by Dale Yeager SERAPH
The terrorist attacks in Brussels, Belgium have brought the issue of travel safety and students to the national spotlight. Families of murdered or injured students thought that Western Europe was safe. They were wrong.
It never ceases to amaze me how many parents trust the most valuable humans in their lives to teachers, principals and college administrators.
I routinely hear these statements when I speak about travel safety;
“Oh Dale, the high school teacher has a lot of experience traveling.” or “The College / University has a lot of experience with semesters abroad.”
You are trusting people with your children’s lives, remember Natalee Holloway? Irresponsible school administrators and parents – without a travel safety plan – allowed teenagers to manage themselves and the result was forever devastating for the Holloway family.
I have some questions that every parent reading this should ask themselves:
- Where is the contact list of doctors and dentists that meet U.S. standards in the country your child will be traveling in? [How will they prove it to you as a parent?]
- How will the trip leaders get Real Time [Live] updates on severe weather, terrorist threats, disease, riots, etc.? [How will they prove it to you as a parent?]
- What happens if they close the borders? Where is the plan of action to evacuate your child to safety? [How will they prove it to you as a parent?]
- What happens if your child loses their medication?
- What police or hotel / hospice security are in place to prevent sexual assault or violence to your child? [How will they prove it to you as a parent?]
- How will the U.S. embassy know where your child is?
- Have the leaders of your trip been trained in Travel Safety and do they have a Travel Safety Plan? [How will they prove it to you as a parent?]
How do you protect your children when they travel out of the country?
- Train your children and yourself in Travel Safety. Even if you have traveled extensively you will be surprised what you will learn.
- Register your child with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program [STEP] . This program protects your child from most safety and security issues and provides a no cost solution to travel safety.
- Have a Travel Safety Plan Of Action. A copy should be placed in the lining of your child’s bag, a copy should be on your child at all times and you should have a copy at all times.
Travel safety is a deliberate act!
The DALE YEAGER Blog 
As a corporate auditor, “How will they prove it to you as a parent” is the key step in your child’s successful and safe trip abroad. The story always seems to change as soon as we ask, “How can I check that? How do I verify that what you’re explaining to me I can do a quick check on?” Unfortunately, thats the point where what they *thought* was so sound begins to unravel. They typically can’t tell the first few parents who ask, but if pressed by the parents then they’ll figure it out, and thats when we see more concrete plans that are more likely to hold together once stress-tested.
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The article explains how to verify Mark.
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