I received this letter from one of our Child Safety Package subscribers. I just had to share it with you. The grammar and spelling may make it hard to follow, but there is no mistaking the sincerity of this sweet mother:
“once again thank you so much. i do not know if i told you before but i started having kids young i was only 17 for one month when i had my 1st kid and 19 for a little while when i had my 2nd. i am blessed that the father of the kids married me and has been with me ever sence then!! i was raised by drug addicts and alcholech so they never told me how to protect my self if some ine came to do hare to me. when you are raised like that is is so hard to know what to say to your own kids. that is whay i am so thankful to you that you are doing this service. i just know that god is looking down and smiling upon you! liston to this just the other day i was driving by the bus stop that i take my kids to if i am unable to take them to school and there this was this very little boy, he had to be like 5 years old out there all alone by him self. i planed on taking my kids to school that day but when i saw him there all by him seld i decided to let my kids go on the bus so that i could sit there at the bus stop with all of them to make sure that nothing happened. i just do not understand how some one could let their small child stand on the side of the high way all alone when there is such mean sickos out there in this place we cal our world. i wish there was more i could do to let mothers and fathers know not to do thigs like this. i just do not know what it is i can do to help. thats why i am so greatful to you for doing what you are doing!!!!!! if only the cummingd family would of read some of the tips you have. thats why i say you are saving so many young children from veruy bad situations and for that you will be blessed!!! thank you from the bottom fo my heart! i look forwRD TO YOU EMAILS AND READ OVER EACH AND EVERY THING THAT YOU HAVE TO SAY OR TELL ME TO GO AND LOOK AT. MY KIDS ARE MY LIFE AN DYOU ARE DOING EVERY THING TO MAKE SURE IT STAYS THAT WAY. YOU ARE A GUARDIEN ANGLE FOR ALL THE KIDS. i just looked up and noticed that i must of hit the caps lock key be accendent. i am not going to retype it, LOL. i think it had to stand out any how. i am so glad to have met you. may god bless you and your family to the very fullest!!! love a sister mother amber“
Thank you, Amber, for your sweet and powerful letter.
Julia Howard
The internet can be a fun as well as educational place for our children to explore, be creative within, and find answers to all their curiosities but it can also be a dangerous place as all parents know. With Dateline catching predators on a regular basis and news stories almost daily being reported about cyberbullying, crazy teen videos, and other things as parents we really do not want to think about it can also be a dangerous place.
There are laws that protect our children as they spend time online but since the world wide web is a global environment this does not always protect them. Since many users also remain anonymous or create false identities this only complicates the issue of protecting our children. Parents should not depend solely on these laws and play an active role in their child’s use of the internet.
There are plenty of tools that parents can install on a computer that can limit where a child goes while they are online. Many internet service providers also offer additional tools so parents can also talk to them regarding their children’s safety while online. Both will give you the ability to not only control where your child goes while online but will also allow you to track their activities for a better idea of what they are doing online.
Of course the biggest tool to keeping your child safe online is to simply pay attention. Never allow children to access the internet from a computer in their room. Keep the computer in a family room and make sure you are with them while they are surfing the web. By being proactive to what your child is doing online as opposed to reactive you can better help them not only be safe on the internet but also enjoy it as well.
Julia Howard
www.amberalertgps.com
Creators of aagps child locator technology
I read a very tragic story today on cnn.com about a precious little 7th grade girl in Washington state who was brutally murdered by a registered sex offender. One of the things that really bugged me about this is that the sex offender was being monitored with a GPS tracking device, but no one was watching him at the time of the crime.
Here is a link to the story:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/03/12/sex.offender.gps/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
I truly wish that the little girl had a GPS unit on her instead! Surely her parents would have been far more vigilant of their daughter than the department of corrections is of their parolees. Her parents, who warned their daughter against going through the rough part of town where she was murdered, could have been spared this heartache by the “safe zone” feature of the Amber Alert GPS child locator device because the minute she crossed over into the forbidden area, her parents would have received an alert about her being in forbidden territory and they could have retrieved her immediately.
What an absolute heartbreak! I have small children and the thought of them being attacked when it could have been prevented makes me so sad. The world is becoming an increasingly dangerous and untrustworthy place. We must do all we can with the available technology to keep our families safe.
Julia Howard
www.amberalertgps.com
Every state in the country requires by law that infants and or small child ride in a moving vehicle in an approved child safety seat. As parents we want our children to be safe but many studies have shown that even though parents are using car seats a large amount of them are not being used correctly. Improperly using a car seat or using a car seat that is inadequate is just as dangerous as not having them in one at all.
When selecting a car seat for your child you should ensure that meets or exceeds Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213. Also many parents are tempted to purchase used seats but this is not advisable since you do not know the history of the child safety seat. It is easy to accidentally purchase car seats that are damaged or even recalled when you purchase used and this will not be effective in a car accident.
Infant seats are intended to hold babies until at least 1-year old AND at least 20 pounds, it is important to know the height and weight specifications on your particular model. These should be rear facing and if available placed in the back seat in the middle of the seat as opposed to the sides next to the window.
Once your child outgrows their infant car seat they are ready for a forward-facing child restraint or a convertible seat. Of course since the weight for most of these convertibles overlaps the infant seat so much many parents go to one of these before the child is out of the infant seat. This should NOT be done too early though since the harness system in these seats is always not the best for very small infants.
The final car seat for kids is the booster seat and the laws vary from state to state on how long a child will need to be in one of these. It is better to refer people to “best practices;” rather than state laws (which are the minimum in protection). If you have any questions on what the laws in your area are contact the local police or highway patrol and they will be more than happy to help you with this. If you also question if you are installing your child’s car seat wrong than they can also help you find an agency that will work with you to ensure that you are using it correctly. It would be better to go to a resource like http://www.safekidsweb.org/events/events.asp so they can find a specific place to have their restraint checked.
Julia Howard
www.amberalertgps.com
Our Child Safety Blog, from which you are reading right now, was recently listed as one of “The Best 50 Safety and Security Blogs” by www.forensicsciencetechnician.org. Here is the link:
http://www.forensicsciencetechnician.org/?page_id=16
We are #26! Isn’t that awesome?
Well, we love our blog and we love that our whole site is dedicated to Child Safety, whether it is our free child safety package or our state-of-the-art Amber Alert GPS 2G child tracking device. We are all about saving kid’s lives and giving parents some peace of mind when it comes to their little children.
Julia Howard
www.amberalertgps.com
