Safety for Children

8 year old Sandra Cantu is missing. Gone since Friday, mystery to her disappearance abounds. Since authorities are not quite sure what has happened to the girl, an Amber Alert has yet to be issued.

“It is our belief that she is alive and unharmed,” said Sgt. Tony Sheneman of the Tracy, Calif., police, who are coordinating a search for the girl with the FBI. More than 200 volunteers combed the trailer park and surrounding area over the weekend, and the search for the girl is ongoing.

“Until we have evidence that an abduction has occurred, we’ll handle this as a missing person,” Sheneman said.

 

Do your younger children already like using the internet? Does it worry you about what kind of content they may be seeing and their online safety? There is a new tool out there called the PG Key which enables you to easily keep track of what your children are viewing and playing with on the internet.

"The internet will never be this perfect place that’s going to be a safe place for kids to play," said PG Key co-founder Brian Lawson.

"If I pull the key, the operation is suspended," he said as he removed the USB device and the screen froze.

"It allows the parent to treat the computer as a privilege," he said.  The device can limit the amount of time your child is on the computer, record video of what they had on the screen, and will send you a text when they type certain names or words that you select.

Does your infant have a drop side crib? Those involved in crib manufacturing have proposed a ban on this style of crib after some child safety recalls and apprehension over death and injury involving the moving part.

Officials familiar with deliberations of a committee that sets industry standards say the proposal would end production of drop-side cribs — where one side moves up and down. The proposal would require cribs to have four immovable sides.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says at least three children have died in drop-side cribs in the last 18 months. The agency knows of more than two dozen incidents in which drop-sides detached from cribs.

News of the latest child safety seat recall, from WLS-TV in Chicago:

RECARO is recalling about 5,400 seats because the central front adjuster strap on some seats may slip and cause the harness straps to become loose.

The company says the affected models include RECARO Signo seats manufactured from February through September of last year.

RECARO will replace any defective seat free of charge. The company has estabilished a hotline for carseat owners. That number is 1-888-473-2290.

Alaska’s first Amber Alert was issued over the weekend, and turned out to be false. With  the report of the fake Alert comes many questioning just how much issuing an Alert costs. With the added manpower needed to search for a missing child, the time paid goes back to the police department.

While it’s impossible to put a price on life, it may be difficult to overlook the costs of running an Amber Alert.

"Most of the people who got called out especially were on overtime details," said Parker.

Using man power which included C.S.I. investigators, patrol officers, detectives, and k-9 units. Overtime dollars added up to close to fifty hours.

"All of that costs go directly to the police department because of a false report," said Parker.

Regardless, police say these calls need to be taken seriously when a child’s life is threatened.

"In terms of finding a lost child there is no cost that is too great," said Parker.

Officials say every second matters in child abductions as 74-percent of children who are kidnapped and later found murdered are killed within the first three hours after being taken. That’s why the public is very important in a finding a child.