Sep 10 2013

Child Safety: Planning for Every Scenario

Posted on September 10, 2013 by olsk_mercado

The statistics of child endangerment is alarming and overwhelming. Yet, there’s nothing we can really do about it except protect our children as much as we possibly can. By making our children aware of the different scenarios they may come across we can better help them plan for child safety. If children know what to do in any given situation they have more of a chance to fight back and survive an attempt to harm them.

In order for this to be possible they have to know what kind of scenarios can happen and it can be a difficult discussion to have with your children. It seems like we taint their innocence by telling them the dangerous ways of the world but it’s a solid solution to make sure they grow up confident, safe and secure.

I would like to share some ways that we practice child safety. I have a 13, 12 and 3 year old. My youngest is a little too young yet to discuss these things but I have had the discussion with my older children. Here’s what we have planned in these scenarios.

a) At Home

There may be times when your children are home alone . The first rule is to make sure that they don’t tell strangers or even neighbors that they are home alone unless they can be trusted. If they should get a call asking for their parents rather than say that they aren’t home they can say they are in the bathroom or asleep.

It’s better that your children do not answer the door except for family members. If it is a delivery guy or the like they can always return. This lessens your children to potential crimes like robbery, abduction, etc.

Make sure they always check through a peephole who is at the door. If they should open it have the chain hooked so the door is only opened part way.

b) At School

I myself have witnessed an attempted abduction at school when I was a child. The girl they tried to abduct was brave because though they were able to grab her she fought back by biting the man who grabbed her and going through the opposite door of the car. Once she was out of the car she attracted attention by yelling. It was a busy time as children were all coming out of the school and plenty of parents were waiting to pick up their children. If she had not had the courage to do what she did she would have been taken.

As much as possible have your child walk in a group if they walk home. With the emergence of cellphones it also helps to load apps that can track your child where you can actually see where they are.

There are also GPS locators that can show you where your child is at any given time. If you’re a working parent make sure to give your child a call at the time you know they should be home. I ask my children to text me a very short message to let me know when they have arrived at school (AM-means am here) and GH-going home). It makes a world of difference to know the times that they are on their way home from school.

c) At the Mall

It happens especially in a crowded mall that we lose sight of our children. If we’re lucky it’s just for a few seconds. If they should be separated from you, you need to provide a clear plan of what to do.

Every mall has a toy store and this would be the best place to meet them if you should separate. However, if they are too young to find their way around the mall have them ask a female grownup who is also with a child for help. They will feel more relaxed approaching another mommy.

d) On the Street

Abductions right on the street happen everyday. Warn your children to stay away from parked vans. If a car or van should stop in front of them asking for directions tell them to keep a safe distance away. The best response is to walk away and go to the nearest group of people or a familiar store right away. They should never take rides from anyone unless you have informed them to do so.

A common scenario is when a stranger approaches a child to tell them that their mommy or daddy has been in accident and they need to go with them. Tell your children who will pick them up from school or who they can safely go with if this should happen.

e) Online

Online predators are the hardest to catch. They have the guise of the internet to help them in making contact with a child and eventually abducting them. Although you can place software to keep track of your child’s activities, nowadays children are internet savvy they can bypass safety software. They need to be told what kind of people are on the internet.

I had my children watch a movie, Trust to show them just what could happen. It was a frightening realization that your children can have a whole ‘nother world that you are not involved in. If they know the harm that can come to them they themselves will take precautions and keep safe even online.

In this day and age almost every child has their own cellphone. It can also be a powerful tool in helping your child stay safe. Make sure to remind your child to charge their phones. A phone call away might just be the help that they need.

There are plenty more scenarios out there but these are some basic ones that can prepare your child and leave with a sense of confidence, calm and safety. In knowing what they can do they are able to help themselves better.

Do you have other scenarios in mind or ways to keep safe? I would love to hear your suggestions.

Aug 14 2013

The Last Bully: A Book on Bullying

Posted on August 14, 2013 by olsk_mercado

Reading is a very important part of our life. I’ve been reading since forever and I wanted my children to enjoy the same rapture, excitement, sadness and adventure I felt when I was reading so naturally when my youngest son was born I wanted to develop his reading skills as early as possible. Hugo the Happy Starfish: The Last Bully is a good example of a book that can help develop characteristics like respect. Bullying is a very important issue that should be covered no matter what the age.

My son thoroughly enjoyed this book and wanted to read it together again. He’s only 3 years old but the colorful characters and story line kept him interested. Of course, I had to throw in some interesting voices and point out certain aspects such as Clooney the Clownfish crying, Simon the Shark being scared and Oscar the Orca being sad. These are all emotions he has felt and he loved to point out the different characters and the expressions on their faces.

The Hugo the Happy Starfish series by Suzy Liebermann features character education to teach respect, self esteem, empathy, commitment, appreciation, friendship among others. Focusing on a children’s book about bullying is certainly a timely topic. With the increasing number of children that have come forward to tell their stories of bullying in schools, hopefully a law against bullying will soon be passed.

*This is a sponsored post. There are links in this post that contain my referral link. Please read my disclosure policy.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Mar 2 2012

Anna Banana PLDT Commercial

Posted on March 2, 2012 by olsk_mercado

I have to say when I first watched the Anna Banana PLDT commercial I thought “That’s cute…” I appreciated the fact that the bottomline was that a mom would do anything for her child. In this instance, up the views of her son’s song video on youtube.

Upon 2nd and then 3rd viewing I thought “Well, that’s ridiculous! He’s not any good… What if he were to feel so confident that he got 100 views that he would think to sing this to the girl or out in public? How would he feel when people began to laugh at him because let’s face it this ain’t a movie and he would be booed or shouted at or who else knows.”

Then I got to thinking, what should a parent do? I have a son around that boy’s age and I feel (now, this is just my opinion) that I would be honest if he asked me if he was any good. I wouldn’t be cruel and say he sucked but I would probably in a gentle manner as possible tell him that maybe singing isn’t really his thing BUT if it was something that he wanted to do that I’d be behind him all the way (although in my mind I’m imagining I’ll be in front of him ready to kick the first person that laughs!)

I’d have to tell him what could happen and let him stew on that for a bit. Now I’ll probably have people say that I’m not letting him develop his confidence or I’m being a mean mom. My technique is to be honest and factual. I draw from my own experiences. I wouldn’t want my mom to let me make a fool of myself. I imagine I would say that there are probably better and more talented ways to get the message across.

It made me remember that film Little Miss Sunshine when Olive was rocking it on stage. Her parents cheered her on through that humiliating ordeal but I wonder if they had known just what she was going to do if things would have been different.

I guess the lesson learned there is that family loyalty won’t save you from the humiliation but it’ll make sure you won’t walk off that stage alone.

Note: There are links in this post that contain my referral link. Please read my disclosure policy.

Dec 5 2011

How to Practice Child Safety

Posted on December 5, 2011 by olsk_mercado

Every minute a child is reported missing. Today more and more children become victims to unthinkable crimes. In as much as we would want to preserve our child’s innocence of the crimes of today we need to ensure child safety by arming them with knowledge, confidence and a plan they can rely on.

Being a mother of 3 it’s hard to rest easy when any one of your children are outside nowadays. I do however take comfort in the fact that we have discussed possible scenarios they can act upon. We sometimes feel so complacent in our secure worlds that we can’t imagine anyone penetrating our protective bubble. The sad fact is that it is possible and it does happen.

Not every scenario can be covered but when you place trust in your children by sharing knowledge and being open to their questions they’re one step ahead. I want to share the ways that we practice child safety and hopefully you can apply it to your own families or get some ideas of your own.

1) Knowledge gives them confidence

The one thing that can help your child is to make them aware of the possibilities out there. Some parents are not confident in talking to their children about sex but this is at the top of the list of crimes against children. How can they know to fight back when they don’t know what’s happening? It’s the hardest talk you’ll ever have with your child but it is necessary.

Now you might be thinking what if they’re too young. You don’t need to be descriptive to get your point across. The easiest way to relay this is by letting your child know that areas covered by shirts and shorts are hands off. Even at a young age children can feel uncomfortable and that is a tell tale sign which they should recognize and listen to. With older children you can discuss in more detail what touches are appropriate and which aren’t.

2) Plan for every scenario possible

By discussing what to do in different scenarios you’re giving your children a plan they can rely on. Something that will hopefully pop into their head if such a situation were to occur.

In most cases, children are unable to act because they don’t know what’s happening, they don’t know what to do and they are overcome with fear. You lessen these when you talk to your child about what they can do. Alarm signals go off because they can possibly identify a situation for what it might be.

The reality of it is that children are vulnerable to these situations but we can make them stronger and confident. Studies have shown that shy and lonesome children are often the target for kidnapping. These are children that most likely do not speak up or are too frightened to stand up for themselves.

With a plan, they have a fighting chance. Read more about planning for different scenarios.

3) Trust in the decisions they make

In the end, you’ll have to trust your child to make the right decisions and that they take away with them a sense of responsibility for themselves and options they can rely on in any given situation. Reminders every now and then can’t hurt. Checking in with them every once in awhile and asking how things are will create an open bridge of communication.

What are some ways that you practice child safety? I’d love to hear how and what ways are also effective in teaching your children to stay safe.

Oct 14 2011

What it Takes to be a Mom

Posted on October 14, 2011 by olsk_mercado

Motherhood is easy to get into but hard to follow through. It takes dedication, patience and love. Along the way you pick up many tips and tricks and have the best memories that you’ll ever have.

I’d love to share some experiences and cool things I find along the way. It takes a lot of hard work and more often than not the satisfaction is purely your own. There is no monetary gain or fame and fortune. What you get is a life of love, trials, mistakes and happiness all mixed up into one great big formula of what I call motherhood.

I hope you have an enjoyable read as you pass through my blog and pick up some useful things to bring with you.