Search Results for: blog stranger danger and the preschooler

Teach Kids About Stranger Danger

It seems like every time we turn on the news we hear about another Amber Alert for a child that has been taken. It has been said that nearly 800,000 children are reported missing each and every year. These alarming statistics make me want to hold my son just a little bit tighter each night. It makes me never want my son out of my sight. This week we had an interesting experience that gave me the opportunity to teach my son about stranger danger yet again. We were eating lunch at the mall with some good friends of mine. … Continue reading →

Spring Stranger Danger

The recent record-breaking heat has made it feel more like summer than spring. Earlier this month we started the week wearing winter coats, hats and mittens, and by Friday my second grader was sporting a swimsuit while running through our neighbor’s sprinkler. Go global warming! Yes, the unusually warm weather has many kids jumping for joy. Their bout with cabin fever has come to an abrupt end, and most have been rejoicing in the great outdoors. Unfortunately, this wild spring fling comes with a few drawbacks. With tens of thousands of kids frolicking outside way before school lets out for … Continue reading →

Teaching Your Children about Strangers

The homeschooled child is unique in that their interaction with strangers is limited. When they go out into the world, they are usually with a parent or another responsible adult. They have a tendency to naturally trust those around them, and this is wonderful, in that they are able to form friendships, but on the other hand, a child who is too trusting can find themselves in uncomfortable situations. Of course, we can’t be with our children twenty-four hours a day, although I admit, there are times when I wish I could. The world is a scary place and it’s … Continue reading →

Preschoolers and Car Dangers

If you needed another reason why you should never leave your preschooler in the car alone, here it is: Police in the United Kingdom are calling 5-year-old David Law a hero. What’s more, officers say the fact that the young boy is alive today is “nothing short of a miracle.” Last week, the preschooler jumped out of his mother’s moving car in order to escape a deranged lunatic, who stole it while David was still strapped in the backseat. According to reports, the boy’s mom parked her car outside of her son’s school to check on term dates for David. … Continue reading →

Is Your Preschooler More Tech-Savvy Than You?

You know you are in trouble when your 4-year-old is updating his Twitter account more often than he goes potty. Or your 3-year-old is posting quiz results to Facebook faster than he can pedal a Big Wheel. If the aforementioned scenarios sound outrageous to you then you’ve done a good job of saving your child from being sucked into cyberspace before most of his peers. According to a new study from Nielsen Online, nearly 16 million U.S. children ages 2 to 11 were online in May, and most of those kids are more tech-savvy than their parents. Given that revelation … Continue reading →

Stranger Danger and the Preschooler

The good news is that my precious preschooler loves everyone she meets. The bad news is that my precious preschooler loves everyone she meets. From the day she was born I have heaped loads of love on my daughter, and I am not the only one. Family and friends treat her like gold. She is doted on, adored, and treasured. As a result of being showered with an endless supply of positive reinforcement and unconditional love, she is an extremely affectionate child. The flipside to her huggy personality is that she is completely oblivious to the dangers that lurk within … Continue reading →

The Danger of MegaSchools

There is a dangerous trend recently toward megaschools, schools that contain a large number of students at one school, anywhere from 500 to 2,000 students in one building. My own school district is considering doing this with our elementary school, and it scares me to no end. Megaschools can be convenient for school districts for a few reasons. A flux of incoming students can lead to overcrowding, and creating a new megaschool would address the problem, leaving room for further expansion. It is also usually more coast effective to create and maintain one megaschool than it is to renovate and … Continue reading →

What Parents Can Learn from the Gorilla Incident

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It happened at the Cincinnati Zoo. A 3-year-old boy somehow fell into the gorilla exhibit’s enclosure. A 17-year-old male gorilla, named Harambe, encountered the boy. Someone from the Zoo made the decision to shoot and kill the gorilla in order to save the preschooler. What can parents learn from the Gorilla Incident? Parent Shaming Doesn’t Fix Things It didn’t take long for parents around the world to take to social media to comment about the Gorilla Incident. While some expressed sympathy for the Zoo, the majority chose to attack the mother of the 3-year-old boy and question her parenting ability. … Continue reading →

Who Can You Trust?

I have major trust issues. And by major I mean I really don’t trust anyone. That goes triple when my child is involved. Make that quintuple. Let’s just say I am not the type of parent, who would drop off my 9-year-old kid at a municipal pool with five bucks for lunch and head to work for 8 hours, hoping that the lifeguards or other adults will make sure he’s alive and well by the time I return. For many parents, entrusting their flesh and blood to others is not a task they take lightly. And, no, I don’t buy … Continue reading →

Too Cheap to Pay for a Sitter

Or too dumb. The suburban Pittsburgh dad, who’s making headlines for leaving his young kids alone at a playground while he ran errands, falls into that category–in my less than humble opinion. Listen, I don’t look kindly on people who leave their dogs alone in parked cars, so when innocent children are ditched by their parents, be it in a vehicle or at a playground, I typically have a hard time holding my tongue… or in this case, my fingers. If you missed the news flash, Govindaraj Narayanasamy has been officially charged with child endangerment after police claim he left … Continue reading →