|
View on the
Web  Tell a
Friend
Dear Friend,
This month we bring you:
- Kids at the Beach--Getting Lost & Found
- 2 New Beach Safety Tips
- New Safety Tip: Wristbands Can Help Reunite Kids &
Parents
__________________________________
KIDS AT THE BEACH—GETTING LOST &
FOUND
Many parents are astonished to discover how
quickly their kids disappear at the beach. A parent can be
getting lunch ready, or chatting with another person, and look
up to find one or more kids have wandered off to explore the
beach.
Parents worry about a lost child drowning. While
this does happen, lifeguards generally report that 99.99% of the
time the lost child is found wandering on the beach. The
shifting crowds, heat, waves, tides, and the wind all contribute
to wandering children losing their way.
Lifeguards report that:
-
When you are 3 or 4 feet tall and can only see
the underside of umbrellas, it's easy to get confused because
things and people begin to all look alike.
-
The changing tide along with lots of people
coming and going also make it difficult for a child to figure
out where the family is located.
-
When there's a low tide, more kids get lost
because there is more space between the ocean and the people on
the beach.
-
Kids go with the wind, they are most often found
down wind from their starting location.
-
If the beach has an arcade or playground, kids
often find them.
Here are some new beach safety tips.
Beach Safety Tip #1:
The first
thing after you arrive at the beach, take your children over to
the lifeguard station and introduce them. Let your kids know
lifeguards are here to help. If they get lost, your kids
should immediately go to a lifeguard and ask for help.
Lifeguards report children who were taught
not to talk to strangers had difficult times being reunited with
their parents. There was one report of a child who
walked for 5 miles because he was taught not to talk
to strangers, and had no way to ask for help.
(You may want to review our information on teaching kids about talking to strangers)
Beach Safety Tip #2
The second
thing you do is orient your child as to where you are. Point out
a building or sign to help them find their way back. Give them a
way to figure out how to return to your location.
__________________________________
 |
 |
|
NEW SAFETY TIP: Wristbands Can Help Reunite Kids &
Parents
This year Carolina Beach, North Carolina has instituted a new
"No Lost Child" program to help speed up the process of
reuniting lost children with their parents.
When a family arrives at the beach and sets up
camp, the local lifeguard gives each child a durable waterproof
wristband that is the same color as the nearest lifeguard
station (the lifeguard stations are painted different colors.)
When a child is seen wandering on the
beach, a lifeguard can check the color of the wristband and
speedily return the child to the proper lifeguard station, and
easily reunite the child with the usually distraught
parents.
New Safety Tip:
We suggest you
purchase some durable waterproof wristbands for outings to the
beach, the zoo, shopping centers, or stadiums.
You can write your cell phone numbers on each
band. If you are at the beach, you can also write the number of
the closest lifeguard station on your child's wrist band.
Officials will then have an easy way to reunite you with your
wandering child.
Be Warned:
Do not write your
child's name on the wrist band. Child predators have been known
to read the child's name, then address the child as if they
already knew one another. This is one of the ways predators
trick children into trusting them.
Oh, by the way, we hope you and your family
have fun during your summer and fall
excursions. |
|
|
 |
 |
|
__________________________________
EMAIL SPAM CONTROL TIGHTENS--IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Google, Yahoo! and other email service providers
are tightening their spam control programs. This is goodness for
all of us who receive emails. We're all for spam-free email
boxes.
However, in order to ensure you continue to
receive this eNews from the Polly Klaas® Foundation, you
need to put our email address in your personal contact
list.
Our email address is: info@pollyklaas.org Please
add info@pollyklaas.org
to your personal email contact list immediately.
We value your
membership, and want all of us to keep working together to keep
children safe.
Thanks so
much.
__________________________________
FREE CHILD SAFETY KITS
Our free Child Safety Kit is sub-titled "How to
teach abduction prevention without scaring your child (or
yourself)" and includes 24 pages of guidance for parents.
If you live in the US, please click here for Child Safety Kit.
If you live outside the US, please click here for Child Safety Kit.
About Polly
Klaas® Foundation
The Polly Klaas®
Foundation helps find missing children,
prevents children from going missing, and promotes laws like
Amber Alert that help keep children safe.
Privacy Policy
Our promise to you:
We won't sell, loan or share your name or personal
information with anyone.
| 
