What is Power of Parents?

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and Duracell are partnering for the third consecutive year through the Power of Parents child safety program to arm families with important new information about school year safety.  The Power of Parents program launched in April 2006 with the goal of helping parents prepare, protect and empower their children by providing useful safety tools and information for families.  The Power of Parents program Web site (www.powerofparentsonline.com) contains a variety of important safety tools for families, including the new Child Safety Handbook.

Did You Know?

According to new data from NCMEC, most abduction attempts occur after-school, between the hours of 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m**.  Almost half of non-family abduction attempts happen when a child is walking to or from school or a related school activity**.  NCMEC also found that the overwhelming majority of children affected by abduction attempts are young girls (74 percent) between the ages of 10 and 14 years old.  As 56 million students grades K through 12 are beginning their school year, it is more important than ever for families to take the time to have important safety discussions.   Currently, only 58 percent of parents and guardians are taking this important step**.

How You Can Help Keep Your Family Safer

The best line of defense in child safety is the guidance of a parent/guardian.  To help parents guide the conversation with their children, NCMEC and Duracell have expanded their child safety resource portfolio with the addition of a new, free Child Safety Handbook.  The handbookhas been developed for parents of children who are infant through high school ages.  It is available on powerofparentsonline.com.

The Power of Parents Child Safety Handbook provides safety tips from the experts at NCMEC for four key child development stages: infant to toddler, ages 4-6, ages 7-11, and ages 12-17.  Understanding that with these different stages of development a child’s behavior pattern changes, the handbook outlines age-appropriate tips and scenarios that parents need to be aware of, as well as some outside influences that may be impacting their child’s actions.  A sampling of current technologies such as applications of GPS, wireless and Radio Frequency Identification technologies used for child safety precautions also are highlighted.

**National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Special Analysis Unit This data analysis was conducted on 1,746 attempted abductions tracked and confirmed with law enforcement from February 1, 2005 through June 30, 2008
**National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Special Analysis Unit. 
**Omnibus survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation among parents or guardians of a child under the age of 18 living in their household, February 9- 13, 2006.