Photo: SXC

Today, we went to a local fire station that had a Memorial Day weekend open house, where we got to use a moon bounce, eat hot dogs and hamburgers, tour an ambulance and a bunch of different fire trucks and then see the paramedics, firemen and police officers rescue some dummies that were in a staged two car accident. The kids really liked seeing them turn a crumpled car into a convertible in seconds. I’m such a mom type that I kept worrying that the guy demonstrating would get his fingers cut off. They work in really tight quarters! We also got junior paramedic helmets. The cost of this fun outing? The $1.57 in loose change I found in the bottom of my purse and stuck in the donation jar. (I have got to start carrying a little cash around!)

A few other family friendly events that are going on in my area over the Memorial Day weekend are a Strawberry Festival, a discovery walk, a Fishing for Free Day that includes a fishing basics class and a bird and wildflower walk. If I want to spend four or five dollars, we can pan for creek gems or have a Memorial Day breakfast.

Does your area have a lot of free family friendly events over Memorial Day weekend?

Post from: Blisstree

Look for Free Events Over Memorial Day

Each year in America a staggering 800,000 children are reported missing – more than 2,000 children each day. Some are taken by family members; others by strangers. Some are exploited for sexual purposes; some are murdered or held for ransom. Some are never found. 

Etan Patz

In 1983, in an effort to reduce those horrifying statistics, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed May 25th as National Missing Children’s Day. A year later, Congress established the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), a n onprofit organization dealing with the issues of missing and sexually exploited children. Since then, NCMEC has played a role in the recovery of more than 138,500 children. Today, more children come home safely than ever before.

According to an analysis conducted by NCMEC, in 88 percent of attempted abduction cases the child escaped his would-be abductor through his own actions – yelling, kicking, pulling away, running away or attracting attention.

This Memorial Day weekend, in recognition of National Mission Children’s Day, take 25 minutes and teach your child NCMEC’s tips for staying safe:

At Home
1. Teach your children their full names, address, and home telephone number. Make sure they know your full name.
2. Make sure your children know how to reach you at work or on your cell phone.
3. Teach your children how and when to use 911 and make sure your children have a trusted adult to call if they’re scared or have an emergency.
4. Instruct children to keep the door locked and not to open the door to talk to anyone when they are home alone. Set rules with your children about having visitors over when you’re not home and how to answer the telephone.
5. Choose babysitters with care. Obtain references from family, friends, and neighbors. Once you have chosen the caregiver, drop in unexpectedly to see how your children are doing. Ask children how the experience with the caregiver was and listen carefully to their responses.

On the Net
6. Learn about the Internet. The more you know about how the Web works, the better prepared you will be to teach your children about potential risks. Visit www.NetSmartz.org for more information about Internet safety.
7. Place the family computer in a common area, rather than a child’s bedroom. Also, monitor their time spent online and the Web sites they’ve visited and establish rules for Internet use.
8. Know what other access your child may have to the Internet at school, libraries, or friends’ homes.
9. Use privacy settings on social networking sites to limit contact with unknown users and make sure screen names don’t reveal too much about your children.
10. Encourage your children to tell you if anything they encounter online makes them feel sad, scared, or confused.
11. Caution children not to post revealing information or inappropriate photos of themselves or their friends online.

Going to and from School
12. Walk the route to and from school with your children, pointing out landmarks and safe places to go if they’re being followed or need help. If your children ride a bus, visit the bus stop with them to make sure they know which bus to take.
13. Remind kids to take a friend whenever they walk or bike to school. Remind them to stay with a group if they’re waiting at the bus stop.
14. Caution children never to accept a ride from anyone unless you have told them it is OK to do so in each instance.

Out and About
15. Take your children on a walking tour of the neighborhood and tell them whose homes they may visit without you.
16. Remind your children it’s OK to say NO to anything that makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused and teach your children to tell you if anything or anyone makes them feel this way.
17. Teach your children to ask permission before leaving home.
18. Remind your children not to walk or play alone outside.
19. Teach your children to never approach a vehicle, occupied or not, unless they know the owner and are accompanied by a parent, guardian, or other trusted adult.
20. Practice “what if” situations and ask your children how they would respond. “What if you fell off your bike and you needed help? Who would you ask?”
21. Teach your children to check in with you if there is a change of plans.
22. During family outings, establish a central, easy-to-locate spot to meet for check-ins or should you get separated.
23. Teach your children how to locate help at theme parks, sports stadiums, shopping malls, and other public places. Also, identify those people who they can ask for help, such as uniformed law enforcement, security guards and store clerks with nametags.
24. Help your children learn to recognize and avoid potential risks, so that they can deal with them if they happen.
25. Teach your children that if anyone tries to grab them, they should make a scene and make every effort to get away by kicking, screaming, and resisting.

Video & screenshot, YouTube, CaptainRock

Post from: Blisstree

25 Tips to Keep Your Child Safe

My mom called me last Thursday and said, I’ll be there tomorrow, we’re flying in to surprise Mother [hers] for her 85th birthday.

We had a great weekend hanging out with our large extended family. I love a bonus visit with Grandma!

Image Source: Empowering Girls: So Sioux Me

Post from: Blisstree

Surprise Visit from Grandma