Write Your State Representative Tell Your Congress Person - Our Kids Come First. Keeping Our Kids Safe Should Not Have To Be A Debatable Issue, It's A No-Brainer. To find out if a child predator lives near you, click on this link and search through the national registry. N S O R
On Our Front Page You'll Find Important Issues Concerning Child Safety.
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Educating Adults
How To Properly Approach A Child.
We teach our children to never talk to strangers and if a stranger does approach our kids while they are playing in the yard, invading their safety zone, they are taught to run into the house as fast as they can to come find mom or dad yelling stranger.
However, it is also very important to teach adults how to approach a child safely without giving the child the impression you pose a threat or wish to do the child harm. Most importantly without invading the child's Safety Zone.
Most adults when they approach a strange child will at least try to be friendly and may even say something cheerful or positive to the child to show a friendly gesture. Although, if an adult casually walks into a yard where a child is playing and even though your intentions may be harmless. If the child does not run away because you seem to be friendly, the next friendly stranger that comes along may be that stranger that does mean the child harm but because the child has met other friendly strangers, the child has no reason to be aware of the danger that is approaching. When you approach a child and interact with the child as a “friendly stranger” you are teaching that child to trust strangers, which could cost that child’s life. That certainly does not mean to say you should scorn or ignore every child you meet but there are proper ways of approaching a child in a friendly way without invading the child’s safety zone.
It is necessary that as we teach our children to never allow a stranger to approach them, not even to get close enough to start a conversation, we should also teach adults to never approach a strange child who is playing in the security of their own yard, their safety zone. It defeats the purpose of what that child has been taught about trusting friendly strangers.
Here is what to do if you happen upon a child that is playing in a yard where you are visiting.
1. If you are walking down the street and there is a child playing in the yard at the house where you are visiting,
DO NOT go into the yard but make your presence known to the child staying at least 30 feet away as not to pose a threat to the child. Tell the child to go into the house and get his or her mom or dad in order to come out to where you are. After the child has gone into the house you may step inside the yard but keeping a safe distance until mom or dad comes out to greet you and to invite you in.
2. If you are driving down the road in your car and you pull into a driveway where a child is playing in the yard,
DO NOT get out of the car. Roll down your window and tell the child to go into the house in order to get mom or dad to come out to where you are. After mom or dad comes out to greet you, then you may get out of the car and be invited in.
These rules apply when a child is playing in the yard and you are a stranger and the child does not know who you are.
If every adult practiced these rules when approaching a strange child, it would help children to know when a real threat is approaching from a stranger who is breaking the rules of engagement invading the child’s safety zone to do the child harm.
Children are smart enough to know the difference when they are taught how to recognize the correct procedures of a stranger approaching and when it is necessary for them to run and get help if a stranger does get to close.
It is the responsibility of all adults to follow the safety rules of child / adult engagement in order to keep our kids safe from predator strangers.
Keep Our Kids Safe – Read Below About Our Stranger Smart Classes Coming Soon To Your Area.
If there is not a stranger smart class in your area, help us get one started.
Parents & Adults DO NOT Leave A Child In A Car Alone For Any Length Of Time, Especially While You Run In To Pay For Gas. We here story after story of kids being taken from cars while a parent runs into a store for just a moment to pay for gas or to pay a bill.
A woman in Atlanta ran in to pay for gas leaving her baby in the car seat and the keys still in the ignition thinking she would only be just a minute. A minute was all it took for a man to steal the car with the baby inside. Evidently the man didn't realize there was a baby in the car when he took it because the car was found just a couple of blocks down the street with the baby still strapped in the car seat. No doubt when the man realized there was a baby in the car he must have panicked realizing the crime he had just committed was now more then car theft but also child kidnapping. The man was never caught but the baby was recovered safe, a rare outcome for this kind of case. Over 500 Kids are snatched every day nationally by a total stranger. It's only on occasion do you hear about a child being taken by a stranger in the “National News” or on the 24 hour ‘Cable News” channels and only if the story is considered by the network executives to be news worthy. If the news channels reported on every child taken by a stranger every day in America it would completely dominate and consume the airtime.
It's why Kids Safety Smart is calling for the creation of a cable channel dedicated solely to the cause and purpose of finding missing kids; reporting on every child that is taken by a predator.
It really gripes my soul when cable news channels waste valuable airtime on silly news stories or soap opera news stories when there are so many kids being taken by complete stranger every day that needs that valuable airtime to help law enforcement retrieve the child safely if at all possible before it's too late. If you agree with us that there should be a 24-hour National Cable Channel dedicated to finding missing kids, scroll down and read the article with the flashing satellite dish and join with us in our efforts to make it happen; For Our Missing Kids Sake.
Do you remember how good you felt when you heard the new that Elizabeth Smart had been found after being missing for over a year or even just recently when the two boys in Missouri were found alive one boy even after being missing for over four years? We can enjoy those same glorious feelings of safe reunions of kids with their families after being taken by a stranger if we can only give law enforcement all the tools they need to track down a child predator who has taken a child for the purpose of doing that child harm. Time is crucial in these cases and every light of hope can mean the difference. A 24-hours National News Channel for missing kids could be that light of hope for many missing kids to bring them home safe.
Celebrity Drunk Driving. Two days after 20 year old actress Lindsay Lohan was arrested on suspicion of DUI after her Mercedes hits a Beverly Hills curb and crashed her car, she was found slumped over passed out last evening in the passenger seat of her car obviously drunk. Evidently Miss Lohan has a serious problem with drinking and driving as this is her 3rd car crash in two years. It is irresponsible people like this that strengthens our resolve to stop drunk drivers.
If Miss Lohan’s family and friends can't stop her from drinking and driving, we can with our proposed bill.
Miss Lohan has become our poster example for how serious this problem is.
Drunk Driving Bill Proposed.
Fatal crashes occurring from midnight to 3:00 AM, 77 percent involved alcohol in 2003. The next most dangerous time period for alcohol-related crash deaths were 9 PM to midnight (64 percent of fatal crashes involved alcohol), followed by 3 AM to 6 AM (60 percent of fatal crashes involved alcohol). (NHTSA, 2004)
According to these statistics concerning drinking and driving, the road at night between 9PM and 6AM belongs to drunk drivers. The majority of these drivers are drunk after leaving a bar or nightclub.
Read our Bill to congress by clicking on this link and please give us your support.
Together we can stop drunk driving.
Drunk Driving Bill
Please Sign This Petition And Help Us Stop Drunk Driving.
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Speeding Through A Residential Neighborhood. In most residential neighborhoods the speed limit is usually 30 to 35 miles per hour but if you are driving down a street where kids are playing or if you see a child standing on the side of the road about to cross the street, regardless of the legal speed limit slow your car down to 10 or 15 miles per hour until you pass the child safely. Being just a child, he or she without thinking may run out in front of your car and even at 30 miles per hour you can kill a child even if you do manage to hit the brakes.
If the child looks to be under the age of 4 you can be sure your chances of the child running out in front of your car is a 50/50 chance. Slow down when you see a child near the street. If you kill a child with your car because you were not paying attention or going to fast, it will devastate and haunt you for the rest of your life. Children are not responsible but adults are; or they should be.
GET OFF THE CELL PHONE WHILE DRIVING BEFORE YOU KILL SOMEONE.
Be responsible when you're driving. It should not have to take a law before people will use a little common sense and realize that when you are driving and talking on a cell phone, YOUR POTENTIAL TO KILL SOMEONE GOES UP. Studies show that people who talk on a cell phone while driving is equivalent to driving intoxicated.
I see it everyday when I'm driving and I know you do too; people driving down the street talking on a cell phone and without thinking, will almost run someone down or they'll switch lanes on the freeway and almost run someone off the road. The worst are people who get on the phone and slow down in traffic to a crawl and are completely ignorant to anyone else on the road or what’s going on around them.
My own nephew while crossing the street was struck by a car going 30 miles an hour. The woman driving the car was talking on the phone and not paying attention to a little boy who was just about to cross the street. It’s a miracle he wasn’t killed.
Don't wait for a law to be passed before you do the right thing. Stay off the phone while you drive.
It’s only common sense. The life you save might be your own.
It's that time of the year again when the pollen in the air does more then tickle your nose when your outside but makes it difficult to breath for millions of people who suffer from allergies. Allergies are one of the leading causes of asthma in children. Twenty million people in the U.S. are estimated to have asthma including 6.3 million children. Asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism due to chronic illness. During the past 20 years the number of school absences due to asthma has more than doubled.
Find out more at, Sinus News
Kids Awareness Months
Children's Car Seats The safest place in the car for your child to be is in the back seat of the car seated in the middle. Most parents place their children's car seat in the back seat either on the left side or the right, whichever side is more convenient when placing the baby in the car or taking the baby out.
Consider this. When your child is seated on either side of the car up against the door, if your car is struck from that side of the car the only thing between your baby and the striking car is 4 inches of door panel, which is not strong enough to resist an impact. It's a 50/50 gamble when you place the car seat on either side hoping if you are struck by another car it won't be on the side your baby is seated.
By placing the car seat in the middle of the back seat you reduce the risk of your baby being injured if the car is struck from either side because of the distance from your baby and the impact. It’s no longer a gamble but simply a safer place for your child to be.
I am always getting emails from people asking me how they can keep their teenage son or daughter from getting mixed up with the wrong crowd and possibly ending up on drugs. My question back to them most always is, “how much time does your teenager have on their hands to just sit around doing nothing, wasting time”? The answer is always their teenager constantly complains of being bored. Just so you know. That old saying, “idol hands are the devils workshop”, was talking about teenagers.
So, your teenager is bored? Well there is only one cure for that. Keep them busy. If they can’t find something constructive to do for them selves, then you the parent are in charge to see that they have plenty to do that will keep them busy and out of trouble. Being bored and wasting time is the breeding ground for teenagers and drug use. Better yet trouble.
Some suggestions would be sports or music. If your child is not interested in either one of those then there is community service, and volunteer work. Helping others builds character and a teenager with character is more likely to follow the right path and not get into trouble.
The Boy Scouts are well known to be an excellent organization for building character, as are The Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Two fantastic places that can help keep your teenager busy and will also teach them values and responsibility with a strong sense of morality. Learning how to get along with others in a group setting. Having friends, as a teenager is important but what’s more important are the kind of friends your teenager has. Good friends that support good things or friends that are constantly getting into trouble.
Church youth groups and youth ministries are wonderful for teaching teenagers to do good works and to follow the golden rule. Church also helps to focus on the strong sense of love, which is the foundation that stabilizes the building blocks of good character. Love enforces one's persona to do good works and to help others. Church is probably the only other place outside the home that will actually focus on teaching your child the responsibilities of love. Church groups usually have meetings an activities such as camp outings, cookouts and other fun recreational activities along with volunteering for community service. Like visiting nursing homes and even serving in food lines at the local soup kitchens or working in homeless shelters. When I ask parents who have teenagers in trouble or doing drugs if their child was ever involved with any of these types of activities they most always answer NO.
A part time job will help to build character and responsibility and can even curve your teenager’s interest or desire to try drugs or to get involved with the wrong people. Most important surround your teenager with good people who want to help your child, not destroy them. The best advice anyone can give a parent is to spend as much time with your child as possible and use that time to talk to your child about anything that’s on yours or your teenager’s mind. It doesn’t matter what you talk about; just talk. Remember love is the glue that holds it all together.
To sum it all up, keep your teenager busy with positive constructive activities and the key word is busy.
Keep reminding them how much you love them and how proud you are of your teenager.
Most important, YOU are the parent, be in control and Be The Parent.
Join Our Team We're Building A Coalition For Safe Kids, Come Join Us Help Us Keep Our Kids Safe
If we can help save one child's life or turn one teenager's life in the right direction, we've accomplished what we have set out to do. Let us add to that creed to help make parents life a little easier. Kids and parents are our main diving force; we're here for you. Of course we haven't forgotten our teachers, they're very special people too.
Kids, Parents and Teachers, working together we can accomplish anything.
Kids Safety Smart Is Now Hiring Workers And Representatives In Your Area.
Single Parents Program Are you a single parent with a teenager who is out of control and you need help? Do you sometimes have trouble paying the bills at the end of the month? Is your ex spouse difficult to get along with and you need someone in your corner?
Write to us we can help you. It's a FREE service to single parents.
We will stand beside you and give you all the support and resources you need to solve your problems; whatever we can do to help. You've Got A Friend
Get a Code Amber alert ticker like this one for your website or desk top.
It is a national tragedy when a little child goes missing from his or her home and is later found dead, a victim of a child predator.
Please get involved to write your congressman concerning predators who are stalking our children.
Start a Safe Neighborhood Watch with Kids Safety Smart and help protect your neighborhood.
Important Bulletin: Stranger Smart Parents Please Read This Bulletin, It Could Save Your Child's Life.
2,100 Children Are Reported Missing Each Day; 24% Are Abducted By A Stranger.
Recently studies were done to see if kids playing in a park could be lured away by a stranger after the kids involved in the study had sat down in a classroom setting just an hour prior to being tested and instructed on the dangers of talking to a stranger. After the stranger awareness class was over, the parents took their kids to a nearby park one at a time where they were allowed to play. As the parents and the safety instructor looked on from a nearby observation point, another instructor whom the kids had never seen before approached each child and attempted to lure the child away by asking the child if they could help find a lost puppy. Every single child walked away with the stranger. How could kids who had just been told an hour earlier not to go with strangers do just the opposite and walk away with a stranger? Each parent was upset and puzzled and later asked their child why they had walked away with the stranger? Most of the children replied, they wanted to help find the lost puppy.
The Conclusion: It is not enough to tell a child not to go with a stranger or even how dangerous it can be to walk away with a stranger but children must be SHOWN over and over again to make a lasting impression as part of a routine why they should never go with a stranger. If you're a parent you probably already know just telling your child not to do something, especially if they're small, is simply not enough. Children must be shown over and over again as part of a ROUTINE before it actually sinks into their little brain why they should not go with a stranger.
Our Safety Recommendation: Do the same test with your child in a controlled environment. Do the test again and again until they learn what to do if a stranger approaches them.
For Stranger Smart Classes and Testing in your area, write to us for more information. kidssafetysmart@teacher.com
The Stranger Smart Classes Are Dedicated To A Little 6 Year Old Boy, Charles Johnson. Charles disappeared on Sunday July 17 and his little body was found in the Watauga Lake on Tuesday July 19. He was last seen talking to a man and a woman in a Dodge Dakota with Florida tags; the police are still looking for the couple. It is so important that we not only teach our kids NOT TO TALK TO STRANGERS but we also SHOW them and TEST them until they completely understand why they should never talk to strangers.
This is one of the most important pages on our website.
Please read this page and give heed to our call to do more to protect our kids. A difference can be made only if everyone gets involved
Important Bulletin: Kids Safety Smart Safe Neighborhood
Is your neighborhood safe for your kids to go outside and play? Click on this important link to find out how to make your community a Kids Safety Smart Safe Neighborhood. It Could Save Your Child's Life. Safe Neighborhood
Code Adam Alert Help Find A Lost Child In A Store. Nothing can be more frightening to a child then to be lost in a crowded store. Find out more about Code Adam
Kids Safety Smart Is Calling For The Creation Of A "Missing Kids Channel" On Cable & Satellite TV.
Safe Guard Kids Safety On School Buses
Is your child safe riding the school bus back and forth to school each day? If you check the statistics and news reports you may have cause to be concerned. Every day in the United States there are over 144 school bus accidents (26,000 per year).
Over 9,500 children are seriously injured in school bus accidents each year and most all school buses do not have any type of restraining device or seat belt to keep kids from being thrown out or tossed around if the bus is involved in an accident. School buses should have seat belts in order to protect kids in case of a roll over or from being injured in a serious accident. The use of seat belts would also help to eliminate the hundreds of fights and assaults that occur on school buses each year. Help us keep our kids safe riding the bus to school and home again. Tell your school principal and school superintendent you want our school buses brought up to date with safe seats that include seat belts. No cost is too much when it saves a child's life, our number one goal. Click on the school bus above or the link below to watch a video of kids riding a school bus without seat belts. You may be surprised just how dangerous it can be. Find out how to make sure your kids are safe riding the school bus with Safe Guard
Kids Safety Smart is raising funds for our summer camp in Fall Creek Falls, TN.
Kids Safety Smart is a non-profit organization since 1996.
If you would like to contribute to our program,
please send your tax deductible donation to,
Kids Safety Smart
P.O. Box 71702 Chattanooga, TN 37407 423-443-3473
