Child Safe - Protection Kit

New York Story with a Happy Ending:

On Sept. 7,  shortly before 1 p.m., in a toy store on Steinway Street in Astoria, 
I paid for my merchandise, looked around, and my son was gone.

            My son is 7 years old, with language and developmental problems. I grabbed 
my 3-year old daughter and ran through the streets, calling my son’s name. With all 
the cruelty dealt out to small children, I thought my child would never survive. People 
emerged from stores and began searching. The people at the toy store covered each 
area of the building. Another woman calmed my daughter. Someone notified the 
ransit police, who radioed in my child’s description. 
As the regular police drove me through the streets, my daughter was fed and cared for 
at a restaurant on the block.

            Shortly, over an hour later, miraculously, my son was located on 95^th Street in 
Brooklyn. He had run into the subway station and taken the train, attempting to get 
himself home.

            A transit officer accompanied me to the R train and when we reached the last 
stop, another officer brought me to a room where they had been keeping my son. They 
had been feeding him doughnuts and he was happy. I had lived through a miracle.

            I don’t know the names of any of the people who helped find and care for my 
little boy. So many people were involved on the street and subway. All I know is I have 
my  little boy and those people have my total gratitude, always. I’d like to my thank all 
those involved and let others know what a caring city New York is

By Elyse Berlly Smoke

            Mrs. Smoke was lucky. Her son, in his attempt to get home, went to a public 
transportation service where there was a high probability of meeting a transit officer 
who would help him. But what if he had met an abductor first?

            None of us can predict what kind of people our children will encounter. A black 
market in children exists, tempting unscrupulous individuals to prey upon children. 
Mentally disturbed persons frequently are attracted to children. And many children 
are abducted by divorced or separated parents.

            Be prepared. Safeguard your children by reading the information in this 
booklet and putting it to work. Fill in the information required. Be sure to up date it 
each year. And keep it safe, convenient and right at hand.

8 Rules to Keep Your Little One Safe

• Never leave your child alone.
• Make a copy of your child’s fingerprints. Pages 5 through 7n of this Guide 
  show you how.
• Copy your child’s medical and dental records. Keep them together with his 
  fingerprints and regularly updated photographs in both black and white and 
  color.
•  Call home if there is a change in your plans or schedule.
•  Make sure your child’s school or day-care center will not release him/her  to 
  anyone but you or another designated person.
•  Assure your children that if you are separated from them, you will never stop 
  looking for them. In the same issue of the Post in which Mrs. Smoke’s story 
  ran, there was a news story about a young boy who had been abducted by a 
  disturbed man. He testified at the trial of his abductor that he was ordered to 
  call him “Dad” during his captivity. And his abductor convinced the boy that a 
  court had awarded him custody because his family could no longer afford him. 
  For years, his belief that his family did not want him kept the boy form attempting 
  to escape.
•  Keep a postcard, addressed to you and stamped, in your child’s pocket. As 
  soon as your child is capable of writing, teach him or her to print hi location on it 
  and mail it.
•  Report immediately to the police.
•  

Twelve Things Your Little One Must Learn How to Do

            1.Learn your phone number and how to call your home.

2.  Learn how to ask for help by dialing 911 or O.

3. Learn how to use a pay telephone.

4. Know how to protect himself/herself by calling “Help” if an emergency 
                occurs.

5. Call you at home or ask a grown-up to call you if there’s a change in school         
     plans or other plans or schedules.

            6. Learn how to fill in a location on the card in his pocket and mail it.

7. Don’t answer the door if your child is home alone. Keep the doors and 
   windows    licked. Don’t tell anyone on the telephone that he or she is alone.

8. Always play or walk with friends. Children are much safer I a group. 
     Never play in deserted areas.

9.  Always report suspicious people right away. Tell parents, a teacher, a 
    neighbor or a policeman. Don’t be afraid to talk to a policeman. They’re 
    there to help.

             11. If your child becomes separated from you in a public place like a 
                   supermarket, a mall or a department store, make sure he or she knows 
                   how to seek the help of someone in charge. Teach your child never to 
                   look for you himself/herself or try to find the way home or return to the car.

             12. Teach your child not to talk to a stranger, or take a ride with a stranger, 
                    or go for a walk with a stranger. Teach them no to accept any food or 
                    drink or gifts from a stranger. And make sure they know they shouldn’t 
                    approach a stranger’s car. Important: discuss the meaning of what a 
                    stranger” is.

How to Fingerprint Your Children

Read complete instructions before starting.

All you need to use is an ink pad.

Wash hands before use.

Try practice strip first.

1.      Tape the personal identification card to the table so it won’t move around 
when you press the child’s fingers on it.

2.      Both you and the child should be relaxed the whole process is interesting 
and fun. (We suggest you practice on a plain piece of paper first to get the 
feel of it.) Wash hands, you and your child’s. Hold the child’s finger 
firmly (see figure 1.)

3.      Roll the finger onto a regular ink pad. Make sure the first joint of the finger, 
from one side of the fingernail to the other, is covered with ink. To put the 
print on the card, roll the thumb toward the center of the child’s body, then 
oll each finger away from the center of the body. It’s important to do this 
with a light pressure, with only a light amount of ink on the finger. As 
each finger is done, lift it straight up to avoid smudging.

4.      After each finger of each hand has been done separately, press all four fingers 
on the ink pad, then press them down all at once on the space provided on the 
card. Now make prints of each thumb in the spaces next to the four-fingered 
prints. Set the card aside to dry for 30 minutes before handling it again.

Personal Identification:

Last name:                                First name:                           Middle Name: