Safer Child Products

Christmas may be over, but many families keep their trees and lights up until after New Year’s.  Also, it is still Hanukkah and many families are lighting candles.  Never leave burning candles unattended, be sure to remove dish towels, and wooden serving utensils from area around candles.  Stay alert to the condition and freshness of your tree.  Keep water in the tree stand.  Dry trees are more likely to catch fire.  http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/story/2011-12-19/Christmas-trees-and-trappings-can-fan-fire-risk/52065596/1

I watched a TV program about Amazing Christmas Light Displays.  They were huge and beautifu, however, think of all the extra electricity this requires.  Do not overload your circuits or your extension cords.  Do not hesitate to contact an electrician if you blow a fuse or are concerned about the strain your light display may be placing on your system.

Safer Child Products

There has been a lot of concern about Child Obesity lately and whether overweight children are more likely to be injured in a crash than smaller children.

According to a study published in the journal PEDIATRICS Vol 128, Number 6, December 2011 “The risk of clinically significant injuries was NOT associated with weight across a broad weight range in this sample of children in MVC’s who were using child restraint systems.”

This is very reassuring, but let’s not forget that we need need to keep our children properly restrained in a Child Restraint appropriate for their height and weight. Be sure to get your car seat checked to be sure that it is secure.

For a car seat inspection station near you go to http://www.seatcheck.org/

Safer Child Products

As the weather gets colder and mornings are frosty, many of us wonder how to fit the kids into their car seats with their warm fluffy coats on.  Well, the answer is don’t!  Puffy Jackets have no place in the car seat.  If possible, warm up the car OUTSIDE the garage.  Keep blankets in the car that you can put over your child once they are buckled in the car seat.  Also, they can wear their jacket backwards, so that it can warm their arms and body without interfering with the harness straps. 

Puffy jackets take up space between the body and the harness, and even when you think the straps are tight, they are likely only tight to the jacket.  In an impact, instead of being held tight in the seat, the jacket will compress and the child will be thrust against the harness. 

An alternative is to unzip the jacket and pull the sides out from underneath the straps.  Pull the jacket flaps to the side and tighten the harness to the body.

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/340181/group/Life/

Safer Child Products

Some days I feel like I live in my car.  Between running to the gym, to school, to shop, after school activities, appointments, etc.  We are always busy.  I always keep pencils in my car incase one of the kids needs to start HW in the car, or I need to make myself a note. However, one of my pet peeves is that my purse (and whatever else is on the passenger’s seat) inevitably end up on the floor.  No matter how carefully I try to drive, there are windy roads and short stops that send things flying. I need to be sure to keep my purse zipped, but this is small potatoes.

I worry about all the other stuff that is thrown into the car. When my daughter was little, she had a soft car toy, or so I thought.  It was great because it had a steering wheel, a mirror, and a shifter and horn.  However, I did not realize that the bottom was hard.  Fortunately, no one was hurt and we learned that it was still better to remove it from the car and stick to completely soft toys.  I have even noticed when I am driving alone that our booster seats slide.  I know I’ve been advised to keep them buckled so that they don’t become a projectile.  What projectiles do you have in your car?  When you go grocery shopping, do you put things on the seat next to the kids?  When you go to the library, where do you put the books?  I am lucky if I remember to bring a bag with me. 

If you keep in mind that the stuff in our cars will keep moving even after you have breaked, you will want to be sure that anything that is loose or on the seat is soft and will not hurt anyone if it goes flying.  Take the weight of the item and multiply it by the speed at which you are travelling, and that is the force at which the object will hit something. Be sure to secure packages in the trunk, or at least on the floor wells in the car.  Keep things in the front when you can, since they will not travel backwards and hit the kids that way.  It is simple enough, but not something to be taken lightly.

See the following article to see what happened to this little boy from a soft spouted sippy cup.

http://thestir.cafemom.com/baby/120581/Almost_Deadly_Sippy_Cup_Incident