We had some of our visitors complain that they haven’t been getting our Amber Alert GPS blog posts. I am just testing today to see that everyone is getting this blog post through their email or twitter. Hope this gets to you, ’cause your kids safety is very important to us.
Julia Howard
www.amberalertgps.com
While the Amber Alert GPS child locator is one of the most accurate ways to find a child quickly in the event of the unthinkable, all parents who purchase one hope they will never have to use it. With a little work with kids the chances are they will do exactly what is needed of them in the event they are ever faced with a dangerous situation involving a stranger.
Most of us remember as kids we were taught to never talk to strangers and to definitely never take anything from them whether it is candy or even toys. But the strangers of today do seem to be a little smarter and so kids of today need to be smarter as well.
Many strangers today will try and trick a child into thinking their parents sent them to pick up the child. Often times the story is somewhat convincing especially if the stranger can arm themselves with information that may be posted on the internet. Many families choose to use a safe word that must be used by anyone other than the usual person who picks up the kids. If the person does not know the safe word than at no time should a child go anywhere with that person.
This is one tactic to protect children against strangers so that hopefully a child GPS tracking device will not be needed to find them after a kidnapping. Other strategies is to make sure kids always travel in groups and work to protect each other by staying together. As effective as the Amber Alert GPS is at finding children nobody ever wants to use the device to do this. Parents who buy one hope that it is peace of mind only and nothing they will ever actually have to use.
Julia Howard
www.amberalertgps.com
Many families enjoy spending time outside together on camping trips and there is no better way to get away from it all and experience quality time that is hard to come by these days. But for some families this fun trip can sometimes turn into scary events that do not always end well. It can be so easy for a child of any age to wander off from camp and get lost in the woods where finding them can be difficult. To make matters worse local search and rescue teams do take time to get organized and this can potentially place the child exposed to overnight conditions.
Families that use a Amber Alert GPS child locator device in their daily lives will find that this unit despite being designed for suburban use will many times work in rural areas as well. For many users they will discover that if there cell phone will work where they choose to camp then they can access the coordinates of the tracking device to find a lost child quickly.
Though not a guarantee, depending on where the family is camping, this GPS tracking unit can potentially help parents find a child that has wandered off from camp quickly to prevent them from spending a cold night outside. If the child has gotten hurt while they were lost it can also help them get the medical attention they truly need faster in order to take care of them the best.
While not a substitute for staying together in the first place or even for a well trained search and rescue team, this GPS tracking device can help get kids home faster and keep them safe both at home and when away with the family.
Julia Howard
www.amberalertgps.com
While the Amber Alert GPS child locator is effective at finding lost children there is still that moment of fear for kids when they realize that they do not know where they are at. While we teach our children not to talk to strangers in normal everyday life we then tell them to go to a policeman or person of authority should they find themselves lost. This can be confusing for kids, but many authorities are telling parents that a child approaching a stranger is most often in no danger at all.
Kids need to understand the difference between a stranger approaching them when they are not in distress as opposed to them approaching someone when they need help. When a stranger approaches a child the odds are very high that their intentions are not good. But most people are not bad and the average person a child runs into when they are lost will be loving and supportive in attempts to help them find their way back to their parents. Many teach that kids should approach women first since more often than not their mothering instinct will kick in and they will want to do all they can to help.
Parents need to work with their children in practice sessions in the home for both situations. Studies have shown that kids who know what to do and have practiced how to handle strangers both in danger and for help are better prepared should they need to use it one day. While no parent wants their child to ever get lost and a personal tracking device can help find them quickly a smart child that knows exactly what to do will be able to keep the situation under control until they get reunited with their parents again.
Julia Howard
www.amberalertgps.com
I just read this article about the success or the Amber Alert system. It is wonderful to hear about the lives that are being saved and children being found thanks to this wonderful program. What really surprised me was the statistic that a child goes missing in the USA every 40 seconds. That is simply amazing. I am sure a lot of them are missing temporarily and that mom and dad just lost track of them somehow, but every 40 seconds? Mind boggling. Of course, the AAGPS child tracking device would go a long way to helping solve this issue.
Another scary thing is the number of predators who are online trying to connect with our kids through Facebook, MySpace, etc. The article mentions a YouTube video that tells predators how to target and identify children online. Is that sick or what? Well, check out the article, for the good and the bad…
http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=37444&catid=1081
To Your Child’s Safety,
Julia Howard
OK, after the “How Does It Work Question”, it seems like the #1 question on everyone’s mind is the “Price Question”.
In other words… what is this new-fangled, life-saving Amber Alert GPS 2G child tracking device going to cost?
That seems like a fair enough question…
BUT IT’S THE WRONG QUESTION !!!!!
Now I don’t want to be too hard on you here - I know that you probably have a budget to work around and you want to save as much money as possible on everything you by. Heck, we all do that!
You are probably thinking “How can I afford this 2G child tracking device with all the expenses I already have to pay every month?”
Well, that is where everyone is all turned around. The real question you should be asking is:
“How much is my child’s life worth and how much is my own peace of mind worth?”
You see, having an accurate child tracking device could go so far as to save your child’s life…do you fully and completely get that? The “price” of a product compared to the “value” of your child are totally different things. You have heard the old statement “You can’t put a price on your child’s life”. Well, that certainly may be cliche but it applies, wouldn’t you agree?
There are some things that you learn to spend every month that you can’t live without, even though, at the time, you wondered if it was really worth it.
Think of a cell phone, for those of you who have one, or the internet,which pretty much everyone reading this blog post has in their home or business. I remember wondering why I needed a cell phone or why I needed high speed internet. Now, I can’t imagine living without them. As a matter of fact, my whole business revolves around cell phones and internet to run this Amber Alert GPS business. I KNOW that you will feel the same way about the 2G child tracking device once you start using it every day.
Here is a comment from someone on this very blog:
” I’m willing to pay $200-$400 to insure my child’s safety, this is very important to me. Even if I need to cut back in other areas to make sure I can afford this.
Then again I have a child that is 10 years old and has little to no verbal communication.
I see this as an absolute must in my circumstance.”
Do you see where I am going here?
For the last couple of weeks I have been trying to change the way you look at child safety and the devices that are available to ensure it. It truly is a tool to keep your children safe, not to mention to give you peace of mind all day long.
It should be a hedge against abductors, sexual abusers, pedophiles, and, much more commonly, against poor decision-making skills of our little children. It is really an investment that will pay for itself over and over with each day you get to spend with your smiling, carefree, and precious child. It should never be considered an expense.
Now, having said all this, I can tell you that we are putting together a special August launch package only for those folks who have signed up for our Child Safety Tips newsletter (go here to sign up now, if you haven’t done so already: http://www.amberalertgps.com/free_ebook.html ).
We are still working on the details of it, but I should be able to present it to you within the next week. It will include promotional discount pricing as well as some bonus gifts that will make getting started very affordable!
To Your Child’s Safety,
Julia
www.amberalertgps.com
We all would love the opportunity to stay home with our children when they are young but for many this is just not something that will happen. Too many families rely on a paycheck coming in from both parents in order to make ends meet so day care is not an option but a necessity. Of course some parents love to work and feel the time at a childcare facility is important for a child’s personal development. Whichever case it may be for your family once you decide the children will be in a day care than you will need to actually choose one.
If you already have a friend or family member with a child spending their days at a care facility and they are happy with who they are with consider yourself lucky that the legwork is already done for you. If you are not so lucky than you will need to prepare to look at lots of child care providers and compare them all for the best option for your child.
A great way to start is to make a list of what you would like in a daycare. For some this means it is on the way to work or near the home. Many want a facility that not only watches the children but works with them on an educational level as well. Some caregivers offer trips and activities while others do not so is this something you want for your child.
Once you have your list start looking at facilities that meet your requirements. Check to make sure they are currently licensed with your state and there are no complaints or violations on file for them. Meet the staff and make sure they are not only qualified but seem to enjoy their job. Check to see that the building is clean and if they take trips the vehicle is safe for children, especially those in car seats.
Of course once you do decide on a day care, continue to check in on them. Staff may change as well as ownership so you should always routinely check things out. Plus take the time to come by at different times to pick up or see your child so that you can see them at various times with your child.
By the way, if any of you already have a child locator device of any brand, would you please give us some feedback? We would like to know how many times a day you request location information from your tracking device. We are doing a cursory survey to see what usage folks are getting from their tracking device…whether it is one of our units or another brand.
Just email julia@amberalertgps.com if you have some input about that.
Thanks,
Julia
www.amberalertgps.com
Before I get into today’s child safety tip, I just have to tell you about our new web design. We re-did the whole site along with our new packaging for the Amber Alert GPS 2G child locator unit. I am so excited about it. Go take a look and give us your opinion:
If you would like to leave a comment for us about our new design, go to: http://amberalertgps.groupieguide.com/news/new-site-design-for-amberalertgps-com and give us your feedback. We’d love to hear from you and share it with our readers!
Anyway, onto our Child Safety Tip…
Many airlines give parents the option of either purchasing a ticket for their child when the family travels on their planes or just holding them on their lap for the flight. Many parents are tempted to save the money and just sit them in their lap for the flight since they feel that there is not quite the danger that there is like riding in a car.
The FAA actually recommends that children not only have their own seat but are also restrained in an approved restraint system. In an emergency or during times of heavy turbulence there is no safer place than safely tucked away into their own seat. Many airlines will accommodate parents to make the trip not only safe but also affordable.
If you plan on traveling and would like children to have their own seat you should book this at the same time you book your flight. It is also important to reserve adjoining seats to ensure that you will be sitting together on the day of the flight. Also some airlines will even offer a discounted rate for young children when you buy them their own seat. When you are making your reservations do not hesitate to ask about this since it does not hurt anyone to do so. Some airlines also offer an approved child restraint system (CRS) that you can use while on your flights. Discuss this with them as well when you make your flight arrangements so that you know how the airlines handles a CRS whether they provide it or you do and if so whether it counts as checked baggage.
Make the flight safe for your child and make sure you are well prepared for the time with plenty of snacks and activities to keep them occupied while you are on the plane.
Hope this helps!
Julia Howard
www.amberalertgps.com
Kids can do some amazing things and sometimes we as parents hold them back because we think we are protecting them or we do not want them to grow up. Yet we hear great stories on the news of kids that do heroic things to save others when many felt they were too young to have done so. One of the many ways kids help people is by calling for help when the adult they are with cannot.
Ensuring your child knows how to call for help on a phone can not only help in case of emergency it can also greatly help in case they are ever lost from home. Whether it is simply 911 they are learning, a home phone number, or even how to access the numbers in a cell phone this can be a great help in case of emergency.
Of course kids should also know the address of where they live so that if they are calling for help or are lost they can give this vital piece of information to the adult who is helping them. Even the youngest children can learn these vital pieces of information and know when to use them if only parents take the time to make sure they teach it to them.
Hope this helps! By the way, we have some exciting news coming out soon about the new Amber Alert GPS 2G child locator unit! I will keep you posted. Also, did you know that we were on TV again? Check out the clips from San Francisco and Sacramento TV on our home page. You will see a little video menu right smack dab in the middle of our home page at the top. Just click on the 2nd and 3rd video clips and you’ll see us on TV!
To Your Child’s Safety
Julia Howard
www.amberalertgps.com
A while back we, at www.amberalertgps.com, put up a blog post about child safety seats. We just received an email from Janette Fennell, Founder/President of KidsandCars.org, who gave us some great additional information for your child safety seats. Here is what she suggests, in her own words (and we feel this is fantastic, crucial, and life-saving advice):
“Probably one of the most important points to make is that when they move their children from one seat to the next it is NOT a GRADUATION! Parents are inadvertently demoting their children every time they change seats.
When children are moved from a rear-facing restraint to a forward-facing restraint, it is a demotion. It is not anything to celebrate. We would all, in fact, be safer rear-facing in the backseat. Keep children rear-facing as long as possible. Did you know in Sweden children ride rear-facing until the age of 3 or 4?
When children are then moved from a forward-facing restraint to a belt-positioning booster, it is a bigger demotion. Notice the lack of ‘restraint’ in the name of the device they will be using in a vehicle. Belt-positioning boosters do not restrain children. They boost children so the adult seatbelt system fits them better.
When children are moved from a belt-positioning booster and allowed to ride in a vehicle using the adult seatbelt, this is the biggest demotion in safety terms. Remember for whom these adult seatbelts were
originally designed - 170 lb male.
And then at the magic age of 15 (formerly 13), it is safe for children to ride in the front seat! With only two or three years to their high school graduation… we finally ‘graduate’ them into the adulthood of becoming a driver.
We all need to help parents stretch out the time kids spend at each stage — keeping the
kids there “as long as possible.” Every step is a learning step for both parents and kids.
Celebrities ride in the back–where it is 40% safer.
The “5-Step Test” is the best way to determine if a child can be demoted/graduated to wearing an adult safety belt.
The 5-Step Test.
1. Does the child sit all the way back against the back of the auto seat?
2. Do the child’s knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat?
3. Does the belt cross the shoulder between the neck and arm?
4. Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs?
5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?
If you answered “no” to any of these questions, your child needs a booster seat to make both the shoulder belt and the lap belt fit right for the best crash protection. Your child will be more comfortable, too and will be able to see out the back window better!
REVIEW:
Keep babies rear facing as long as possible
Keep small children in a car seat with a harness as long as possible
Keep older children in a booster seat for as long as possible
Keep children in the back seat until they are ready to drive.
Hope this is helpful. If you need anything else, please feel free to contact us.”
This is great counsel, Janette. Thank you for a.) taking the time to read our blog post, and b.) giving us such wonderful content that will help our readership out significantly. Here is her information if you’d like to contact her or her organization:
Janette E. Fennell
Founder/President
KidsAndCars.org
Janette@KidsAndCars.org
(913) 327-0013
Fax (913) 327-0014
www.KidsAndCars.org
Before you turn the key; make sure you can see
Julia Howard
www.amberalertgps.com
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