Top 3 Precautions For Winter Road Trips

Photo Courtesy

By: Angie @ Kids Matter

As we prepare to make trips to see family for the holidays, or we just get out on the roads to go on every day errands, there are some things to keep in mind. The safety of you and your child is of the utmost importance and in order to be safe you have to take a few precautions. 

1) A safety kit. Be sure you have a safety kit in your car including a minimum of the following things: 

• First Aid Kit
• Hat and gloves for each family member
• An appropriate winter coat
• Emergency blankets
• Kitty litter or sand to help you get a vehicle unstuck
• A charged cell phone
• Water
• Snacks with protein
• Flashlight with working batteries
• Jumper cables
• Ice scraper and brush

2) Activities to distract kids. You do not want to try and entertain your kids while driving on roads that could be slick from snow, ice or freezing rain. Bring a few things along to occupy the kids:

• Coloring Books
• Crayons (Altoid tins are perfect to carry a few crayons in)
• Books
• Blank paper
• Car Bingo printable games 
• Small toys
• Small electronics, if they will not be distracting to you
• Travel size games

 3) Driving in winter weather. Before you go for a long drive, try out these procedures in an empty parking lot. The more sure you feel, the safer you will be.

• Steer into a skid
• Know your brakes: Stomp on anti-lock brakes, pump on non anti-lock brakes
• Always wear your seat belt and be sure your passengers are also buckled in.
• The safest spot for kids 12 and under is in the back seat.
• Rain, Ice or Snow? Take it slow - reduce your speed and increase your distance between vehicles
• Do not drive when you are overly tired
• Alcohol and drugs never mix with driving, regardless of the weather. If you plan to drink, please be sure you have a designated driver.

Be safe on the roads, for the sake of your family and others.

Halloween: A Night for Treats, Not Tragedies

Halloween: A Night for Treats, Not Tragedies

Robin @ Kids Matter

Twice as many kids are killed, while walking on Halloween, as on any other day of the year.  Kids usually trick-or-treat when it is dark which makes it more difficult for drivers to see them.  Because they’re excited about getting candy, children may not be watching for cars.

Parents and drivers need to do their part to help kids stay out of the emergency room on Halloween.

Top tips to keep Kids safe on Halloween

For parents and children:

·        Emphasize safe pedestrian behaviors to kids before they go trick or treating.

·        Cross the street safely at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks.  Look left, right, and left again before crossing the street.  And, keep looking as you cross.  Walk; don’t run across the street.

·        Walk on sidewalks or paths.  If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible.  Children should walk on direct routes with the fewest street crossings.

·        Slow down and stay alert.  Watch out for cars that are turning or backing up, and never dart out into the street or cross between parked cars.

·        Costumes can be both creative and safe.  Decorate your children’s costumes with reflective materials and, if possible, choose light colors that can be seen in the dark.  Masks can obstruct a child’s vision, so choose nontoxic face paint, makeup and wigs instead.

·        Carry flashlights or glow sticks.  These will help trick-or-treaters see and be seen by drivers.

For drivers:

·        Slow down in residential neighborhoods and school zones.

·        Be sure to turn your full headlights on between 5:30 and 9:30 P.M., the most popular trick-or-treating hours.

·        Be especially alert and take extra time to look for kids at intersections, on medians and on curbs.  Children are excited on Halloween and may move in unpredictable ways.

·        Slowly and carefully enter and exit driveways and alleys.

·        Reduce any distractions inside your car, such as talking on the phone or eating, so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings.

Treats:

·        While pedestrian safety is a main concern on Halloween, parents and kids should be careful when dealing with candy.  Remind children to only eat treats in original and unopened wrappers.

This information is provided by Safe Kids, Fayette County.  Visit their website to learn more about how to keep our children safe.    http://www.ukhealthcare.uky.edu/safekids/

Kids in Cars

Kids in Cars

Robin @ Kids Matter

Cars are an integral tool in our busy lives. But as important as they are, they can still be dangerous. With a little information and a few simple steps, you can keep your children safe and sound in your car from the time they're in their first car seat to the time they get behind the wheel.

The hard facts

Road injuries are the leading cause of preventable deaths and injuries to children in the United States. When correctly used, child safety seats can reduce the risk of death by as much as 71%. Seat belts saved more than 69,000 lives from 2006 to 2010. Despite this fact, teenagers have the lowest rate of seat belt use. Only 54% of high school students reported always wearing a seat belt when riding with someone else.

Top Tips

•Before you hit the road, check your car seat. 73% of car seats are not used or installed properly. Check out our safety tips below for more information.

•Buy a used car seat only if you know its full crash history. You can buy used car seats from friends and family members, but never from the internet or thrift stores. Once a car seat has been in a crash, it needs to be replaced.

•Never leave your child alone in the car, not even for a minute. The temperature in your car can rise more than 20°and cause heatstroke in the time it takes you to run in and out of the store.

•According to Kentucky law, any child less than 40 inches tall must be in a child or infant seat and any child under age 7, and between 40 and 50 inches, must be in a booster seat. All children over 7 years of age, and over 50 inches tall, must be secured in a seat belt.

Learn more

§  Countdown2Drive: a unique program aimed at creating a conversation between parent and teens with the goal of creating safer passengers today, hopefully resulting in better drivers tomorrow. Call the Safe Kids office at 859-323-1153 if you would like to learn more about this program.

§  Car Seat Inspection Stations: Offered monthly by appointment. Parents and caregivers are paired with a Child Passenger Safety Technician to receive hands-on training and education on the best way to transport children in a car. Contact the Safe Kids office, at 859-323-1153, for additional information or to reserve a time slot.

 

To learn more about safety tips, check out more literature provided by Safe Kids Fayette County.

Internet Security

Internet Security

Belinda @ Kids Matter

The age of cyber predators has arrived and there sits your child fully enthralled in playing that educational game. The child has not a worry in the world, but lurking behind the scenes, a predator could be monitoring your child. Not only is the child at risk, but so is your computer and everything you have stored on it. In one click you could open the door to hackers and viruses. How do you keep both your child and your electronic gadgets safe?

Tip #1:

Never leave your child unattended while they are on the internet. If they are old enough to peruse their games and favorite sites without your assistance, you should at least be in the same room or check on them often. Kids love to explore, and exploring the internet could lead to danger.

Tip #2:

Utilize anti-virus software on your computer. Sites such as AVG, McAfee, Norton, and AVAST all offer free, (or a free trial), software for protection. It is also good to keep a malware program on your computer such as Malware Bytes or Ad-Aware. Set up the software to run on a schedule that will protect you as needed. One suggestion is to run both programs once a week.

Tip #3:

Most sites deposit “cookies” which are defined by Webopedia as, “A message given to a Web browser by a Web server. The browser stores the message in a text file. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.”  Per Webopedia, “Cookies cannot read your hard drive to find out information about you; however, any personal information that you give to a Web site, including credit card information, will most likely be stored in a cookie unless you have turned off the cookie feature in your browser. In only this way are cookies a threat to privacy. The cookie will only contain information that you freely provide to a Web site.” You can set the level of security on your computer. Always be mindful what information you provide on the internet because chances are the information is being stored on your computer. It’s a good practice to occasionally delete your cookies and cache of previously viewed web pages. The more careful you are, the more secure your system will be.

Tip #4:

Video chatting can give a predator a lot of information. Clues to location are all around your child. A school logo on a t-shirt can lead the predator right to your child. Monitor who your child chats with and where they are chatting. Children don’t realize they are surrounded by clues to their location.

Tip #5:

Set ground rules! Monitoring your child on the Internet is not a violation of their privacy. You wouldn’t let them go off in a park with someone you didn’t know, would you? Communicate with your child and instruct them of security issues such as, clicking links received in an email. Don’t respond to emails from unknown persons. Make certain they understand to never give out their personal information to anyone online. Let them know, if they don’t know if something is safe, ask a trusted adult.

Tip #6:

Activate those parental controls! Software such as Qustodio, K9 Web Protection, and DNS Angel offer free parental control software. The more thorough you are, the more you, your child, and the electronic device is protected.

It’s always work keeping your child safe, whether it’s out on the street or in your home. Parents are the child’s first line of defense. If you don’t push back the offenders, they will surely find a way to breach the defense.  I wish safe and secure surfing for you and your precious child.

Toy Safety: Preventing Injuries to Children

Toy Safety: Preventing Injuries to Children

Robin @ Kids Matter

Choose safe toys.

·        Ensure that children play with age-appropriate toys, as indicated by safety labels. Consider the child’s interests and skill level, and look for quality design and construction.

·        Consider purchasing a small parts tester to determine whether or not small toys and objects in your home may present a choking hazard to young children.

Inspect all toys regularly for potential hazards.

·        Check regularly for damage that could create small pieces that are choking hazards. Make any necessary repairs immediately, or discard damaged toys out of children’s reach.

Watch for toys that can become hazards.

·        Young children should never play with toys with strings, straps, or cords longer than seven inches, which can accidentally strangle them.

·        Electrical toys are potential burn hazards. Children under age eight should not use toys with electrical plugs or batteries.

·        Don’t let children under age eight blow up balloons. Use Mylar balloons instead of latex balloons. If you must use latex balloons, store them out of reach of children, and deflate and discard after use.

·        Among children’s products, latex balloons are the number one cause of choking deaths.  A majority of these deaths are among children ages five and under.

Ensure that toys are used in a safe environment.

·        Riding toys should not be used near stairs, traffic, or swimming pools. Riding toy-related deaths can occur when a child falls from a toy or rides a toy into a body of water.

·        Always supervise children at play. Play is even more valuable when adults become involved and interact with children rather than supervising from a distance.

Make sure toys are stored safely.

·       Teach children to put toys away after playing. Ensure that toys intended for younger children are stored separately from those for older children.

·       Make sure toy chests have no lids or have safety hinges.

Prevention Strategies

·        Check the web site of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for updated information and pictures of recalled toys that may be harmful to children (www.cpsc.gov)

·        Return warranty and product registration forms for new toy purchases to the manufacturers to ensure that you will be notified of any recalls.

Please see Safe Kids for references.

Cooking Safety Tips

Cooking Safety Tips

Robin @ Kids Matter

Home is a place of comfort where your children learn, love, grow, experience, and discover.   It’s a place where children should feel safe, but there are dangers that we don’t all realize. So, we need to do our best to make our homes safe and do what we can to prevent accidents.  Whether you are cooking that extravagant turkey dinner, a simple meal at any other time of the year, or anything in between, here are some kitchen tips to help your family be safe.  Please visit the Safe Kids website for more safety tips. 

o          Keep children at least three feet from the hot stove.

o          Cook on the back burners when possible.

o          Keep pan handles turned toward the back of the stove.

o          Stay in the kitchen while frying, broiling, or grilling.

o          Check on your food often when baking or simmering.

o          Wear short or tightly rolled sleeves when cooking.

o          Keep your stovetop clear from anything that can catch fire.

o          Use a timer to remind yourself that you are cooking.

o          Keep all cords coiled and away from counter edges.

o          Never hold your child while cooking.

o          Keep hot food away from counters and table edges.

o          Stay close by the grill or turkey fryer when in use.

o          Make sure you test those smoke alarms.

Ask Lots of Questions

Ask Lots of Questions

BA @ Kids Matter

During high school and college I worked every summer as a camp counselor at “Camp Little Acorn,” our local YMCA day camp.  It was a wonderful experience for me. For eight weeks in the summer it was attended by lots of children. Each day after the flag raising ceremony, the children had a schedule of fishing, hiking, archery, riflery, camp crafts, nature studies, boating, and a flag lowering ceremony.  Each day the children were transported, by bus, to the YMCA pool for a swim before going home.

On the first day of one particular camping session I gathered all of the children in my group around me to sit and get acquainted. One very important thing for a counselor to find out was if a child could swim. Any child that could not swim was required to remain in the shallow end of the pool with a counselor. All of the children in my group could swim except one little boy. So I made a note to myself to keep him in my mind. 

Our camp was bounded by Houston Creek on two sides. Although in most places, you had to wade, some places were actually deep enough to float a boat. And, of course, the children also went to the pool every day. At that time, the pool was a small (and I mean small) indoor pool located in the basement of the YMCA.  The pool was from 3 ft. to 8 ft. deep and was about the size of an in-ground backyard pool. Slippery concrete floors surrounded it with a few windows strategically placed for ventilation. 

Each counselor had been given trained on first aid, CPR, water safety, and boating safety… we were also given a limited amount of training on lifeguarding. There was always a trained lifeguard on staff. Camp counselors took turns on “pool duty” which involved standing in street clothes, around the side of the pool and watching the children. Sounds easy, but it was a small pool and there were lots of kids! When they got in the water it was a noisy, crowded and busy place for sure! The lifeguard needed all the help he could get.

Well, on the first day of this particular session I was put on “pool duty”. No big deal, I had done it many times. I always kept my eyes and ears open because I took my job as a counselor quite seriously. I had been assigned to the deep end of the pool by the diving board. 

Each child waited patiently in line for their turn on the board.  When you got on the board you were to wait until the previous child had made it to the ladder before you could dive or jump off the board. We had been trained to watch as they went off the board and safely made it to the ladder and then watch the next child. That day was no different than any other as swimmer after swimmer went off the board… over and over again.  And then it happened!!!

I looked over and there he was… the little boy who could not swim!! It took only about 30 seconds but seemed like it was an eternity and all in slow motion. He was smiling, running, and jumping off the diving board. My mind was telling me, you know he cannot swim!

This little boy, without a care in the world, plunged into the eight feet of water and promptly sank straight to the bottom. I kid you not; he was on the bottom of the pool looking straight up at me with his big eyes and totally in shock. I can still see him to this day. I prayed he did not try to take a breath down there! Without thinking I, along with the lifeguard, immediately jumped in after him.  We pulled him to the side and up the ladder.  He was spitting water, coughing, snot was flying, but he was fine.  I took him to the locker room, dried him off, and he got dressed.  We spent the rest of the day in the gymnasium.

As we sat on the bleachers in the gym, me with wet hair, wet shoes, wet clothes, and still a bit shaken, I asked him what he was thinking when he got on that board and jumped off.  “You told me this morning that you can’t swim.” I reminded him. He looked me straight in the eye and said, “I can’t swim, but I know how to jump off stuff! I jump off my bed all the time!” 

Well, I learned my lesson that day. Be sure to ask all of the right questions… even if you are not sure what they may be! Too much information is better than not enough. Just think like a little boy and it might just save someone’s life! Or, at least, keep you from getting soaking wet!  

Kids……you gotta love ‘em!

Summer Safety - Water

Let's Talk Swimming By: Amanda Miller

With Summer comes hot weather. With hot weather comes swimming pools, lakes and other bodies of water. Have your kids had swim lessons yet? These days you can start with infants, getting them used to water. I went to the CDC's website and found these startling statistics:

In 2007, there were 3443 fatal unintentional (non-boating) drownings in the United States. This averages 10 deaths per day!

More than 1 in 5 of these fatal drownings were of children 14 years of age and younger. For every child who died from drowning, another 4 children received emergency room care for non fatal submersion injuries.

 Children ages 1 to 4 have the highest drowning rates. In 2007, among children 1 to 4 years old who died from an unintentional injury, almost 30% died from drowning. Fatal drowning remains the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 years.

Nearly 80% of people who die from drowning are male.

Participation in formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by 88% among children aged 1 to 4 years.

Seconds count. CPR performed by bystanders has been shown to improve outcomes in drowning victims. The more quickly intervention occurs, the better change of improved outcomes.

I know that these statistics are frightening and it is not my intention to scare you into keeping your children away from water. Be sure your kids can swim. Sign them up for a quality swim class; if the skills are not mastered yet, be sure they wear a life jacket in and around water; be sure there is always a responsible adult watching kids around water and be sure the adult knows CPR.

Enjoy your summer this year and every year to come!

Kids Left in Cars

I have recently heard of two local cases of children being left unattended in vehicles. One child survived but the other was not as lucky. I want to give you some facts on hyperthermia.

Source: San Francisco State University

Average number of child hyperthermia fatalities per year since 1998: 37
Total child hyperthermia fatalities since 1998: 464
Of these deaths: 51% were "forgotten" in the car by a caregiver; 30% were children playing in unattended vehicles; 18% were intentionally left in the car by an adult and 1% were circumstances unknown.
Average elapsed time and temperature rise:
10 minutes makes the interior temperature increase by 19 degrees F
20 minutes makes the interior temperature increase by 29 degrees F
30 minutes makes the interior temperature increase by 34 degrees F
60 minutes makes the interior temperature increase by 43 degrees F
"Cracking" the windows had little effect on the interior car temperature.

Under no circumstances is it acceptable to leave a child, regardless of age, unattended in a vehicle. As we can see above, the temperature continues to climb, even if it is for "just a minute".

Some simple steps to keep kids safe:

• Always leave your car doors and trunks locked. A child could get in the car and then be unable to get out.
• Always store your car keys out of reach and out of sight of kids.
• Teach children not to play in or around cars.
• Never leave a child in a car alone.
• Place something that you will need at your next stop – for example a purse, lunch, gym bag or briefcase – on the floor of the backseat where the child is sitting. This simple act could help prevent you from accidentally forgetting your child if he or she is sleeping.
• Be especially careful if you change your routine for dropping off infants or children at day care. Have a plan that if your child is late for daycare that you will be called within a few minutes.
• 
  If you see an unattended child in a vehicle, call 911 immediately.

Please keep your kids in sight. Before leaving your vehicle, take a look in the back seat and be sure your child is not in there. This one simple step could save the life of a child. I realize we are all busy and trying to multi-task all the time, but just a few seconds to glance in the back seat is worth the effort.