A child needs to know there are two types of self defense. Physical, which gives them tools needed to keep them safe. And mental self defense, which empowers them with awareness and common sense to keep them safe. This is an exerpt from a seminar I did to educate parents and children on helping them with mental self defense to make them "Kid Safe" kids.

Levels of Safety By teaching our children there are different levels of safety and those levels depend on situation they are in and decisions they make in those situations, we can better train them to use their instincts, intuition, and even fear as safety tools. This is an easy way to explain to our children how to trust these instincts.

“Every time we travel through a busy intersection, there are traffic lights there to tell us if it is safe to pass through. If light is green, that tells us it is safe to pass, if light is yellow that means we must use caution and to be careful and to prepare to stop. If light turns red, that means danger and do not proceed or you may become hurt in an accident.

We can use these same lights, instead of traffic lights, as safety lights, to know when we are safe, to use caution, or to let us know we are in personal danger. If our safety light is green….. This means we are safe and everything is normal.

If our safety light turns yellow…..This means that our intuition, instincts, or our gut feeling is telling us something is wrong!

If your safety light turns red…..This means we are in immediate danger and have to act fast.

We have to train ourselves to recognize different situations we are in and be aware when that situation makes our safety light change from green to yellow or to red.

When our safety light turns yellow this is time to slow down listen to our little voice inside of us called intuition, think about situation we are in, and what is best course of action to take to keep us safe and return us to a green light. For example,

The Chinese Year of Rooster starts on February 9 and lasts until January 28 2006. There's a table below telling you dates of other Chinese astrology signs.

There are twelve Chinese year signs in Chinese Zodiac. Unlike in our western astrology, in Chinese astrology each sign lasts for a year. Legend has it that as Buddha was about to depart earth he summoned all animals to say goodbye. Only twelve turned up so, to show his appreciation of their loyalty, he vowed that from then on each year would bear name of one of animals.

Chinese astrology is based on Lunar Calendar. This means Chinese New Year does not fall on same day each year and can vary by as much as 3 weeks. So for babies born in late January/early February it is necessary to consult charts to determine correct sign.

The Chinese Year Of The Rooster. If you or your child was born in Chinese year sign of rooster you have far to go. Roosters are full of confidence, fearless and brave. They will take on an adversary far superior to themselves if they believe they are in right.

If they can control their impulsive streak they are usually successful in business. Intelligent and ambitious, Roosters work hard and like to be in control, often successfully running their own businesses.

People born under this sign are extroverts and enjoy company of others. They do not like to be criticised and their self-esteem can crumble if they are ridiculed. Roosters hate to be bored and can be deliberately provocative if life is too dull.

Other signs either love or hate Roosters. Fortunately for Rooster, most people love them.

Chinese Years: February 9, 2005 - January 28, 2006: Rooster

January 22, 2004 - February 8, 2005: Monkey

February 1, 2003 - January 21, 2004: Goat