Car Seat Safety & Winter Coats Warning

Our blog has moved to Wordpress, but we'll keep new article links active on blogger for our existing followers.

http://justlikesuperheroes.wordpress.com/2010/12/18/car-seat-safety-winter-coats-warning/

Child Safety Week Passes and Concerns Get Bigger

So for those of you that don't know, I am the CEO of a start-up media agency that owns the site Accidents.com. We've been crazy busy following distracted driving laws and more importantly, building our Distracted Driving Education and Resolution section, which launches soon.

We are looking for any technical and non-technical solutions to the distracted driving problem, particularly texting while driving. Also looking for any bloggers or writers that are already writing about child safety and accident prevention on the road, in parks, etc. Anyone in this category can get featured on the site at no cost, so please use the "Bat Phone" form on the top right to get in touch with me personally.

My own personal eye opening day.....

When we started to focus on this, my husband and I both became more aware of how much we were putting ourselves in jeopardy over such a stupid decision. We would never drink and drive, but we both admitted to glancing at our phones for "a quick second" when something popped up on the screen. This made us change that habit: when traveling at 55 MPH, a driver texting for 6 seconds actually looks away from the road for 4.6 seconds of it. The car can travel the LENGTH OF A FOOTBALL field in that time! You can read the details on that here.

So moms and dads, I hope that convinces you to stay off your handhelds while you are driving! Our kids need us to be role models in this. Please forward this to anyone you know that might be interested in partnering with us to fight this growing problem.

Distracted Driving Now Deadliest Road Hazard - Accidents.com

Here is the article that I promised I'd share when it was completed.

Eye opening: According to a 2009 study by Virgina Tech Transportation Institute, when traveling at 55 mph, a driver texting for 6 seconds is looking at the phone for 4.6 seconds of that time and travels the distance of a football field without their eyes on the road.

http://www.accidents.com/distracted-driving.html

Child Safety & Technology - Cell Phone Texting and Driving Can Now Be Stopped

Where do you draw the line between protecting your child and giving them privacy and freedom? How do you control the use of your child's cell phone?

This blog entry is being driven by a new article I am researching for a work website. I've known that this cell phone tracking/managing technology was coming for a while, and I have been drooling to hear which side of the privacy issue people will sit on. Me?

FACT: Every year texting and driving injures 2X more teens
THAN DRUNK DRIVING

FACT: 25% of fatal car accidents involve a cell phone

FACT: 20% of teens admit to texting nude pictures of themselves

Folks, let me start by saying that I would probably chip my kid - that's right, like you can chip a dog - if they'd let me. I know, I know that sounds terrible. I'd let him turn it off when he was 18 or 30, or something. Nobody wants the villains to know (which of course they would) that your kid is traceable and try to carve out the chip and cause them harm... you can see I've thought about this. It's would be a tough choice. But we can't do that - well, now we kinda can. Read on.

Here's the deal - for $10 per month, parents can now STOP TEENS from TEXTING and DRIVING. This CellSafety* technology apparently SHUTS OFF the phone if it senses movement while your teenager is driving (or in a moving vehicle). It has a SPEED ALERT (and you are notified immediately).

There's more. Using keyword technology (same as other web safety services that are in the marketplace), it can tell if teens are texting about nudity, cyber bullying, guns, suicide, porn. You can block texting in certain areas (like the classroom). Last but certainly not least (and here's where there might be more on that 'chipping' debate), it uses GPS technology to tell you where your kids are, and where they have been.

Thing is fellow superheroes, there are sick bastards/villains in this world that want to harm my child and I know how easy it will be for them to find him. Particularly now that kids are plugged in all the time. Imagine what the future will look like? Nobody likes to hear about those Amber alerts. So if you could buy some extra time, find them faster - would you? What if you could teach teens that what they are doing is putting them in harm's way in real-time?

Spousal Disagreement!
My husband and I completely disagree on this issue. He hates when I mention the "chipping" idea. Probably because (shut your eyes mama-in-law) his parents would have locked him up if they knew half the things he got away with. Yes, I know that we have to let our kids learn a lot on their own. He believes that sometimes you just have to 'let them fall'. And so do I to a certain extent (see last blog entry). My husband survived all the craziness, and so did my brother. But I think they GOT LUCKY. Don't get me wrong, that GPS technology would have probably kept me out of by high school bo's house many a nights!!!! Or not? ;-)

So, how DO YOU manage your teenager's cell phone (and internet) use and will you start taking advantage of child safety technology as it enters the marketplace? I am very curious about your points of view on this. Please comment!

*NOTE: TBrightgeist Media (company I run) WILL BE PAID if you sign up for this offer. That's how I found out this product was coming into the marketplace. This isn't a pitch for the product. I am writing about this because I think its important,. I just like to be transparent when there is any financial gain (even when it's not directly to me) on product links or offers. They also offer a very good WEB SAFETY product that provides similar controls. Ditto on the financial gain thing.

I'll publish the www.Accidents.com when we finish it. Follow Accidents.com on Facebook for other accident safety articles. Yep, THAT was a shameless plug!

It's the difference between superman and superparent...

We LOVE this article by Parenting Bliss. Here is an excerpt:

All kids get sick, all kids get hurt and all kids receive insults and disappointments. They are better served when we try to teach them how to live in a world that has many challenges, than pretend life is all cushions and pillows.

The ultimate point here is that for sure we should try to protect our children, but they also need personal challenges in order to grow.

It’s the difference between superman and superparent. As much as we would like to remake the world with no rough edges or nasty people – it just isn’t so, nor remotely possible. However, some parents don’t want to believe it -- they think they have figured out how to make it so no one gets sick or says a mean word, so they play superman sweeping in to save the day.

*******

My mom called this the "fishing line" effect. She would cast out the fishing line and let us pull it out (testing the waters) but when she thought she needed to reel it in, she would, but very slowly. Her hope was that we would learn a little through that process.

I don't know how I'll react when Lucas starts to test more dangerous waters. I hope I can use that fishing line effect, but right now I feel like I have to play superman and over-protect. I know my husband tends to disagree. But if I can avoid some extra scrapes and bruises... well then, I will!