Keeping Kids Safe

It is a sad state of our present society, that children no longer roam free to do as they please but rather are monitored every minute of the day by various means of technology. We keep them on a short leash because it seems that so much more meanness is waiting to happen. It's awful to live in fear; and I really don't want to. So I try to place my trust that people are still innately good at heart, and I try to be sensible and teach my kids to be the same. Don't go paranoid crazy, but there are steps that you can take to make your children a little safer.

Here are a few tips offered by Defywire.

BACK TO SCHOOL SAFETY CHECKLIST
1. 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.
2. Tell your child to use a short text message code with an agreed-upon meaning in an emergency. A pre-set word such as “stars” could quickly and safely convey the message, “I am in danger at school.”
3. 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 Facebook to tell loved ones that they were safe and where they were located.
4. 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.
5. 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.

Defywire is a company that is committed "to keep children safe and teachers teaching." They do this by providing a software that allows schools the capacity to track students, to know where they are at all times and to be able to access vital information about each student in case of emegencies. Their website is full of safety tips that is worth revisiting.