Michelle K: My daughter is 13 years old. Despite all of my efforts to keep her from setting up pages on websites with pictures and details about herself, she continues to find more sites that I am unaware of to set up pages on. I have talked myself blue in the face, made her watch several of your programs on predators and others. Still, for some reason, she will not listen to me. How do I get her to see how serious this all is?

JW: Believe me, Michelle, many parents are fighting this battle with their teenagers. Fortunately, you have a very powerful ally. You can’t keep your kids off of the Internet, but The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) offers some great online resources with information that’s not only helpful for parents, but produced with graphics and language that will appeal to kids, too. You can access these resources at NetSmartz.org, NetSmartTeenz.org and 4NetSafety.com. The websites use videos and interactive games that help open the lines of communication, and help kids understand how dangerous the Internet can be if they’re not careful.

We’re in the middle of the holiday season, and if your family is anything like mine, you’re in the middle of a whirlwind of holiday shopping, holiday parties, holiday cards, holiday travel … the fun insanity that this time of year is all about.

We’ve got a lot of good tips here at the Safety Center to help get you through the season safely. If you haven’t already seen them, you should check out these posts:

• Make Sure New Toys Are Safe Toys
• Practice Defensive Flying During Your Holiday Travels
• Holiday Season Fire Safety
• Shopping Mall Safety
• Outsmart Scammers: Stay Secure When Shopping Online
• Keeping Your Kids Safe In A Crowd

I wish you the happiest, most peaceful – and safest – of holidays.

God Bless,
John

Since 2007, more than 45 million toys have been recalled for dangers they pose to our children. These hazards range from choking, to tiny magnets, and poisoning from lead paint.

Even after a recall, some of these dangerous toys might still be found on shelves in toy stores, so it’s important for parents to keep up to date with the latest product safety news to be sure that these toys are kept far away from their children.

The U.S. Public Interest Research Groups (U.S. PIRG) has complied a shopping guide just in time for the holidays. Here are a few things to watch out for:

• Avoid Choking hazards: never buy toys with small parts for children under 3 years old.
• Watch out for toys with powerful magnets that could fall out and be swallowed. If a child swallows even one magnet, seek immediate medical attention.
• Watch out for strangulation hazards. Remove knobs or beads from cords longer than 1 foot which could tangle into a loop.
• Avoid toys made of PVC plastic which could have lead or toxic chemicals.

You can always visit the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission or Recalls.gov for the most recent list of any products, including toys, food, medicine, that could be dangerous to you or your family. And check out the U.S. PIRG shopping guide for more tips on how you can be prepared against some of these dangerous hazards.

A lot of people ask John Walsh about which is the best child identity kit. There are so many options that he wanted to make sure you know what’s important. Here are a few things that a good kit includes:

• A fingerprint card
• A place for a recent photo of your child
• A form to note physical characteristics for your child and medical information
• A sanitary way to collect a DNA sample, i.e. cotton swab or hair sample.

It’s important to keep this information up-to-date, especially the photos. Be sure to keep these items in a safe and secure location, that’s easily accessible so you can immediately get the information to law enforcement in an emergency. And remember any good child ID kit won’t cost you more than a few bucks.