Four Little Monsters Review & Giveaway Kid Safety Bands!

* This post was copied and reposted here from our friends at Four Little Monsters Mommy Blog! Every kid needs this! Doing our part to spread the word about a product that promote's children's safety.

Hoorah! Today I'm posting the first giveaway of the Four Little Monsters' Summer Giveaway Craze Days event, which will extend through the end of August. I'll post a review of a summer-appropriate product or event every single Friday and announce the winner the following Friday. Sound good? Good, I thought so.

This week's summer-inspired product: The Kid Safety Band - because we'll definitely need these for all the playgrounds, amusement parks, beaches and distant planets we visit this summer - AND... for goodness sake, SPREAD THE WORD - this particular product promotes the safety of our children and there's nothing more important than that. I'm literally never taking this company's ad off of the site - I want every kid to have one of these.

I recently received samples from Kid Safety Band, a company offering simple orange silicone wristbands printed with a child's initials and a contact phone number. Let me just say first that my family will be using the Kid Safety Bands religiously for any events or excursions we take outside the house from now on.
A Moment of Panic Inspires the Kid Safety Band

The orange band, sized for kids from three to about eight years old and used to reunite lost children with their families quickly, was inspired by a moment of panic in a park. The creator of the Kid Safety Band is also a Dad, who found himself in a situation that we parents fear most - after reaching down to pick up a dropped shoe beneath his son on a swing, realized that his older son was gone. After scouring the park and shouting out his son's name, he still couldn't locate his child. As he was about to phone the police, another person told him to check a side of the park where they'd seen a young boy. Thankfully, that boy was his son, hiding in the bushes. The anxiety of the situation inspired this particular Dad to create the Kid Safety Band, in an effort to help kids that may become lost find their families fast.
4LM's Personal Experience with the Kid Safety Band

ML and her Kid Safety Band

This past weekend our family attended the Philadelphia Festival of the Arts Street Festival and having just received the Kid Safety Bands, I decided this event was the perfect place to test them out - of course, I hoped we wouldn't have to actually "use" them. I put one on KM, LT and ML in the car and explained what they were and how they should be used. ML and LT probably had no idea what I was talking about but I stressed to them not to take them off. I told my six-year old that while the safety band looked like a regular silicone bracelet, it was also a safety precaution, in case she were to get separated from us at any time while we were out. Moral of that story, "Don't take it off, it will keep you safe."
The PIFA Street Festival was crazy crowded, we spent most of the time pushing our way through crowds on the sidewalks and therefore, holding hands and pushing the baby in the stroller. I have to admit, having the safety bands on my three walkers did give me that extra peace of mind that I usually lack in situations like that. I'm normally a very anxious Mom in crowds, having "misplaced" LT once at a school fair where my brother and my Dad and I were all saying, "I thought you had him!". I do spend a lot of time accounting for the kids, making sure everyone is holding hands over and over again to the point of annoying myself - a result of having four kids, likely. With the Kid Safety Bands on their wrists, I certainly didn't let my guard down but I did feel more relaxed mentally.

While the band can be removed by the child, and was removed by my three year old several times, it's been pretty easily establishing the routine of wearing it outside the house as we've gone out since the Street Festival. My husband and I helped solidify the routine of wearing the bands outside the house by asking every twenty minutes or so, "Are you wearing your Band? Where's your Band?" They proudly held out their wrists, or in one instance, pointed to the ground (and we quickly located ML's band, LOL). We've gone out to the park, out for ice cream, and to the grocery store this week with all the kids and haven't had any more removal attempts. Just today, I put a band on my six year old because she was going on a field trip with her class.

Em's Official Recommendation for the Kid Safety Band
The Kid Safety Band is an absolute must for families with children. It literally could transform the outcome of a lost child situation that might otherwise prove long and traumatizing for both parents and child. There are even bands for adults, which could prove particularly useful for older family members that may suffer from Alzheimer's disease or dementia. My grandfather, a NASA engineer until retiring, suffered from Alzheimer's and dementia in his late life. I know how beneficial an Adult Safety Band could prove to be with a family member with the same or similar condition.

I would tell any parent starting out with the Kid Safety Band, to continue to stress to their child the importance of not taking it off, what it's for, what information it provides if he or she is to get lost - and of course point out that it's a nifty bracelet. Kids are wearing these everywhere anyway, they're popular fashion statements and support many causes. Keep the child involved and aware of the bracelet so that it becomes natural and necessary to them as much as it is to you as the parent.
The band is customizable so there are many options for text and info on the band. Choose a phone number that will be in use and easily available if your child does wander off. I keep my business cell on me at all times, so naturally that was the number I chose for the kids' bands.
You can visit http://kidssafetybands.com/ or http://adultsafetyband.com/ to order your custom Safety Bands. They're only $5 and worth so much more.

One lucky Four Little Monsters reader will win a Kid Safety Band ($5 value). Closes on June 2nd, 2011. Enter here. Giveaway is restricted to U.S residents 18 and older.

To enter, visit our friends at Four Little Monsters Mommy Blog --> www.fourlittlemonsters.com

The Fairy Paintbox Gets A Face Lift!

http://www.thefairypaintbox.com/ is currently undergoing a bit of a face-lift. Since I'm so busy in the studio at the moment, the redesign of the website will take some time. Please excuse the mess while everything gets back together in a much prettier, organized fashion! Thanks so much.