by Dana Arevalo,
P.O.V. Contributing Writer
Empathetic emotions arise when thinking of the parents of missing or abducted children. As a parent, I cannot imagine how it would feel if my child was stolen, ripped from my life. Worried, scared, isolated, trapped, as if they are slowly dying inside as each day passes.
The latest missing children headline that began on July 13 is of two young cousins from Evansdale, Iowa. They left the house to enjoy a bike ride to only be seen again for merely seconds riding their bikes away from a lake. Missing at first, Lyrica, age 10, and Elizabeth, age 8, were thought to have possibly drowned in an Iowa lake. Authorities went as far as partially emptying the lake in search of their bodies. After viewing footage from a local business' surveillance camera, authorities changed the girls' missing status to abducted.
As a parent, I asked myself, what can I do to help and found something small, but significant, if many participate. Any small assistance would be graciously appreciated. I felt compelled to share with P.O.V.'s audience a website titled The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. This site has important tools and resources one can utilize for their blog, email, business, employer's website, etc. One example is a small banner that displays missing and exploited children. (See P.O.V.'s footer for an example.) It is updated frequently as new cases emerge. Another source is a wealth of resources for parents and guardians.
I encourage parents and guardians to visit today, as we can never be to safe when it comes to the children in our lives. While we teach our children safety, we should reinforce it often and especially during the summer while children have a schedule that might include outside, away from home activities. I will place their resource link below for your reference.
Have a safe and happy summer!
Sources:
I encourage parents and guardians to visit today, as we can never be to safe when it comes to the children in our lives. While we teach our children safety, we should reinforce it often and especially during the summer while children have a schedule that might include outside, away from home activities. I will place their resource link below for your reference.
Have a safe and happy summer!
Sources:
This is my biggest fear as a parent! I saw on a blog that a mother takes a picture of her children before they leave the house everyday so that she will have a fresh picture of her child JIC. Well, at first I thought she was way more paranoid than me, but on a second thought I realized just how smart that is!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I am going to follow your links and suggestions to also help where I can, thanks!
LouLou,
DeleteThank you for your reply. We live in completely different times from when we were growing up.
While some areas are deemed safer than others, one just never knows. I think taking a proactive approach and teaching our children "safety" always first is a great idea. While we do not want to make our children "worry". I believe in telling them of these abductions (of course in an age appropriate manner)as a lesson of what to watch out for etc.
Thank you for your support!
Dana Arevalo