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Ignorance may be bliss, but it certainly isn't safe, and having the right information can mean the difference between a happy outcome and a tragedy. That’s why Defywire, Inc., is proud to underwrite the new Public Television series 100 Tips for Child Safety. This series of thirty second interstitial videos is geared towards parents of children of all ages and provides useful tidbits and, in some cases, life-saving information. The tips range from school bus safety to keeping teens safe from drugs and alcohol. Defywire wants to send you the DVD, free of charge, because what parents don't know CAN hurt children. This DVD contains information that parents need—the news they can use—in perfect, digestible bites, sound bites that have a real purpose. |
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What Parents Can Do Jill Stelfox offers these tips for parents determined to give their children a fighting chance in the event of a crisis, and to keep the lines of communication with loved ones open: Designate an out-of-town person for your child to call in the event of a crisis. "When emergencies happen, cell sites in the local area get completely overwhelmed, and a call from one local tower to another is unlikely to be completed,” Stelfox says. Instead, instruct your child to call grandma in Tuscaloosa or Uncle Bob in California to report that he is fine and where he is located; the out-of-town person will have an easier time getting through to you to relay the message. Tell your child to use a short text message code with an agreed-upon meaning in an emergency. If the worst happens and your child is being held hostage in a classroom, the last thing she needs to do is risk her life by typing a long, explicit message to you. A pre-set word such as “stars” could quickly and safely convey the message, "I am in danger at school." Choose a social networking website as a back-up way to communicate when all else fails. When cell phone lines were jammed at Virginia Tech, students reverted to Internet sites such as MySpace and Facebook to tell loved ones that they were safe and where they were located. You’ll need to know ahead of time which one to check. "You don’t want to have to race through screens on four different sites when you’re worried your child is in danger," Stelfox says. Make sure that the school has all of your up-to-date contact information. In today’s world, cell phone numbers and email addresses change frequently, but parents often forget to update this crucial information with school officials. Know the school’s emergency plan and practice it. Go to PTA meetings, open houses and other school events where emergency procedures are likely to be presented as a handout; many schools also list their procedures on their website. Among other things, the written procedures will specify the order of evacuation and where students will be taken in the event of any emergency (which includes shootings, of course, but also fires and weather events such as tornadoes). If you have this information, Stelfox says, you can tell your child, "Since you’ll be evacuated to the parking lot of the hospital across the street, I’ll go to such-and-such a section of the parking lot to find you." Practice your safety routine regularly; it needs to be reinforced at least once a month to become an automatic response. |
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