Media reports of children who have been snatched strike terror into every parent's heart, but it is important to keep these widely publicized horrors in perspective. Of the thousands of kidnapped children, the vast majority are the victims of parental custody disputes. In 2001, strangers approached about 4,600 children, but only about 300 were snatched and either found murdered or never found.

Meanwhile, thousands were killed in automobile, bicycle, skateboard, and gun accidents. While you must teach your tween to protect herself from dangerous strangers, don't overreact to inflammatory press reports. Make ironclad rules about wearing seatbelts and helmets, and keep guns out of the house!

Auto Safety

Children under age twelve should sit in the backseat of moving vehicles. Make sure the lap belt lies across the lap and fits tightly. The shoulder belt should fit snugly, crossing the chest and shoulder and resting on the collarbone to avoid abdominal injuries. Children under 4'9" should use a booster seat that faces forward, constructed so that both the lap and shoulder belts run through it.

When your child can sit all the way back in the seat, bend his knees over the seat cushion, and rest his feet on the floor, he no longer requires a booster seat. Air bags are dangerous for children and should be turned off if your youngster sits in the front seat. Contact the Auto Safety Hotline at (888) 327-4236 for additional information.

Pedestrian Safety

All the time you spent teaching your kindergartner to cross the street safely may go out the window when she turns into a distracted tween at age nine and a cocky daredevil at age twelve. Remind her of the basics: not to chase a ball into the street, to wait for a traffic signal to give the go-ahead, to look before crossing, and to be aware of speeding cars that appear out of nowhere. Most important, your tween should always remember that cars have the right of way — whether she likes it or not.

Fire Safety

Fire is the leading cause of unintentional death to children under age fourteen, with nearly 600 deaths and 40,000 injuries each year. Keep matches and lighters under surveillance. Have your child wear tight sleeves if he's cooking, building a fire, or lighting a candle — loose sleeves easily catch fire. Keep flammable objects away from heaters and radiators, and don't store flammable liquids such as gasoline inside the house. Check for electrical cords and wires that are loose or frayed and replace them immediately. Don't hide extension cords under carpets and rugs.

Don't block an exit to your home with furniture; that could block an escape route. Hold fire drills to be sure your child knows how to get out of the house in the event of a fire. Since 50 percent of home fires occur at night, hold a night drill as well as a day drill once a year. Require everyone to meet outside at a particular spot so that if a real fire happens, you can readily ascertain that everyone has made it out. Don't call for emergency help until after everyone is safely outside.

Since most deaths from fire are actually caused by inhaling smoke, instruct your child to crawl beneath it rather than trying to walk through it. Explain how to smother burning clothing and hair by stopping, dropping to the ground, and rolling — running in fear would only fan the fire.

Gun Safety

If you think you've succeeded at hiding your gun, think again. Studies show that 75 to 80 percent of children know where the family gun is hidden. Moreover, when they stumble across it or decide to show it off to a friend, they cannot resist the temptation to pretend to aim and fire. Over 1,800 children age fourteen and under were treated at hospital emergency rooms in the year 2000 for gunshot wounds, and many of the wounded youngsters died. The little gunslingers were always oh-so-sure it wasn't loaded.