Preadolescence (ages 11 - 12):

Like their younger peers, motor vehicle accidents continue to be the leading cause of death among this age group. The sad part is that 63% of those killed were unrestrained in the vehicle according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Nationally, we are seeing improvements. Seat belt use between 2000 and 2006 rose from 71% to 81% but that still leaves a lot of kids at risk.

In their publication Motor Vehicle Occupant Protection F A C T S, the National Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) states:

"When lap/shoulder safety belts are used properly, they reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat occupants riding in passenger vehicles by 45 percent and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent. For light-truck front-seat occupants, safety belts reduce the risk of fatal injury by 60 percent and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 65 percent.

Ejection from the vehicle is one of the most harmful events that can happen to a person in a crash. In passenger vehicle crashes in which someone died in 2002, 73 percent of occupants who were completely ejected were killed. Safety belts are effective in preventing total ejections. In 2002, in crashes in which someone was killed, only 1 percent of the occupants reported to have been using restraints were totally ejected, compared with 30 percent of unrestrained occupants (in passenger vehicles)."

The two paragraphs above are probably the strongest endorsement of seat belt use you could ever hope to see. You have the ability to reduce serious injury or the death of your child by over 50% simply by enforcing the use of seat belts! By the way, the same holds true for you.

Internet Safety:

If you have been practicing safe internet habits as your child grew then this section should be second nature. If you are just starting to learn best practices or a preadolescent has just joined your family then read through the section on Middle Childhood.

Your child is being exposed to more pornagraphy than every before. According to a study conducted by the University of New Hampshire, the number of kids exposured to unwanted pornagraphy increased from 25% in 2000 to 33% in 2005. Sadly, the material is becoming more and more graphic with images of people engaged in sexual acts or sexual deviance or violence. You can report unsolicited material your child has received or any unwanted solicitation to CyberTipline.com or by calling 1-800-THE LOST (1-800-843-5678). The phone line is staffed by The Center for Missing and Exploited Children 24 hours a day. Not only do they engage the appropriate law enforcement agency but, when possible, they contact the offender's internet service provider.

Have you ever looked at a chat session and wondered what all the abbreviations mean? Webopedia offers an online dictionary of text messaging abbreviations and emoticons. You can view it by going to webopedia.com and clicking on their quick reference tab.

You may think of it as prying, but have you checked your computer to find out what sites your child is looking at? If your computer uses Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox press CTRL H to view the sites your child has visited.

To learn more about internet safety, you can go to NetSmartz.org. They have a great site with a lot of age appropriate activities for kids and teens. They even have resources for teachers and law enforcement.

Cervical Cancer Vaccine for Girls:

While social issues abound concerning this new vaccine, this is the recommended age (11-12) for girls to be innoculated to protect them from cervical cancer. Various strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), spread through sexual contact, are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. According to the World Health Organization, there were nearly 500,000 new cases of cervical cancer detected in 2005. There were 10,000 in the U.S. alone resulting in nearly 4000 deaths.

While the vaccine is effective against most forms of cervical cancer, it should be noted that it does not protect against sexually transmitted disease. Likewise, the vaccine is not intended to replace a pap test.

For additional information on the cervival cancer vaccine Gardacil, consult your family physician.

Talk To Your Kids:

About tobacco, alcohol, sexual abuse and drugs. We have compiled a list of web sites that can help you with each of the topics.

• Tobacco - KidsHealth.org clears the air about kids and smoking.
• Alcohol - Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free is a coalition of Governor's spouses, Federal Agencies and public and private organizations. It's located at alcoholfreechildren.org.
• Sexual Abuse - The American Psychological Association offers some sound advice about sexual abuse. You can go to apa.org and search on the keywords "sex abuse protect".
• Drugs - DrugFree.org offers some good information about your child and drug use.
  
  This would also be a very good place to give a free plug to Big Bothers and Big Sisters. Caring can make a difference.

We have come to the close of another Safe Zone LLC topic. Now on to Teen Agers