If you have a teenager between the ages of 13 and 17, chances are very good that they have at least one profile on MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, Xanga or one of the other popular social networks. After all, a 2006 study conducted by Cox Communications and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) approximately 61% of teenagers, ages 13 to 17 years old have a personal profile on one of the social networking sites. Of this group, older teens, age 16 and 17, and girls make up for most of the social networking profile holders. So if your teenager has a space on MySpace, there are a few things that you, as a parent, should know and do to keep your child safe.

Chilling Facts on Teen Internet Usage and Perception

First, let’s get the scary stuff out of the way. These statistics come from the study done by Cox Communication and NCMEC and they give us a chilling glimpse into what our children are facing in today’s online world.

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Kids are vulnerable. Kids are curious. And Kids will do anything you allow them to get away with, and will continue until someone puts their foot down!

What about a child’s privacy? Many parents sometimes say, “I don’t like to violate my child’s privacy.” Alternatively, they might believe, stuff like that only happens to someone else’s child.

Are you this type of parent? Do you have these types of children? Well if you are and are dealing with curious and vulnerable children, listen up, because I will take on a journey through reality whilst showing you how to avoid online dangers by providing your child safety. 

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Child abuse is quickly emerging as a common epidemic around the world. Thousand of children are abused on a daily basis in the United States alone. When looking at this figure on an international basis, the number tops millions. It is your personal responsibility to know and understand what child abuse is, and the signs of child abuse. As a parent, a grandparent, an aunt, an uncle, a friend, relative, and coworker – it should be a priority to make certain that the children are receiving the love, care, and treatment that they deserve!

Child Abuse Defined

There are a number of definitions floating around regarding child abuse. This is a very broad term that can be defined in many different ways. However, the legislation of the United States government has defined child abuse as the act or the failure to perform an act with a child and/or children that ends up resulting in the physical harm to that child, death, sexual violation, emotional burden, and/or exploitation. If an adult places a child at risk for experiencing harm or any of the above situations, that is also considered child abuse. 

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Presented by Kent Estes

Teach Abduction Prevention Without Scaring Your Child or Yourself

Parents, it is time for you to get involved with the Polly Klaas Foundation, May 25 is National Missing Children’s Day. I was the Sexual Predator Coordinator in Broward County for over 5 years and I was a Career Criminal Detective for 8 years. During this time I met a lot of parents of missing and murdered kids. I noticed that they all had one thing in common and that is that they did not do anything until their child became a victim. Parents are not the victims, children are the victims from Sexual Predators. A parent does carry a emotional scare that their child has become a victim. Many times one parent will blame the other parent. This does not help and it can destroy a marriage and a family. What you need to do is, get involved. Order a Child Safety Kit from the Polly Klaas Foundation, www.pollyklaas.org/.

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The United States experiences a number of different natural disasters each year, ranging from earthquakes, floods, fires, and hurricanes to name a few. Each part of the United States is more likely to experience a certain type of natural disaster, and no location is completely safe from the many natural disasters that can occur. Homes, businesses, and other structures can be severely damaged during different natural disasters, and even lives can be taken under extreme circumstances. Although natural disasters cannot be prevented or avoided, there are many ways to keep your home and family safe in case one were to occur.

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Wow, its hard to believe it, but Halloween is almost here, and is a great time to be a kids and a great day for children. However, it is also a day in which caution and safety should be taken. Here are a few tips every parent should think about thi, some of which have been recommended by the National Safety Council.

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by Alan Hammond

Child abuse is widespread; an epidemic. Although untold numbers of abused kids are losing their innocence and being forced leave their childhood well before their time, we forget that fact. Many of us don’t even realize it. The daily rigors of providing the necessities and a happy life for ourselves and families push painful thoughts of children of abuse to the far corners of our mind. What follows here are some hard to face facts. Many of which we never consider.

According to Childwelfare.gov, a service of the Children’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, each week child protective services agencies across the USA receive more than 50,000 reports of child neglect or abuse. In 2003, there were reports involving 5.5 million children. It is startling that 906,000, almost one-million children, were found to have been the victim of abuse or neglect. The most astonishing fact is that nearly 1,500 children, 44-percent being one-year-old or younger, died in 2003, the victims of abuse or neglect.

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Presented by Kent Estes

I know you are teaching your child, child safety tips. You must also teach them there might come a time when they need help from someone. There is a difference in your child asking for help and a stranger asking them for help. Nothing is fool proof. All We can do is teach them and give them the right information.

We need to make sure that we teach our kids, if they become lost, that they know there is a difference between them asking for help and a stranger asking them for help. We stress to kids not to talk to strangers, but there might be a time when they need to ask for help from a stranger. A Time when they become lost and need help from others. There are times when anyone could use help from a stranger.

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