way to feed the paranoia, lol. Great business idea though...as I'm sure these companies will continue to realize significant growth.

http://www.thestar.com/living/article/276474

quote:

Bulletproof backpacks for kids But child experts worry that such extreme measures will make children fear life Nov 15, 2007 04:30 AM Trish Crawford Living Reporter Columbine, Dawson College, Virginia Tech – these names strike fear in parents' hearts. Two manufacturers, capitalizing on that fear, are finding a small but strong market for their products. The bulletproof backpack created by a couple of Massachusetts dads isn't available in Canada yet but has sold more than 1,000 in two months in the States. A hoodie lined with slash-proof Kevlar made in Britain has sold to hundreds of customers in Canada and around the world in the six months it's been for sale online. Both businesses have plans to expand. In the meantime, though, child psychologists are expressing a growing fear that things have gone too far. "Fear can be taught," warns Dr. Eilenna Denisoff, a trauma expert with the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health. Excessive safety measures send the message that the world is a terrible, frightening place, says Dr. Denisoff. Instead of feeling reassured, people become more anxious. "It keeps the fear alive," she says, adding, "At its worst, people are unable to leave their house at all." Marc Lewis, professor of developmental psychology at the University of Toronto, warns parents away from these kinds of measures. "I think it's awful," he says. "It focuses the attention on something that has one chance in a zillion of happening." Anxiety is one of the most common childhood disorders, affecting 13 per cent of North American children, he says. Phobias, panic disorders and inhibitions in children often reflect parents' fears, he says. Taking safety precautions is good – such as teaching children how to cross the street – but the world should not be presented as a dangerous place, says Lewis. "Do you want your kid to be afraid of everything? That's problematic." Two U.S. dads, Mike Pelonzi and Joe Currans, developed bullet-proof backpacks for their own children in the wake of the 1999 Columbine high school massacre in Colorado where a pair of teens gunned down 12. They visited their children's schools to see what safety measures were in place and found that students were being told to hide in the classrooms, flattening themselves along the walls. They wanted to find something for children to protect themselves with and settled on the backpack. Backpacks are "the one common denominator between all students," says Currans, adding the children should hold the backpacks in front of them for protection during a shooting. When neighbours started asking them to make backpacks for them, too, they realized they had a marketing opportunity. They began selling the $195 backpacks in August as MJ Solutions (mychildspack.com) and are awaiting approval to export them to Canada. The bulletproof material adds only 20 ounces to the weight. Meanwhile, BladeRunner, a British firm specializing in protective clothing for security and police forces, introduced its stab-proof hoodies online in April and sold all 100 in days. The Kevlar-lined hoodies weigh 1 kilogram and cost $130 each. The company has sold more than 800 at bladerunner.tv. "With the amount of crime on the streets these days, why are we making protective clothing just for police?" wondered Adrian Davis, one of the partners. BladeRunner also studied their target market – youths who hang out on street corners – and noticed "90 per cent of them are wearing hooded tops," says Davis. They quickly stopped using the company logo on the sweaters because it was an invitation to try out the slash-proof promise. The company expected street-smart males in their teens and 20s to go for the product but soon discovered there was a big demand from parents of girls. "School kids 12 and 13 want them and so do women in their 60s looking for extra protection," says Davis. BladeRunner began selling pink and baby blue hoodies, and began developing stab-proof school uniforms as well.