"Fourteen Days to a Safer Child"

Fourteen Days to a Safer Child™ is an all-inclusive program designed to teach children how to recognize and stay clear of potentially dangerous situations in as short a time frame as possible.

It uses a doctor approved multi-modal method of teaching which is the most effective way to have children understand and remember the safety information. When using this method, different areas of the brain are sequentially activated which sets up a circuit in their brains. This tends to "imbed" the information faster and more permanently and makes recall easier.

The program should be followed as closely as possible since the lessons are presented in a specific order, building in complexity, for maximum effectiveness. The exercises should be completed by the child, since the activities help to integrate the brain and make learning easier and more fun.

Program Materials:

2. Sterling™ the Safety Seal Beany Toy

The soft, plush beanbag Sterling™ doll is not just a cute toy, but is also a good learning tool. As the child becomes familiar with the book and its concepts, he or she will make the connection that Sterling™ really means safety first. As the child plays with the doll and carries it around, that idea will be in the back of his or her mind, and he or she is much more likely to recognize danger, especially if you ask what Sterling™ would do a few times a day.

Using the sense of touch reinforces that learning. In fact, the more the five senses (seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting) are brought into play, the more impactful the learning becomes. (Maybe someday we’ll come up with a safety perfume and safety candy, but for now, three of the five senses will have to do)

3. Fourteen Days to a Safer Child Day-Planner / Lesson Plans

The easiest way to teach your children safety lessons. Just follow each day’s plan and in just 14 days your child will understand how to avoid abductions, injuries, poisoning, getting lost, being home alone, and more!!! To be used in conjunction with the other Program Materials shown on this page. Each day contains:

4. Safety Seal Stickers

Use them to reward a child for coming up with a solution that would work. Even if it’s not the same solution as the one presented in the book (since there may be many correct answers for each situation), reward the child with a sticker. It’s amazing how excited and interested a child becomes when he or she receives something they want as a reward for a job well done.

Conversely, we would refrain from giving a sticker if a child gets a wrong answer. That devalues the reward, and could encourage laziness. If a child does respond with an inappropriate answer, just turn the page to see what Sterling the Safety Seal™ would do. Then ask the child if he or she understands why Sterling’s answer is good. Then you could say something like, OK, let’s see if you can get the next one, and go on to the next situation. There’s no need to admonish or criticize the child for a wrong answer.

5. Compact Disc (CD) with Safety Songs

The songs on the CD are again another learning and awareness tool. As the child learns the songs, he or she becomes more aware of thinking safety first. The sound and vocalization activate different parts of the brain, which further reinforces the message. And the songs are fun and catchy and can even be danced to. You may even find yourself humming them sometime.

The last part of the CD has the soundtracks of the songs without any singing. This gives your child a chance to be a star, singing karaoke-style. Or, you and your child can invent some more lyrics to create a new song.

The book is also narrated on the CD so the child can read along. This is not only a way to keep your child occupied for a few minutes (every parent needs a break now and then), but is a good way for him or her to recognize words and practice. Remember, repetition is a key to learning, so let your child read and listen as often as he or she likes.

You will notice that the book ends by asking children to think of some more potentially dangerous situations and their solutions on their own. You could make this a daily exercise, asking your child to relate one at dinnertime or before he or she goes to sleep. To help you with this, the rest of this guide gives many other things children and adults need to be wary of some of them not so obvious.

Remember, try to keep it fun and interactive. When a child (or anyone else) is frightened, learning shuts down. To make sure your child recognizes the severity of a situation, you could again ask a question: What do you think it feels like to fall off a bike and bang your head without a helmet on?

6. Teachers’/Parents’ Instruction & Resource Manual

This handy manual explains to parents and teachers how to use all the Program Materials detailed here in the best ways possible so that the child can learn quickly, easily, effortlessly without undue anxiety or fear. In fact children have a lot of fun reading, singing, playing and doing the exercises. They hardly realize they are learning some of the most important life-saving lessons of their young lives.

In addition, many more safety issues are discussed or gone into in more detail so that parents can continue to teach their child in as detailed or as deeply as they wish. Many parents remark that there are several safety issues even they learned about from going through this manual.

There are phone numbers and contact information in case of an emergency. An indispensable part of the Program Materials.

7. Fingerprinting Kit / Identification Folder

This is a handy folder in a plastic sleeve that has an ink strip and spaces to fingerprint each finger of the child. It also contains areas for the parent to put a hair sample (for DNA analysis), photo for identification, medical information such as allergies, personal information such as eye color, and a dental chart to be completed by the child’s dentist. There are emergency phone numbers on the card too. Parents should complete the kit/folder and store in a secure place or keep in a wallet or purse for immediate access.

Hopefully, parents will never have to use the kit/folder. If the child is taught the lessons in this program as designed, he/she will probably be able to avoid most forms of danger and never be abducted or lost.