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My boys know that whenever I begin a sentence with “Back in ‘my day…’” they are about to be launched into a memory from mom’s Big Book of Remembrance where there is no yawning allowed. However, this memory from my past is both true and important (aren’t they all?) for keeping them safe.

You see, when I was a child, my parents thought nothing of letting me and my six siblings disappear deep into the neighborhood for hours on end, returning only when absolutely starving or bleeding severely. We played in other people’s houses, we walked many blocks to and from school, rode our bikes clear across town to swim with friends at the river, all this and more with no adult supervision, ever!

I do not let my children do any of these things unattended today. Why? It is a different world we live in now. I know that the dangers children face today are not new, but the incidents of victimization of children are infinitely higher today than in years past. These dangers include abduction and child exploitation at the hands of predators and pedophiles, who are not always strangers to their innocent victims. With all our eyes have seen played out on our TV screens, there is no excuse for not doing more to keep our kids safe.

John Walsh, host of the successful show, America’s Most Wanted, and the co-founder of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, has lived the personal nightmare of losing his child, Adam, in this horrific manner. Since Adam’s abduction and subsequent murder back in 1981, Walsh has spent his life helping to protect other children from suffering at the hands of child predators. He, along with Julie Clark of Baby Einstein fame, has created an excellent, must have, educational tool for families and educational outlets, to equip us with this vital knowledge and awareness.

The Safe Side Stranger Safety and Safe Side Internet Safety DVDs created by Walsh and Clark are so creatively produced, they are in heavy rotation as favorites in our home.

It is not an easy thing to broach this dreadful subject matter with children, for fear you’ll scare the living daylights out of them, but these DVDs make it simple, informative and even funny, if you can imagine that. The main character is a super heroin named Safe Side Super Chick, who humorously educates kids about stranger safety and internet safety by teaching simple tips to keep kids “on the safe side.”

I’ve used these tools with my children and I can attest to the effectiveness of these wonderful DVDs. You can purchase these DVDs through Amazon.com using the links below; pass them on to everyone you know with children. Urge your kids’ school to do a program around it. Encourage your church to teach classes using these DVDs. These simple, inexpensive DVDs could save a child’s future and maybe even his/her life!