When my kids were young we took them to the state fair.  We had stopped by the department of transportation exhibit to let the kids climb up on a DOT snowplow that was on display.  One of them came down and wandered a few feet away and went behind another display. When I realized she was out of sight I called her and
she came from behind the display carrying
something in her hand.  She gave it to me
and it was a button very similar to the one
to the left, it just said What If?...

Angry that I had not been vigilant enough in watching over my child I asked who had given it to her.  She pointed to a highway employee wearing a traffic vest.  He just smiled at me, turned, and walked away. The incident had an impact on me, my family, and my law enforcement career.

Since that time, we take the time to do the What if's... We talk about how to handle situations when we see something out of the ordinary, when something happens to someone else, or when discussing upcoming activities. By taking the time to do so, we all are better prepared to respond to situations. We take what may be a bad situation and turn it into something that has less impact on our lives that it would have if we weren't prepared.

Take the time to do the What if's with your family, not just as it relates to the Internet but every aspect of your lives. Use the learning or teaching moments that come up everyday to prepare for what the world holds for you and your family.  It's easy to do, when you see something out of the ordinary or conversation goes to something that happened to someone else you steer the conversation by asking:

What would you do if that happened to you?

What could they have done differently to keep it from happening in the first place?

If this happens I would hope you would...

These simple questions can get the talk going and more importantly, get them thinking about what they should do if it happens to them.  When you have done the What if's... and you are confronted with a situation, you react rather that being caught off guard and not knowing what to do.  The fact that you can react quickly rather than having to think it through can be the difference from you having the advantage over the situation over it controlling you.

Take the time and do the What if's... 

Get a What if?...  button for $1.50 each or a What If? wristband for $1.00 each  by sending your name and address along with payment to:

ISCLLC Button
5169 Farnham Drive                    Or
Hugo, MN  55038

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