10 rules to help your child make it home safely from a police encounter.
Ten rules, one acrostic, one song. Learned young, so they’re already second nature the day your child faces an officer without you.
This book doesn’t claim the system is fair. It claims your child’s odds are better calm than escalated, and it gives families a way to practice that before it’s ever needed.
The conversation most families put off
This isn’t about a stranger stopping your eight year old on the sidewalk. It’s about the day your child gets behind the wheel, and every day after that, when the encounter is theirs to handle alone.
Most officers want everyone home safely. But that hasn’t always been felt in communities of color, and one misread moment carries real stakes. MAKIN’ IT HOME teaches ten rules through an acrostic set to a song, repeated until it’s automatic, and it gives the whole family a shared vocabulary. “Aim nothing.” “Keep silent.” “Make yourself stay calm.”
“What you say and do in that moment matters. Your safety depends on it.”
One of ten rules a family learns together now, so it’s already on their heart later.
Why it matters
Juvenile records are often sealed. The record an adult builds is permanent, and most of them start with a stop that was headed for a warning until a raised voice or a sudden movement changed it. Here is what that record costs.
A misdemeanor, or an arrest with no conviction at all, can trigger every consequence above. MAKIN’ IT HOME exists so calm is the instinct your child reaches for first.
Sources: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission hearing testimony. Prison Policy Initiative research on employment and housing after incarceration. Peer-reviewed criminal justice and housing-policy studies. Figures reflect national research trends, not guarantees for any individual case.
The acrostic
Every letter stands for one rule: rhymed, illustrated, and set to a song a family keeps singing long after the book is closed.
Engrave these rules upon your heart.
A look inside
Real photography for all ten rules, paired with rhyme and illustration.
Sing it until it sticks
The “Sing Along” QR code is on the front cover, so the song is one scan away at bedtime, in the car, or on the way out the door.
Watch on YouTube insteadPractice, the way kids actually learn
Six free games built on the same ten rules. Play at home or with a youth group.
A MAKIN’ IT HOME crossword party. Host it game show style on the big screen, or play it on your own.
Watch the mirror. Pull over only for lights flashing. Everything else, keep driving.
Collect calm, dissolve the heat. Drag to fly, then tap PULSE to send out a calm wave that clears the heat around you.
Catch calm to keep your cool and build your streak. Let the heat fall past you, and don’t let your temp hit the top.
Beat the sunset home. When you see an officer, tap WALK. Never run near police. Walk calm, hands visible, and earn big bonuses.
Twelve terms straight from the ten rules. Type your answers and check as you go.
Free to play and free to share. Running a group session? Put CLUE CREW on the big screen and host it like a game show.
For churches, nonprofits & community centers
Written to travel beyond one household, into church family nights, youth ministries, and community centers.
Give every family in your congregation their own copy. Built for family nights, youth curricula, back-to-school outreach, and safety workshops.
A ready-to-lead 75-minute family night program. No preparation required.
About the author
A. L. Jaxan wrote MAKIN’ IT HOME out of a vision he credits to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and message from his pastor on Knowing Your Purpose: You’re the next cure for whatever else you’re designed to do...God put you here to be an asset! It’s getting on God’s nerves that he has all these assets in the Earth realm and...“Earthly” problems still exist.
The book is honest about where trust has been strained, and just as honest that most officers, like most parents, want the same thing: everyone going home safely.
“Let’s begin.”
Ten rules. One acrostic. One song your family won’t forget.
ISBN 9798194714520 · Jaxan Publishing