Getting your young children ready to go back to school shouldn't stop with school supplies. You also should be thinking about getting their health and safety organized. It may not be something you want to think about, but a little bit of preparation can make all the difference. We urge you to take a few minutes this week and make a plan.
Alicia on "Stranger Safety":
Nothing is more important than the safety of your child. As the old adage goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Teach your child what to do if lost or approached by a stranger. A few minutes of preparation will give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing your child is on guard. Check out this Web site for more information: http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PageServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=2814.
Sarah on "Get Your Flu Shots":
Doctors across the world are gearing up for more than just a regular flu season this year. With the swine flu (H1N1 virus) posed to re-emerge this fall, parents and caregivers need to be extra vigilant about vaccinations. Experts say that, unlike seasonal flu, which typically strikes hardest at the very young and the elderly, H1N1 has proven more troublesome for children and young adults. It has also been hard on pregnant women. So if you're expecting, or have young, school-age children, you should make an appointment with your physician and/or pediatrician now to get vaccinated. Don't wait.
A few more tips:
1. Get an ID Kit
Many schools have "ID Days," when safety experts come and create basic ID kits for young children, including fingerprints. Call your school's administrator to find out if they will have one. If not, it only takes a few minutes to make one of your own. We like the kits offered through http://www.911childid.com/ and http://www.safety-identification-products.com/child-fingerprint-card.html, each of which you can order online. These cards make it easy for you to capture and store critical elements of identification, like fingerprints and photos. A few minutes of preparation will give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing your child's ID information is organized and stored in one place.
2. Role-Play
Another important thing to do is teach your child what to do if lost or approached by a stranger. Consider role-playing with them during calm or quiet moments. Good questions to try out are:
-- What would you do if we were in a store and you looked up and you couldn't find Mommy or Daddy? Good answers: Find a policeman, and if a policeman isn't there, go to a person at a cash register or find another mommy with children.
-- What would you ask the person to do? Good answers: Tell them your first and last name, ask them to help you find your mommy or daddy, and wait there until Mommy or Daddy come back to get you.
-- What if someone who wasn't Mom or Dad tried to make you go with them? Good answer: Yell and scream and say, "No! You are not my mom or dad!"
3. Make Sure They Have Important Info Easily Available
Your child should always have important medical and contact information with him at all times, just in case something happens. We strongly recommend that parents get something like a Pocket.doc (or laminate your own information card), available at Office Depot stores and online at www.FranklinPlanner.com. It keeps critical emergency, medical and contact information at the ready. Fill one out for each child and place in the front pocket of each child's backpack.
(The writers are co-founders of Buttoned Up, a company dedicated to helping stressed women get organized. Send ideas and questions to yourlife(at)getbuttonedup.com. For more columns, go to scrippsnews.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
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