Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Our First 2016 Meeting: Talking about Safety

Welcome back, MOPS mamas! We kicked off our 2016 year with an excellent first meeting. The topic for the day was safety, which is always a scary and intimidating thing to talk about, but Paige Slocumb from Safe Alone presented everything not only in a simplified manner, but she was hilarious and had the whole room roaring with laughter more often than not. Plus, we all walked out knowing more than when we sat down.

I'm actually really sorry I didn't record her presentation, because it was that good. If you missed it, have no fear, because I think we're going to try getting her back for a Mom's Night Out later this year.

 

So what did we talk about? Paige discussed three main things:
1. Don't be a target
2. Have a plan
3. Trust your instincts.

Keep reading for some of the highlights, just so you can have a little insight into safe-guarding your home, yourself, and your loved ones.

First things first: keep your phone on you at all times! Your phone is literally your lifeline if you're in danger and need help. If you don't have a phone, how can you call for help?

Be alert and aware of your surroundings. If you can see a predator, he can see you. He's far more likely to go for someone not paying any attention than to go for the woman with children who is aware of her surroundings.

Women's intuition is a very real thing. If your gut is telling you something, listen to it!

If, by some chance you are in danger, the absolute worst thing is if you're taken to a second location. Don't let that happen! If someone is dragging and pulling you, get down on the ground. It's much harder to move "dead" weight than it is to pull someone up on both legs. 


If you're in danger (and this goes for kids, too), don't just scream, "HELP!!" or "NO!" Instead, scream, "CALL 911." (Of course, scream whatever you can when you can, but telling people around you what to do will immediately state that you're in danger and in need of help.)

Another tip for kids: we always tell them what not to do (stranger danger, etc.), but are we telling them what to do? Tell them to run and get away from whatever situation they're in.

When you're home: do not open the door. Unless you've specifically asked someone to come over, what are the chances that you're going to invite a stranger into your home. Just don't open it! If you're expecting someone to come over—the cable repair guy, the pest control guy, etc.—ask a girlfriend to come over for coffee just so someone else is in the house with you. (Not sure of who to ask? Post something on our MOPS FB group and see if anyone is free. You may make a great friend that way!)

Program the Georgia State Patrol into your cellphone: *477



This was just a very brief overview of what she discussed. If you were at the meeting, we'd love to hear what main points you took away from her talk.



1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much for posting meeting summaries! I wasn't able to attend the meeting, but it's so great to stay in the loop.

    ReplyDelete

We'd love to hear from you! Thanks for the comment :)