Back To School Safety Tips

by guest blogger, Kim Estes

helping kids stay safe at Savvy Parents Safe Kids

 

There is a lot of preparation that goes into back to school season and now is the perfect time to brush up on safety too.
Preschool years: Start talking about the “Uh-oh” feeling. Let kids know that the “icky” feeling they may feel in their tummy is their body’s way of letting them know that something is not right. Encourage them to seek out a safe grown up when they get the uh-oh feeling. Let them know they are the boss of their body!

Elementary school years:

Talk about the roles and responsibilities of the adults around them. Talk about healthy boundaries. Review who their safe grown ups are. Review with your child who is authorized to pick them up from school. Ask them if anyone gives them the “Uh-Oh” feeling. Remind them to “check first” before accepting gifts or rides from anyone (even if they know the person!).

For parents:

Plan ahead on how you want to handle play dates at new friends’ houses. Talk about how you want to handle sleepovers this year. Talk about the readiness of your child if they express and interest in walking home with a friend or if they want to try staying home alone for short periods of time. Thinking ahead and preparing to answer these questions will make you less a target of being put on the spot when your kid asks you.

For all ages:

Remember to make talking about personal safety a fun thing. Never use scare tactics. The more you talk about safety the more your kids learn about listening to their instincts and how to make safe choices.

© 2011, Kim Estes. All Rights Reserved

Views expressed by guest bloggers may not be the views of Washington Parenting Education Network or all of its members. Guest bloggers are wholly responsible for the content of their posts.

Real World Movie Ratings!

by guest blogger Amy Lang

sex ed expert at Birds & Bees & Kids

I just saw Bad Teacher (this URL is to a detailed description of the movie) a very highbrow flick involving so much use of the f-bomb in context I was wowed.  I may have been a little over sensitive to it because there was a 9 or 10 year old boy and two 13 year old (I’m hoping) girls watching along with me.

Don’t worry, they were there with their parents, so it’s okay. You all know I love it when parents are REALLY open with their kids about sex. Love. It. Especially since I think it’s really awesome for a 10 year old to hear things like “I caught my finance trying to have sex with the dog. There was peanut butter everywhere.”  I'm joking, of course!

It was sex ed day for that family and little old judgmental me got to have her movie going experience kinda ruined because I was stressing out about these kids watching this really raunchy stuff.

So, for your information (and mine) here is a link to a lovely site that lets you make an informed decision about movies you take your kids to or let them see.

Movies are really big, loud and real and can scar, scare and confuse children if they aren’t capable of processing the content.

Kids In Mind has a great rating system based on profanity, gore/violence and sex and nudity. They spell it out so you can make an informed decision. Go read up on the films out right now. You might change your mind about letting your kids see them.

PS - The movie was pretty funny – just check your expectations at the door and leave your kids at home, please!

(c) 2011, Amy Lang. All rights reserved.



Views expressed by guest bloggers may not be the views of Washington Parenting Education Network or all of its members. Guest bloggers are wholly responsible for the content of their posts.