Air Date: 6/17/10-Independence vs. Safety: A Delicate Balancing Act For Kids & Parents

If you have young children, what are the scariest decisions you’ll ever have to make?  I believe it’s those decisions that involve balancing your children’s need for independence and freedom with concerns about their personal safety and well being. 

A new childrearing philosophy that’s gaining followers describes today’s typical parents as invasive helicopters, always hovering about their kids, or as snowplows, trying to remove all obstacles from the path to adulthood, and states that kids are being smothered by concerns about germs, diseases, childhood injuries and what’s been termed as really remote personal safety dangers.  This last part really gives me pause.

Tonight, I’m speaking with Irene van der Zande, co-founder of the worldwide self defense organization, Kidpower, who says that reasonable precautions AND self defense skills empower children and provide them with the tools to enjoy their lives and not live an unnecessarily restricted, neurotic and fearful existence.  Plus, she’s got great tips for parents on what to teach your children about personal safety. 

Air Date: 6/17/10 @ 8pm eastern – VoiceAmerica.com network

To Listen: http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vshow.aspx?sid=1306

Missed the live show? Available as a podcast and on iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/CP101itunes

Our True Crime Report features Edgar-winning author  Burl Barer, who blogs on the InColdBlog site.  We’re talking about his book, Mom Said Kill, the horrifying true story of how a bizarre and twisted mother turned her children and their friends into stone cold killers — and then rewarded them for their crime. This is quite a tale.

 Last, but not least, we’ve got our “Let’s Catch a Criminal” segment where I feature a different US Crime Stoppers group and maybe we can help them catch a bad guy.  This week, I’ll be speaking with Janice Van Houten, Program Coordinator of the Boise Area Crime Stoppers. 

IT’D BE A CRIME NOT TO LISTEN!