Getting your young children ready to go back to school shouldn’t stop with school supplies. You also should be thinking about getting their health and safety organized. It may not be something that you want to think about, but a little bit of preparation can make all the difference. We urge you to take a few minutes this week and make a plan.

Alicia on “Stranger Safety ”

“Nothing is more important than the safety of your child. As the old adage says, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The most important thing is to teach your child what to do if they are lost or are approached by a stranger. A few minutes of preparation will give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing your child is prepared. For great information and resources, check out this website for more information.

Sarah on “Get Your Flu Shots”

“Doctors across the world are gearing up for more than just a regular flu season this year. With the swine flu (H1N1 virus) posed to re-emerge this fall, parents and caregivers need to be extra vigilant about vaccinations. Experts say that, unlike seasonal flu, which typically strikes hardest at the very young and the elderly, H1N1 swine flu has proven more troublesome for children and young adults. It has also been hard on pregnant women. So if you’re expecting, or have young, school aged children, you should make an appointment with your physician and/or pediatrician now to get properly vaccinated. Don’t wait.”

Here are a few more tips to get your child’s safety Buttoned Up:

1. Get an ID Kit

Many schools have ID days, where safety experts come and create basic ID kits for young children, including fingerprints. Call your school’s administrator to find out if they will have one. If not, it only takes a few minutes to make one of your own. We like the kits made by 911childid.com and safety-identification-products.com, both of which you can order directly online. These cards make it easy for you to capture and store critical elements of identification, like fingerprints and photos. A few minutes of preparation will give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing your child’s ID information is organized and stored in one place.

Role Play

Another important thing to do is teach your child what to do if they are lost or are approached by a stranger. Consider role playing with them during calm or quiet moments. Good questions to try out are:

• What would you do if we were in a store and you looked up and you couldn’t find mommy or daddy? Good answers are: find a policeman, and if a policeman wasn’t there, go to a person at a cash register or find another mommy with children.
• What would you ask the person to do? Good answers are: tell them your first and last name, ask them to help you find your mommy or daddy, and wait there until mommy or daddy come back to get you.
• What if someone tried to make you go with them that wasn’t mom or dad? A good answer is yell and scream and say “NO! You are not my mom or dad!”

3. Make Sure They Have Important Info Easily Available

Your child should always have important medical and contact information with him at all times, just in case something happens. We strongly recommend parents get something like a Pocket.doc (or laminate your own information card), available online at www.FranklinPlanner.com, which keeps critical emergency, medical, and contact information at the ready. Fill out one for each child and place in the front pocket of each child’s backpack.