Professor Safety's Story
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How one Dad is trying to save the world...one child at a time
Many people through the years have
asked how Professor Safety
came to be. It’s one of those ‘Father of Necessity’ stories.
Over fifteen years ago, I created
a character called Professor Safety
to entertain and teach my then two-year-old daughter about personal safety
(stranger danger). I took the bull by the horns, so to speak, when I
couldn’t find anything in print about the subject, so I developed my own
ideas. The character went through many costume changes ranging from
‘goofy’ to ‘intellectual’. I settled on a very wise, but funny
professor whose goal in life was to ‘educate children about safety’.
(the drawing below is the Professor with friends)
Up to then, all I ever witnessed
were programs that were either ‘over the kid’s heads’, or were
lectures that talked down to kids and were forgotten in a matter of minutes. I wanted something
that would be memorable, educational, and last a lifetime.
As fate would have it, my
neighbor was a kindergarten teacher who heard about my character and asked
me to talk to her class of five-year-old children one day. I did (I
can’t believe how scared I was to talk to a group of five year olds!),
and one of the parents in attendance was a newspaper reporter. The next thing I knew
I had newspapers calling, schools calling, even a television show calling,
and before long, I had talked to over one thousand parents, educators,
children, a congressman, and had been on two television talk shows. There
obviously was a special and huge need for someone to teach child personal
safety in this new manner.
About a year after Professor
Safety had
started teaching safety to kids, terrible news from less than five miles
from my home made a dramatic change in the course of events. A young girl
was assaulted and murdered by a convicted sex offender out on parole. It
caused a national outrage and resulted in Megan’s Law, a
wonderful piece of legislature designed to notify parents when sex
offenders move into their neighborhood. Soon after the tragedy, a local
television show did a program on child safety that included a half hour on
Professor Safety. The
character became very popular and highly in demand overnight. As much as I loved being Professor
Safety, I found I couldn’t be in all the places I was
wanted.
It presented a major
problem
I decided, rather than try to be in twenty places at once, I’d create a complete safety program that would do justice to my mission. Up to then, most safety programs for children used fear and intimidation to try and achieve results (tactics like; Strangers are bad…they will get you…do this…don’t do that…because I said so!).
Flat out, this approach just didn’t work. When uninformed and
scared, children freeze and that’s a child molester’s dream situation.
Professor Safety’s
philosophy is to educate
the child with sound principles, and involve the
parties most important to the success of the child’s learning; namely:
the child and the parent.
Well, my idea and my vision were
right. The result was Professor
Safety’s Child Safety Program, and I am very proud of it. I have taken my three
basic child safety principles, tied them into movement and music and
created a child safety program with a positive, memorable message
that educates children about stranger danger.
This safety program is unique in
that it educates the
child with tools he/she can easily understand. It goes beyond the basics
and gets to the heart of the matter. It involves not only the child and
the teacher (when used in day cares or schools), but also the parent, an incredibly important member of this
cast. An award winning 35-minute live action video gets the child’s
attention and, while interacting with his peers, lets him/her figure out what is
right and what is wrong about strangers. Activities following the
video segments abound and allow the child to further understand how to
react in an unsafe situation. Your encouragement and the informational
fact sheets for the parent make this a very special opportunity to learn a
lifelong lesson.
Professor
Safety can be successfully taught in homes, schools, day care
centers, libraries, police departments, home care, and any place that
demands we do more for our children.
The
Professor Safety’s Child Safety
Program
includes:
·
The interactive video; Professor
Safety Child Safety DVD, the 35-minute live-action safety video
·
A complete teaching manual so you can begin teaching safety
right away, including a ‘Safety in a Nutshell’ starter
sheet that will get you up and running. You will quickly become the
‘Safety Expert’
·
The video is broken down into six safety lessons, each
about 5-7 minutes in length so kids don’t lose attention
·
Your Child’s Handout and Activity Packet, including song
lyrics, activity and coloring sheets for all 6 lessons
·
The accompanying Parent handout packet with summaries of
the day’s lessons that keep the parent/guardian informed of what the
child is learning (a great tool when used in day care centers or schools)
·
A Safety 'Diploma' for each child upon completion of the
course
New Jersey Family Magazine said about this program; “Educated children are the best
defense against strangers. This program educates children in a
non-threatening manner and gives them self-confidence.”
Phyllis E., a day care center
director said; “ This program uses a video with simple language that is
easily understood by children. It teaches them they have control over
situations and the power and knowledge to protect themselves. They love
the songs and games on the video so much, they want to watch it
everyday!”
A mother, Karen M. from Nebraska,
says: “My children are really enthusiastic about the Professor and the
video. They play Professor Safety
games and talk about him almost everyday. They also tell their friends.
They will watch this video as much as any video.”
Art,
a father from Georgia, said: "My kids were mesmerized, and so was I.
What a great video."
That’s why I created Professor Safety and the safety program. It’s been fourteen years and my child still remembers the three safety rules…and it still warms my heart to hear kids come up to the professor and rattle off the rules!
That’s what makes this Dad’s heart flutter.
To
learn how you can get Professor Safety's Program,
click here