As summer nears the end and children are getting ready to head back to school it is important to have ongoing conversations that will help keep them safe and healthy throughout the school year.

Did you know?

• More than 15,000 children ages 19 and under were struck and injured by a vehicle as pedestrians in 2018. (Safe Kids Worldwide, 10/2020)
• It is estimated that 8 to 10 percent of all school children exhibit school refusal behavior — and miss school as a result — at some point during their school career. That number bumps up to 28 percent when you add in students who resisted going to school but ultimately made it in the door. (“Refusal: A Large Number of Kids Just Say No to School” K-12 Daily.)
• Studies show that splitting attention between lecture and cellphone or laptop use hinders long-term retention, and those in class suffer from others’ use of devices. (Arnold L. Glass & Mengxue Kang (2019) Dividing attention in the classroom reduces exam performance, Educational Psychology)

1. Mental Health America, 24-hour Crisis Center – 1-800-273-8255 or text MHA to 741741
2. NCMEC Cyber Tipline, 24 hours, 1-800-843-5678 or report.cybertip.org
3. Crime Stoppers of Houston, 24 hours, 713-222-8477 or download the mobile app

Commonsensemedia.org
For 15 years, Common Sense Media has been able to provide trustworthy information to parents and educators on the pros and cons of virtually every type of content to help kids thrive and stay safe.

Missingkids.org
NCMEC is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide services to combat child sexual exploitation while helping to find missing children, and prevent child victimization.

Mhanational.org
Mental Health America’s work is driven by its commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of overall wellness, including prevention services for all; with recovery as the goal.

Bark.us
Bark helps keep more than 5.6 million children across the U.S. safe online and in real life. Bark monitors online activities for potential issues like cyberbullying, sexual predators, adult content, depression, acts of violence, suicidal ideation, and more.