Cathy Pedrayes - The Mom Friend Guide to Everyday Safety and Security : Tips from the Practical One In Your Squad

The Mom Friend Guide to Everyday Safety and Security

Everyday Safety and Security

Tips from the Practical One in Your Squad

Cathy Pedrayes

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Copyright 2022 by Cathy Pedrayes

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First Simon Element trade paperback edition April 2022

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Interior design by Jennifer Chung

Cover design by Patrick Sullivan

Cover and author photos by Melissa Hom

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Pedrayes, Cathy, author. Title: The mom friend guide to everyday safety and security : tips from the practical one in your squad / by Cathy Pedrayes. Description: First Simon Element trade paperback edition. | New York, NY: Simon Element, 2022. Identifiers: LCCN 2021043104 (print) | LCCN 2021043105 (ebook) | ISBN 9781982185671 (paperback) | ISBN 9781982185688 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Preparedness. | Risk management. | AccidentsPrevention. | Data protection. Classification: LCC HV551.2 .P389 2022 (print) | LCC HV551.2 (ebook) | DDC 363.1dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021043104

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021043105

ISBN 978-1-9821-8567-1

ISBN 978-1-9821-8568-8 (ebook)

I ve been the Mom Friend of the group since my late teens. I didnt know the term for it then, but when I got my first car, I suddenly became responsible for others who rode with me, and I wanted to be prepared for anything that came our way.

Before I even drove my first car out of the driveway, my mom had equipped it with emergency lighting, blind spot mirrors, and a jump starter pack with an air compressor. To this day, I still carry most of those items in my car (upgraded, of course). As I got older and more experienced, I slowly added more and more to my list of safety must-haves.

I had always carried a basic first aid kit for cuts and blisters, but after an extensive first aid course, I took it to the next level and built a kit equipped to handle everything from a diabetic emergency to an extreme puncture. When I was the designated driver for drunk friends after a night at the club, my car was stocked with snacks, water, and baggies for nausea. When I drove my little sister around, shed get carsick, so I always traveled with an extra change of clothes, paper towels, cleaning wipes, and bags for trash. But my preparedness didnt end with humans; Im an animal lover, too, and growing up in Miami, Id come across a lot of stray dogs and cats, so I began carrying leashes, food, bowls, and water for them in the trunk of my car. If there was a way I could help, I wanted to be prepared to do so.

These innate Mom Friend tendencies grew over time, which is precisely the genesis of this book. Ive put my experiences into a reference guide so that youll know where to start planning for safety and security, whether its for your first car, first home, or a big trip. This book will cover some of the basics and some aspects that are not so basic, such as cybersecurity. Nearly everything comes from firsthand discussions or experiences, which I subsequently researched.

As I moved into adulthood, it seemed the greatest safety risks were on the road and at home, so that guided which supplies I stocked; but once I started working in television, I saw there was danger elsewhere. Starting out, I was twenty-six and a television host on a national network, which was reportedly viewed in more than one hundred million homes. My biggest concern was stalkers, and when I started working, I asked colleagues about their experiences; sure enough, nearly every person I spoke with had a scary storyin one case, the incident made national news. And how had these people found my coworkers? The internet. Stalking used to require being near someone to harass them or sending a letter in the mail, but with the internet and social media, anyone can do it from anywhere in the world. Which is how I learned about cybersecurityout of a need to protect myself.

It may seem like an extreme scenarionot everyone works in televisionbut the truth is that when it comes to our digital lives, information is valuable. It doesnt take much for someone to run a search engine query with your name and find an address, emails, phone numbers, family members, and more. This information may not be used by a cyberstalker, but a hacker, identity thief, or anyone engineering a scam would love it. These are real threats millions of people experience every year, and much of it could be avoided with a little caution.

Of course, this is coming from the girl with millions of followers online, who still works in television, and who wrote a bookso dont think Im the one whos going to tell you to hide in a compound somewhere. Nope! Ive found that being prepared for scenarios (albeit some more likely than others) helps me react quickly when I come across them so I can avoid risky situations.

This book aims to make you aware of some of those situations, whether in the physical world or digital one, so that youre familiar with them and have some possible reactions and resources at the ready. But if a tip isnt for you, no worries. No one is going to quiz you at the end or judge you for not doing everything in these pagesyou make the decisions that work best for you, and I hope this book will empower you to do so.

Im excited to share this with you!

O ur homes are our little oases. Theyre where we feel safe. Theyre where we make memories with our families and fur babies; theyre where we relax and enjoy life. But theyre also where we likely store most of our valuables. So despite the cozy feeling we get thinking about our home, its also a source of risk. I wont get into all the data about the danger your home can harborranging from home burglaries to injuries, fires, or assaultsbut I will say that our homes are safest when we take a few steps to be prepared. Of course, nothing in this book is a fail-safe, but heres a quick guide to things that will help you feel (and be) more prepared at home.

Starting with the basics, here are a few items every home should have or avoid.

A carbon monoxide (CO) alarm: Carbon monoxide is a colorless, tasteless, odorless, and toxic gas that comes from anything that burns fuel, such as cars, fireplaces, gas stoves, water heaters, dryers, and more. Its important we stay up-to-date on maintaining these items, but even so, equipment can malfunction. In order to keep our families safe, we need carbon monoxide alarms in our home (notice