected. Safe kids should live everywhere. We believe this so strongly that we have devoted our lives to keeping kids safe. Our safety program, for kids of all ages, insures their ability to keep themselves safe when Mom and Dad are not around. Off to school, to the Mall or just playing out in the yard, your child will at some time be alone without you and will need to be able to keep themsleves safe in any situation.
We are in the arena of prevention. There are other safety programs out there . . . but our APPROACH to child safety is unqiue. This is why Keeping Kids Safe is so effective. We give you not only ideas, tips and technqiues, we also give you the how to do it with your child and the why behind everything we show you.
Navigation
Click on the Image
