The Back Pack Toss
as published in the Toronto4kids Website Sept 2008
By Street Smart Kidz' Steven Baird
In early August, there were "Back To School" sales. It seemed a little early to me, but seeing all the different back packs for sale, made me remember "The Back Pack Toss", which every student should know about, and it's something every parent should teach their children, because it may save their life one day, and it's fun and easy to teach.
The goal of the "Back Pack Toss" , is to tell adults that something BAD has happened, and to call the Police immediately. This is accomplished by sending a signal that all adults will recognize. The signal is scattered books, papers, lunch containers and gym clothes over a large area.
Teach your kids, that
- if a car pulls up beside them on the way to/from school, and a adult tries to ask them a question ( directions, have you seen my puppy) to take three quick steps away from the door of the car.
- While they are doing this, they should undo every zipper of their back pack.
- If the car door starts to open, they should swing the back pack as hard as they can, trying to empty it all over, dropping it, then running as fast as they can, and yelling for help.
As a parent, if I'm driving somewhere, and see a dropped back pack , and debris all over the place, I know something BAD has happened, and I would call the police immediately!
This also works any time your kids are using a back pack!
So dig last years back pack out of the closet, or grab the new one, put a few magazines, a book or two and a pair of old shoe's in it, and go out into your back yard, and practice the "Back Pack Toss" for 30 minutes.
You will have a few laughs, do some bonding and teach your kids a very important life skill for today's world!
About Street Smart Kidz: The Street Smart Kid'z program provides information for parents free of charge to help keep their children safe. Visit www.streetsmartkidz.ca for a wealth of Free information including tips, articles, resources, a Free children's ID kit and more!
Steven Baird