Staying Safe this Halloween

Let's all endeavor to make THIS Halloween safe, fun and as accident free as possible!

We all want children to have fun at Halloween. Making sure that we go over a few safety tips with our children a few times before it's time to out trick or treating can ensure that the day STAYS fun and happy. Children are so excited about the big day and what they will dress up as and all the candy that they will have, so going over the safety "rules" just once is not enough.

Make sure to go over them a couple of times in the days leading up to Halloween and then again on Halloween Day as you're helping them dress. Asking them questions and letting them tell YOU the answers helps to solidify the information in their minds rather than just telling them things. It also engages their attention when they have to give the right answers to what you're asking

Tip #1 - Never go into someone's house when trick or treating unless your parents give permission and are with you. Even if they invite you to come in while they are getting more treats, politely say No thank you, you will wait outside. (Let your children practice saying this so they don't freeze up)

Tip#2 - In crowded neighborhoods, be sure that your children know to walk on the sidewalk and never dart out from in between parked cars. A safe way to trick or treat is to go down one side of the street, cross over and then go down the other side. This avoids crossing back and forth across the street in front of cars.

Tip#3- When preparing your child's costume, consider getting a reflective IDme wristband, glow in the dark jewelry or flashlights. A combination of these is the safest bet...putting reflective bits of tape on their costumes and outlining their bags too. They'll love how they glow in the dark!

Tip#4 - If you're doing any driving on Halloween, be sure to be extra cautious, especially in neighborhoods. Excited children dart out in front of cars and may not see you coming. While we strongly stress the importance of parents telling kids not to do this, sadly, it happens and being hit by cars is the number 1 reported injury on Halloween. The most crucial hours are between 4:30-10:00p.m.

IDME Dee's Bloggs: When and How to have the Stranger Danger Talk

IDME Dee's Bloggs: When and How to have the Stranger Danger Talk: With the recent spate of horror stories concerning child abductions, child safety has become ever more prominent in our society and we ar...

When and How to have the Stranger Danger Talk

With the recent spate of horror stories concerning child abductions, child safety has become ever more prominent in our society and we are reminded of how cruel and sick the world we live in can be, that I have come to ask myself when is the right time to have the talk about stranger danger and how should I go about it with my own children, aged 4 ½ and 2 ½.

This is not a conversation I remember having with my parents as a young child; I just remember being told that ‘the man’ would run away with me if I wasn’t good or if I ran off, which I did often with no fear of the nameless faceless ‘man’

Nowadays I think we need to be much more open with our children and as soon as we can no longer keep them at our bosom and they start to crave their independence and want to explore the world, then it is time.We as parents have to let them go, even if it is just a little, just enough to let them toddle around the park as we sit back and watch anxiously, that is when we have to have the first of many ‘talks’, age appropriate of course but all the same, as their teachers and protectors we must give them the armory of confidence and self-respect they will need to protect themselves throughout life, from that tiny tottering 2 year old to that young man leaving for college.

1.       It’s okay to say No

We are taught as children to respect our elders, but a child must also be taught that they can say no if something doesn’t feel right.

You must set the guidelines for your child to live by, ground rules so that if a stranger or even that nice lady from the park wants them to go with them and recites ‘mommy said it was okay’ then your child should know that you would never want them to go anywhere with anybody, stranger or friend without her say so first, face to face.  It is very important that your child knows what to do in these types of circumstances so there would be no confusion and that they know they have the power and the right to say no and to seek help.

2.       What does a ‘Bad Man’ look like?

This is a hard one; every baddie in every kids movie is in one way or another ‘different ‘ or ‘strange’ looking, the sad fact of life is that evil comes in many  shapes and sizes. We must not let our kids have the misconception that bad people look bad, or that its only bad men that are out there.  Children need to learn to trust their gut instincts and to understand that sinking feeling and churning in their tummy’s can mean something and to listen to it, the smiling stranger who wants help to find a lost puppy may not be all they seem.

3.       Good Secrets v’s Bad Secrets

Secrets can be a lovely thing, like a surprise gift or event planned for a loved one that we don’t want to spoil, everything else is a bad secret.  Your home should be a place where there are no secrets, your child should know that you and they have an open secret policy and that no one should ever want them to keep a secret from you and that alarm bells should start ringing for them if someone does. Once your child is potty trained they should know their own body and how precious and special it is and that it belongs only to them and that there should never be any tolerance of secrets and touches by anyone else and that they can always come to you no matter what.

This conversation need not be intimidating, just lying down a few ground rules of what Mommy and Daddy would want and do in different scenarios should only empower your child to do the right thing and give them the self-belief and worth they deserve to grow up confidently and safely, as try as we might we can’t always be there to watch over them.

nervous'Break'down away with the Kids

Well, where should I start? Delighted to find out on Wednesday that we had won a weekend away for the whole family at the beautiful 4* Killashee House Hotel in Naaas, Co. Kildare, Ryan stayed at home to work in a kids free zone and I took poor old nana as moral support, bet she wishes she had stayed at home too.

The drive up form Cork was smooth sailing apart from the fact the 2 and 4 year old had to sit next to each other which of course meant that they had to systematically try to kill each other resulting in me having to pull over on the motorway 4 times to pull them apart.Finally arrived at our gorgeous fancy hotel and realized that those poor people have no idea of the craziness that was about to ascend on them. 

•  5 minutes after having arrived in our spacious room, Liam jumped off the couch only for his face to meet the TV cabinet and bust his lip, blood everywhere! had to ring reception for a first aider only to have a manager and our bellboy with a giant box of equipment to our door within 1 minute of making the call, one big boy plaster later, we can start to unpack
•  Dinner that night ended with Liam falling backwards off the dining room chair and then crying because he was afraid that he had gotten our waiter Rob fired
• Breakfast next morning in a very posh dining room was almost a success apart from Liam announcing from across the room that he had a poo coming
• Swimming later that day at the leisure club went well also, until that is when Liam removed his shorts to announce this time that he had a wee coming
• We visited the Irish National Stud and Japanese gardens which were absolutely beautiful and highly recommend. We tagged along with a group on a guided tour until Liam got bored of the stopping and talking so proceeded to heckle the tour guide with 'Boring.....Boring.....blah blah blah....' until we made a swift exist 
• Happily we went to McDonald's for our dinner that night, nothing can go wrong here surely.... well you would normally be safe in thinking this however they dared to have the wrong toy. You see, we already had a Poppa Smurf, now I did what every good Mom would do and asked if they had any other toys but the answer was not what Liam wanted to hear. I explained that I had spoken to the manager and that they only had Poppa Smurfs in stock, 'what about the owner?' Liam asked as natural as anything and paying me no more attention walked to the counter and spoke with the manager again demanding to speak with the owner and wanting to know why they only had Poppa Smurf when he had told him that he already had one!
• Once back at the hotel I thought it would be safer to just stay in our room, and I can honestly say it was a lovely evening, we got ice cream only a little on the carpet and fell asleep watching the classic Wizard of Oz with Judy Garland for the first time with the boys
• There was a Super Cars Experience happening at the hotel on the Sunday where people had paid a lot of money to drive either a Lamborghini, Corvette or a Ferrari, we stood back and just watched while a nice young man was being coached on how to drive the white Lamborghini until Liam got bored of watching and went right up and stuck his head in the window and told him 'just put your foot down on the peddle'  which wasn't such bad advice in retrospect
• Last morning (thank God) almost there, at the checkout desk lovely lady asked 'how was your stay' before I have a chance to reply, Liam quips up 'well you know those elevators you have?' yes said the lady, 'well those elevators you have are not working properly, we went in them yesterday and it just took us back to the same floor every time' 'you need to get them checked out you know' (all my fault of course) needless to say I just signed out thanked them for their wonderful service and patience and promised never to go there again, with the kids anyway ;)
• 
  
  

IDME 'Secret Agent' Wristbands

When wearing our IDME wristbands for the first time, I found it helpful to get my youngest, 18 months old at the time to wear it around the house initially to get used to the feeling of something on his wrist. Our wristbands are designed to be lightweight and comfortable to wear, especially on delicate little wrists so it just took a few days before he didn't even notice it, and could even sleep with it on.
My eldest, who was 3 1/2yrs seemed to understand why I needed him to wear it once I explained how it worked but I have to say the eureka moment came when I explained it was like a secret agent wristband and the information hidden in the wristband was to use if he ever got lost or scared and was on his own and to show it to another 'Mommy' or 'Daddy' now he won't leave the house without it and thinks he is like Agent Oso! 

 

www.idme.ie

iDME Wristbands How to use for the First Time

iDME Wristbands - Get out with the kids Review

PROTECTING OUR CHILDREN WITH NEW INITIATIVES

PROTECTING OUR CHILDREN WITH NEW INITIATIVES

An accessory for children, a necessity for parents

Most parents can tell you of a time when their children had been lost or wandered off, or that their child is high risk due to special needs, allergies to food or medication, all high anxiety and stressful experiences.

Children with autism in particular typically wander or bolt from a safe setting to get to something of interest, such as water, the park, or train tracks or to get away from something, such as loud noises, commotion, or bright lights. Dangers associated with wandering include   drowning, getting struck by a vehicle, falling from a high place, dehydration, hypothermia, abduction, victimization and assault. Because children especially with autism are challenged in areas of language and cognitive function, it may be difficult to search for them, or teach them about dangers and ways to stay safe.

 Having I.D. and emergency information on them is the next step in improving the safety of our children offering extra security and peace of mind in knowing that your children will have that crucial, potentially lifesaving information always at hand, providing contact details for immediate recovery, as well as to profile their medical requirements if needed.

 Children, to athletes, to the elderly should wear I.D. because in case of emergency they want and need to tell you something. Checking for Emergency ID takes just a few seconds, yet could make all the difference in giving crucial information that needs to be passed on.

 As a mum of 3 young children I came up with my idea, the IDME wristband for children with my husband Ryan when our eldest was almost 3 - too big for the buggy and too young to be trusted. Having lost him more than once due to his wandering ways, every minute he was missing felt more like an hour, I knew there and then there had to be a quicker way for someone to contact me once he was found if he ever ran off again.

 

4 Things to Teach Your Child if They Get Lost

As parents we all know how scary and easy it can be to become separated and lose sight of a child, especially at this time of year when we all try to get out and about during the summer months, be it a crowed shopping centre, a packed beach or a bustling airport.

As a mother of 3 young children, I can just about manage to maneuver with one on my own, never mind keep an eye on all 3. If I’m by myself, it can be a daunting task just to do my weekly grocery shop.

I don’t want to scare him or to dampen his adventurous spirit, as I believe a child should be allowed the freedom to enjoy the wonder of being a child for as long as they can

We teach our children not to talk to strangers, not to go off with anyone without our permission even if they are known to them but then we expect them to go up to a random person and ask for help if they find themselves lost or separated from their group. The question I found myself asking was: what do I teach my children to do if they find themselves alone in a strange place?  Who is safe to go and ask for help?

My eldest is 4 going on 14. He loves to wander and explore and has no fear what so ever, which is something I love about him but also it is what scares me most when we do go to a busy place. I don’t want to scare him or to dampen his adventurous spirit, as I believe a child should be allowed the freedom to enjoy the wonder of being a child for as long as they can before they have to learn the world isn’t always an amazing and safe place to be.

Every minute felt like an hour searching up and down the supermarket aisles before he was discovered in a café close by, sitting patiently for his lunch.

                                                                                                                                                                   Trying to explain what a ‘safe’ adult is isn't the easiest thing to do. Yes, most children know what a policeman and fireman Sam looks like but those heroes may not be readily available or as easy to spot as you would think. If you look at the world from a child’s eye view, especially a young child, it would probably just look like a sea of legs, not the easiest vantage point to see adult’s faces or uniforms.

I lost my eldest in my local shopping centre. I was paying for my groceries while attending to my new born at the till point when all of a sudden he was gone. Every minute felt like an hour searching up and down the supermarket aisles before he was discovered in a café close by, sitting patiently for his lunch. You see, in his mind, we had finished our grocery shopping and now it was time to eat, so he went off to our usual spot leaving me lost and frightened, frantically searching for him. I will never forget it as long as I live.

So after much thought, I have come up with four easy things that you can teach your children so they know what to do in case they get lost.

4 things you can tell children to do if they get lost

1. Tell your child to look for another mommy to ask for help. Us, moms, are the most recognizable group in the world if you think about it and the simplest and safest person for a child of even a very young age to identify, as they would probably would be with other children and more approachable.
2. Have at least a mobile number on your child which is easily accessible for them to give to someone to contact you, especially if they are too young to memorize it.
3. If you are going somewhere new for the first time, make a point of a choosing a meeting point if you do get separated, somewhere very public and easy to get to.
4. Have them wearing and iDME band, a Velcro ID wristband for kids with an insert card tucked away securely within with all the details necessary to reunite the child with their parents.

---

Dee O’Leary is mum to 3 beautiful children and a wife to one big kid. She is passionate about child safety and believe we should do everything in our power to ensure children get to enjoy their childhood for as long as possible. She is the founder of iDME bands, and has been brave enough to appear on Drangon’s Den.

http://www.idme.ie