June 17, 2009

Things to Consider When Choosing Child Care

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , — admin @ 5:32 pm

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

May 27, 2009

Child Safety On Airplanes And Other AAGPS News!

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , — admin @ 5:59 pm

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:

http://www.amberalertgps.com

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

April 9, 2009

Child Proofing Your Kitchen…And A Very Sad Amber Alert Note

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 11:45 am

My heart is very heavy today. We have all heard about the tragic death of this sweet little girl in Tracy,  California. It just breaks my heart to see this happen, especially if it could have been prevented. Everyone associated with Amber Alert GPS has children, some of us as many as 6, and the thought of losing any one of our kids is almost too much to deal with!

We had a lot of calls after they found this young girl’s body, even from news agencies, because of the profound effect GPS child locator technology could have in preventing incidents like this. Our founder, Russ Thornton, did a TV interview on Good Day Sacramento and our Amber Alert GPS 2G unit was featured on KRON Channel 4 in San Francisco immediately after the grizzly discovery (here is the link if you would like to see the KRON piece: http://www.kron.com/News/GabrielSlatesTechReport/tabid/75/Default.aspx ). We don’t want these calls…they only come when tragedy is imminent or has occurred.  May we protect our children from any more of these senseless killings!

Now, onto something a little more pleasant…and preventative!…

Child Proofing Your Kitchen

A kitchen can be a wonderful place since in many wonderful family memories are created in this special room. From having family dinners together to those after school snacks a kitchen can be a warm and inviting place for the whole family but especially children. But a kitchen can also be a very dangerous place for small children so parents need to take extra special care to make sure they thoroughly child proof this room in their home.
•    Sharp knives and utensils can really hurt young children so care should be taken to ensure that these implements are well out of their reach or in a locked cabinet.
•    Appliances such as toasters and can openers need to be unplugged and outlet covers should cover all the wall outlets to keep electrocution accidents from occurring.
•    Appliance cords as well as hot pans on the stove should be positioned so that young kids cannot reach up and pull them off the counter or stove.
•    Make sure that dishwashing liquid and other cleaning products are well out of reach and locked up.
A kitchen can be a warm and inviting place as long as children learn how to be safe in this area of the home where we all spend a lot of time.

To Your Child’s Safety! And thank you to the thousands of you parents out there who receive our Child Safety Tips Newsletter and subscribe to this blog…it will help you help your children keep safe.

Julia Howard
www.amberalertgps.com

February 19, 2009

Our New Amber Alert GPS 2G Unit is Awesome!

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 1:55 pm

First of all, I just want to thank you for caring enough about your children to have requested our Free Child Safety Package. It is a wonderful kit with amazing information that can truly save your child’s life. I also hope that you are benefiting from our bimonthly Child Safety Tip Newsletter that we send out to you (if you just signed up today for the Child Safety Package, you’ll get your first issue tomorrow). We are always thinking of new tidbits of info that we can share with all of you.

I just had to write a little blurb about something I am SO excited about. As you may or may not know, your Child Safety Package was created by our parent company, Amber Alert GPS. Our main focus as a company is child safety and parent’s peace of mind.  Our main product is actually an award-winning product called  the Amber Alert GPS child tracking unit that we have created for parents to track their children no matter where they may be.

Well, what I am so excited about is that we have our new, smaller 2G unit being produced as I write and it will be out to the public Amber Alert GPS 2G child tracking devicein April. Our original product has been sold out for quite some time now and we have been working on this new unit for months. There is nothing like it out in the marketplace. We are a company of parents who have all benefited from this technology at one time or another, but wait till you see what this new one does!  If you want to see what we are working on, click on this link to check it out…

New Amber Alert GPS 2G child tracking unit

I just had to brag to someone! I can’t keep my mouth shut…I am so dang excited. If you don’t mind, I’ll keep you posted about it’s progress. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us by responding to this blog post or via email at info@amberalertgps.com or call our toll-free number, 1-888-334-3958.

To Your Child’s Safety,

Julia Howard
www.amberalertgps.com

January 27, 2009

Child Safety - Confidence and Paranoia

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 12:18 pm

Greetings, fellow concerned parents. Welcome to a new year and we, at amberalertgps.com, hope your 2009 is wonderful!

We have all heard the horror stories about child abduction. Whose heart hasn’t jumped when you see or hear an Amber Alert? Yes those tragedies happen, but the truth is that most children are not abducted and most are perfectly safe. This is the most important thing to remember.

However, before you breathe a sigh of relief—there are some things that parents should do to keep it that way.

First—don’t be overly paranoid or fearful, that leads you child to also become overly concerned. Speak confidently and openly about child safety and make sure that your child knows the basic rules.

–always let you know where they are at all times.

–stay with other children and in groups.

–know who they can go to for help. (Police, people in uniforms and grandmas)

–don’t talk to strangers no matter how nice they may seem.

Second—trust your instincts. Moms automatically come with a very sophisticated radar and antenna for being alerted to danger, lies, and situations that may not be the best for their children. (Remember how you though your mom had eyes in the back of her head.) Trust your feelings. Act on them. If you feel you should phone your child, do it. If you don’t think they should stay after school today or play with that particular friend, follow those feelings. They will be right most of the time.

Third—do the things that make you feel confident. Know who your child’s friends are. Set up rules and make sure your child obeys them. Get them a cell phone or even better a GPS child tracking device so you can know where your child is all times. How confident you feel with be reflected in your child’s behavior and how they feel about being safe and secure.

Fourth—talk. Talk with your child about school, friends, what they are doing. If there is open communication then you will know if something is not right and can take steps to fix the problem.

Being a parent is one of the most challenging and rewarding thing you can do. But it should also be enjoyable. Be pro-active with child safety so you can enjoy your children’s growing up years. This is the most miraculous time in their and your lives.

To Your Child’s Safety,

Julia Howard
www.amberalertgps.com