Kids and Elevators

“If you die in an elevator, be sure to push the Up button.” (Sam Levenson)

What is it about kids and elevators? Kids love to ride elevators, and they really like to push the elevator buttons. Any of you who have more than one small child have witnessed the mad dash of your children to be the first to reach the elevator so that he or she can push the button to summon it to your floor. Pushing the buttons inside seems to be even more fascinating. At least that has always been my experience with my children when they were small. And it seems my granddaughters are the same way. They love to be the one to get to push the elevator button.

Children should really never ride in elevators alone. But have you ever considered what your child would do in the event he or she was in a circumstance which necessitated riding the elevator without you and a stranger  who made the your child feel uncomfortable, frightened or threatened in any way was on the elevator with your child? Do you know what precautions your child should take? Does your child know what precautions he or she should take to be safer from such risk on an elevator? Does your child know what to do if he or she is on an elevator with someone who begins to make him or her feel threatened or afraid?

There are strategies that children should learn to take precautions on an elevator. There are strategies that children can employ to escape from an elevator when someone who makes them feel frightened or threatened gets on with them. Such strategies are explained in detail in my book, What Would You Do? A Kid’s Guide to Staying Safe in a World of Strangers. To empower your children to take precautions from any type of risky scenario involving potential abduction or predator harm, acquiring the book for them could be the most important purchase you could make on behalf of your children. Detailed information about the book, endorsements of the book, and useful information for both children and parents can be accessed at the book website – www.AuthorMelissaHarkerRidenour.com.

Cell Phones to Help Keep Kids Safe

“The relationship is the communication bridge between people.” (Alfred Kadushin)

Having a child is like having your heart walk around outside your body. It is natural for parents to be concerned about their children’s well-being and safety when they are not with them. Parents can’t be with their children all the time. That’s why my book, What Would You Do? A Kid’s Guide to Staying Safe in a World of Strangers, (available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Follett, Ingrams, and Baker & Tayor) is such a useful resource for empowering children to stay safe from abduction or harm when they can’t be with their parents. The book mentions the option of parents purchasing cell phones for their children so that they can communicate with them when they are apart.

A distinct advantage to children having cell phones is that parents can keep in touch with them, not only for practical purposes, but especially for emergency situations as well. Parents who get their children cell phones with a GPS have the additional security of keeping track of where the children are at all times. Security and safety are the most important reasons for allowing children to have cell phones.

One risk, however, to children having cell phones is the controversial and potential radiation hazard that cell phones present. If parents opt to supply their children with cell phones, they must weigh the advantages against the potential radiation risks. They must teach their children to use the cell phone with the speaker-phone option, keeping the phone away from their ears. They should teach their children never to use the cell phone while driving, and teach them to use the cell phone responsibly, abiding by their parents rules for cell phone use.

Energy Drinks are Unsafe for Children

“The greatest wealth is health.” (Virgil)

Many parents and children mistakenly think that sports drinks and energy drinks are the same, when, in fact, they are not. Sports drinks are drinks such as Gatorade, Powerade, and others. Sports drinks contain electrolytes and water and carbohydrates that replenish the body during vigorous sports activities. Sports drinks can be used safely by children and adolescents.

Energy drinks are drinks such as Red Bull, Jolt, and others. Energy drinks contain caffeine, sugar, and other ingredients that are unhealthy for a growing child. Such drinks can increase the jittery effects of caffeine, cause nausea, diarrhea, and other symptoms that could be potentially dangerous.

Energy drinks are not regulated as strictly as alcohol, tobacco, and prescription medications, but they should be. The journal, Pediatrics, advocates stricter guidelines for regulating the ingredients in energy drinks.

Hydration is necessary after vigorous sports activities. Plain water for hydration is a safe choice. Children playing sports don’t necessarily need something extra to avoid dehydration. Children who play sports can get the needed nutrition and hydration by consuming healthy food and drinking a plentiful supply of water before, during and after sports activities.

 

Starving Children in Somalia

“Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.” (Mother Teresa)

The U.N. announced that a famine spreading through Somalia is killing more than a hundred children each day. The U.N. warns that that hundreds of thousands more people may die in the coming months unless they receive immediate relief and assistance.

The starvation, unfortunately, is mostly taking place out of sight of the world media, in areas of southern Somalia under control of violent Islamist insurgents. You know what they say, “Out of sight, out of mind.” The world needs to take notice and provide assistance to the tragic situation in Somalia to save the starving children and their starving families – indeed to save lives.

AmeriCares is responding to the crisis in Somalia and refugees fleeing into Kenya, as hundreds of thousands of Africans struggle to survive severe drought, famine, and brutal civil conflict. You can donate by going to the following link:

https://secure.americares.org/site/Donation2?df_id=9781&9781.donation=form1&utm_source=google-pd&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=somalia&utm_campaign=africa-relief&s_src=google-pd&s_subsrc=africa-relief

Names on Children's Apparel - Unsafe Practice

"Your children need your presence more than your presents." (Jesse Jackson)

With children back in school, and undoubtedly stocking up on their school clothes for the new school year, this is a perfect time to give a relevant tip from my book, What Would You Do? A Kid's Guide to Staying Safe in a World of Strangers.

Parents, your children may like having their name on their clothing and other apparel, but it is a very unsafe practice. Children should not have their names on their tee-shirts or other clothing. They should not have their names on jewelry or on backpacks. If a potential child predator should see your child's name on his or her clothing, the predator can use the name to try to gain the child's trust. Such tactics to gain the child's trust are common among predator lures.

To learn about common predator lures that potential abuductors will use to try to gain trust and access, for harmful purposes, to children, read, and have your children read, What Would You Do? A Kid's Guide to Staying Safe in a World of Strangers.

The book empowers children to take a proactive role in staying safe from abduction or predator harm. It includes a chapter for parents, as well. It is targeted to elementary students, but is ideally meant to be a shared experience between parent and child, teacher and student. It is available through the publisher, Headline Kids, and through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Follett, Ingrams, and Baker and Taylor.

Check out the book website, Melissa Harker Ridenour Books, at www.AuthorMelissaHarkerRid​enour.com, to find endorsements and useful resources and links for children, parents and teachers.

Keeping Children Safe at the School Bus Stop

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." (Albert Einstein)

School bells all across the country will soon be ringing as children return for another school year. This is an appropriate time to provide readers a safety tip from my book, What Would You Do? A Kid's Guide to Staying Safe in a World of Strangers.

Children waiting at the school bus stop, particularly if they are waiting alone, are a target for potential abduction. Teach your children that, if they should be approached at the bus stop by a stranger in a car offering a ride to school, they should refuse and get immediately away from the stranger as fast as they can.

Teach children that, while waiting at the bus stop, they should stand as far away from the street as possible. A child standing close to the street is easier prey for someone who may try to grab the child and pull him or her into a car.

The more children there are at the bus stop, the safer children will be. Instruct your very small children that they should stand in the middle of the group of children waiting at the bus stop. It will be safer for small children if they are surrounded by other larger children.

Children are safer at the school bus stop if a parent waits with them. My book suggests that parents can organize groups called Block Parents. Parents in such a group can take turns waiting with all of the children until the school bus arrives.

You can learn many other safety strategies to keep your children safe and empower them to take a proactive role in keeping themselve safe from abduction or exploitation by acquiring my book for them. - What Would You Do? A Kid’s Guide to Staying Safe in a World of Strangers. The book is available through the publisher Headline Kids (a division of Headline Books, Inc.) -  www.headlinekids.com. It is also available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Follett, Ingrams and Baker & Tayloer

For more information about my book, endorsements of my book, and helpful information, resources, and links for parents, teachers, and children, visit the book website, Melissa Harker Ridenour Books - www.AuthorMelissaHarkerRidenour.com. 

Where is Little Breann?

"Each child is an adventure into a better life --an opportunity to change the old pattern and make it new." (Hubert H. Humphre, former U.S. Senator and Vice President)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has joined the investigation and search for a 3-year-old girl who was reported missing Saturday in Missouri. Breann Rodriguez disappeared from her yard in Senath, Missouri Saturday afternoon while she and her 5-year-old brother were playing in the front of their house. Her 5-year-old brother had gone into the house for a moment to get a drink of water. Breann had been riding her bike. Breann’s father reported that both Breann and her pink bicycle she had been riding were missing.

My book, What Would You Do? A Kid’s Guide to Staying Safe in a World of Strangers, explains to children that they should never play outside alone, even in front of the house. That is especially true for very young children, such as 3-year-old and a 5-year-old . Parents should always monitor their very young children when they are playing outside, even in their own yards.

Since it has been reported that Breann was riding her bike when she was discovered to be missing, I feel it is important to point out that my book, What Would You Do? A Kid’s Guide to Staying Safe in a World of Strangers, provides children with self-defense strategies in the event they would get grabbed by a potential abductor. One of those strategies explains how a bicycle that a child is riding when an abduction attempt is made can be used by the child to make it more difficult for someone to successfully grab him or her.

Sharing such a book with your children can help to empower your children to take a proactive role in staying safe from abduction. Such a book could end up being one of the most important investments you could make as a parent.

A picture of missing Breann can be seen on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children using the following link: http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&LanguageCountry=en_US&searchLang=en_US&caseLang=en_US&orgPrefix=NCMC&caseNum=1177314&seqNum=1