The most dangerous time of YOUR Child’s day: AFTERSCHOOL – BETWEEN 2PM- 6PM

After school hours are a peak time for juvenile crime and risky behaviors such as drug use, under age drinking and smoking cigarettes, as well as sexual activity. •In America today, 1 in 4 youth --14.3 million children, among them are more than 40,000 kindergarteners --are alone and unsupervised after school (America After 3 p.m., May 2004). •Between the hours of 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. juveniles are at the highest risk of violence. •Teens who do not participate in after school programs are nearly three times more likely to skip classes than teens who do participate. They are also three times more likely to use marijuana or other drugs, and they are more likely to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes and engage in sexual activity. (YMCA of the USA, March 2001). •The hours between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. are the peak hours for juvenile crime and experimentation with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and sex. (Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2002). •The most common activity for children after school is watching television - on average 23 hours a week. (A.C. Nielsen and Company, 1992.) In today’s society, fewer and fewer children have a parent waiting for them at home when school lets out. As a result, youth often supervise themselves & younger siblings after school with varying degrees of oversight by parents/guardians. At the same time, we should not fail to recognize that during these afterschool hours, juveniles are most likely to become victims of crime, including violent crimes such as robberies and aggravated assaults. In this unsupervised time, youth are more vulnerable & more likely to be exploited, injured, & even killed. Please join Denise Bolds, MSW parent educator & author or Raising Princes to be Kings: A Single Black Mother’s Guide to Raising Her Black Son, with special guests to empower parents/ guardians with the focus of keeping our children safe. GET READY TO BE EMPOWERED!!!!