11 of 28

Write now Article Tools

Parents, Resources to Help You Keep Your Family Safe Offline and Online

A friend of mines, also a parent, recently emailed me a free service that is another of the tools we parents need to arm ourselves in today's crazy society. School lockdowns and other emergencies have become daily events across the country. Sadly, parents only find out about such incidents from news broadcasts, when they arrive at their child's school, or when their child arrives home. This can sometimes add to the confusion as parents may receive incorrect or incomplete information.

The free service to which I refer is known as Lockdown Alert.com (LDA). They alert parents of students in any pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school, special education, or vocational public school in the United States. (Colleges and universities are now being supported.) A parent simply chooses the school for which they want to be alerted and enter their cell phone number or email address. And the built-in safety factor is that when parents sign up, they do not need to supply any personal information. Their email address is only used by LDA to send out alerts and not for any purpose that is not related to an actual school event.

They will post the complete, accurate information the next time there is an unplanned event at your child's school. You will receive a text message alert or email directing you to a web page with full details and instructions. If your child's school sends out their own alerts, then you would not get duplicate alerts from LDA. However, if your child's school does not have an administration account with LDA, LDA will monitor the news and send out lockdown notices as they become aware of them. For your peace of mind and safety of your child, I recommend that you implement this free service.

Another online service you should have in your arsenal of safety and security tools is Amber Alerts, another free service. AMBER is the acronym that stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response".

There are several links you may turn to for this information. One is the federal government's Office of Justice Programs. According to Regina B. Schofield, Assistant Attorney General at the Office of Justice Programs, "AMBER Alert is a proven success and has helped rescue more than 324 children nationwide. More than 90 percent of those recoveries have occurred since AMBER Alert became a nationally coordinated effort in 2002. With 50 statewide AMBER plans now

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Tips for improving family life?
We want to hear your view. Write now!