Emmas Inspirations
When our daughter Emma was an infant, we moved into our new house. As parents of six children, we were very excited about getting to this new house and getting some much needed unloading done! Pulling into the driveway, we all became very excited and quickly left the car to see the house. There was so much to do – everyone went off in different directions.
I had assumed that my husband or one of the older kids had taken Emma from her car 
seat (as that was almost ALWAYS the case) and he thought that it was me who had brought her inside. Making the assumption that everything was okay, we went about unpacking and arranging our new home.
In a sudden moment of panic, I realized that our baby girl wasn’t even in the house. Nearly 45 minutes after we had arrived, I rushed to our car for Emma.
The sun was hot for a spring day. I cannot tell you the thoughts and fears, and the horror that welled up inside of me as I was sure I had harmed our baby girl! I thank God every day that my older son had opened the back window on the ride up because he felt car-sick, or Emma may not have become the vibrant six year old she is today!
From that point on we left notes in all the cars. “Where’s Emma?” was our catch phrase. We were determined to never let this happen to us again.
When my daughter and I read about the school principal who, out of routine, left her baby in the car all day, and the dad who forgot the baby was in his back seat because he didn’t ‘usually’ drop him off at child-care, we were sad and sickened by their tragedies… yet we knew how ‘routine’ oriented we all are today… and how easy it is for this tragedy to take place:
- An average of 40 children die each year in closed vehicles… and numerous others have been left alone in cars by adults who assume the car is a ‘safe place’ for their children…
- How many bus drivers do we read about who fail to “check their seats”!
- What is typically not realized is how quickly the air inside our vehicles can become saunas for our precious little ones… with temperatures escalating 20 to 30, or even 40 degrees higher INSIDE the car than the air OUTSIDE the car! According to an article in New Science Magazine (July 5, 2005) , a study done out of Stanford University re-echoes these facts: cars become ovens, even while outside temperatures are on the ‘cool’ side!
- Children’s bodies’ heat up 3 to 5 times faster than adults, and a child can be critically injured or tragically dead within minutes!
- In 2001, according to Kids N Cars, there were approx 20 child deaths due to hyperthermia. As of 6/26/2009 – approximately half-way into 2009 – we already have 15…and it is estimated that the data vastly underestimates the safety issue.
My daughter and I remembered our ‘notes’. I thought of easy ways to leave a ‘note’ affixed to car windows, in key spots, to help remind us to “check the seats before we leave”. We decided to design decals to help save lives, as well as awaken our awareness of the dangers of vehicle suffocation for small children and pets! This is how we came up with Emma’s Inspirations.
I came up with the idea of static-cling decals to adhere (but not STICK with adhesive) to the car windows. I wanted to add a couple of ‘check’ marks to the decals with a stick figure boy and girl (some with a cat and dog added as well) and add a phrase that rhymed to increase the ease of remembering the dangers of suffocation for adults… and to educate children as well. I thought the phrase would help develop a new mindset for everyone… and help educate our children about automobile safety- the same way we educate them about outlet and toaster safety.
I thought 3 decals for each car was a good idea so I put them together in packages of 6 … enough for two cars. One could be placed just above the driver’s side window door-lock, another just below the rear-view mirror, (or the left corner of the windshield), and one for the back window corner. Some moms stick one on the kitchen window as well; to remind them to keep any cars outside LOCKED from little hands or hide and seek players! Others place one on or above their house alarm to remind them to check the seats.
Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post wrote a painfully candid article on this subject on Sunday, March 8, 2009. He recounts the tragedy of three families as they endure the heartache of recognition that their children died a horrifically “modern” death; they suffocated in seats their parents never took a second glance in! These are situations no family ever would have anticipated.
Emma’s window decals are that little reminder you need when things are moving at a fast pace. By sticking these decals in the right places you will have a simple and affordable reminder to check again. A reminder so simple …yet one that could save your child’s life!
HEALTHFUL HINTS
Many parents are unaware of the dangers lurking around parked cars. According to the Kids N Cars national database, there are a number of injuries that can happen in a ‘MOMENT’ to children left unattended in or around motor vehicles. Here are just a few things to watch for:
- A child can suffocate in unattended vehicles;
- Children can get their heads and hands caught in power windows;
- They can inadvertently shift the car into gear…or fall out windows and doors;
- “Frontovers” and “Backovers” are responsible for approx 61% of non-traffic fatalities for children under the age of 15;
- We must be of a mind to NEVER LEAVE OUR CHILDREN ALONE IN OR AROUND CARS.
The decals from Emma’s Inspirations are an accident prevention tool to remind us to DOUBLE CHECK our seats, REMOVE any passengers, and LOCK our EMPTY parked cars from curious little ones. Other areas where safety stickers can keep your children safe from harm:
- ID stickers for child safety seats – if you were ever in an accident, it would provide key information about your child to caregivers that you may be unable to communicate. You can usually get these at your local pharmacy or stationery store…
- You might want to place a decal or sticker on a house or apartment window or door to alert emergency personnel to the presence of children in the home.
- Poison Control stickers should be placed on phones themselves or next to the phone and/or on an inside cabinet door.
- Medical alert bracelets or anklets or stickers or decals on a child’s seat or diaper bag or person to warn of potentially life-threatening allergies.
- Decals and stickers are good to remind ‘no metal’ in the microwave or toaster.
- Stickers and decals are small, yet significant aids in helping us keep track of the never ending flow of “things to remember to mention” or ”do” or “watch out for”… as we manage the literal “ins” and “outs” of our days… and care for the people, who at the end of our day, we do it ALL for… our children!
November is National Adoption Month: Help a Child Celebrate
Did you know it would take less than one percent of the U.S. population to provide a forever family for every child in foster care available for adoption? November is National Adoption Month and Pediatric Safety as a member of Global Influence is participating in a coordinated effort between Adopt Us Kids, the U.S. Children’s Bureau, Ad Council, and Child Welfare Information Gateway to make the difference of a lifetime for about 130,000 children who deserve a family of their own.
The mission of Adopt Us Kids is to recruit and connect foster and adoptive families with waiting children throughout the United States. Funded by the Children’s Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families, the national photolisting website contains photos and information about children in foster care.
If you’re considering foster parenting or adopting…
- The Adopt Us Kids website has information about foster parenting, the seven step journey to fostering/adoption, and lots more useful information.
- Information about adoption subsidies is available
- Every state has its own guidelines on adoption. You can find this information here
- You can search for children in your state or area who are in need of an adoptive family here at the Adopt Us Kids website:
- If you would like to speak with someone regarding the adoption process, you can reach AdoptUsKids at 1-888-200-4005.
A national adoption public service advertising recruitment campaign was launched in July 2004 in a partnership of the Children’s Bureau, the Ad Council, and Adopt Us Kids, with the goal of raising awareness of the significant number of children in this country waiting to be adopted. New Public Service Announcements have been developed as an extension of this highly successful campaign.
If you just want to help…
- Please visit http://www.adoptuskids.org/adoption-and-foster-care-advocacy/ to learn more about adoption from foster care and how to help spread the word about children in care waiting for a forever family.
- Follow @perfectparent or @adoptuskids
- Become a fan of AdoptUsKids on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AdoptUsKids.
Adoption/fostering is not for everyone, but there are things that you can do, such as provide respite care for families and lots more! You can reach out to your state rep (contact info here) to get more info.
Each one of us can play a role in helping a child find their forever family…
This campaign is brought to you by Global Influence, the former Momfluence network.
We Received a Blog Award for Great Attitude or Gratitude :)
We are so proud that our blog received the Lemonade Stand award for great attitude or gratitude from Amy at Harvest for Tomorrow. She also has a terrific blog, so please check hers out!
The rules for this award:- Put the Lemonade logo on your blog or within your post.- Nominate at least 10 blogs with Great Attitude or Gratitude.- Link the nominees within your post.- Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.- Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.
We are passing this award on to some folks who are definitely worth stopping by. Here they are (in no particular order):
Thanks again Amy! We can’t tell you how much this means to us!
Tweeners and Innovation
For the purpose of this discussion a tweener is a child who has outgrown a car seat and is too small for a conventional shoulder and lap belt configuration. The proper course of action to secure this group is to use booster seats. However, three states have no laws requiring the use of booster seats and in many others the requirements are vague and not enforced. In most cases of a tweener a shoulder belt does not fit correctly and the lap belt by itself is dangerous. Not knowing better many parents will tuck the shoulder belt behind the child, unaware of the hazard this poses.
Ford recently demonstrated a new shoulder harness with an air bag built into it. This is a tremendous improvement for all- especially for children. Regardless of the law in your state, regardless of whether you are required to use a booster seat- do it for the safety and life of your child. For more information on the new airbag and a compelling story to use booster seats please see the following Today Show video.
Making Changes for Safety
Now that we had 3-Dimensional pictures, it enabled us to make any necessary changes to make transporting children the safest way possible…
The most important one was going from a 3-POINT HARNESS…or this
to this…a 5-POINT HARNESS that allowed for a single strap to be detached rather than the entire harness, so if necessary it would allow a medical technician access to injuries without risking a child’s safety
Another change of critical importance was ADDING A BACKBOARD specifically designed to fit this seat. EMS personnel needed to be able to safely immobilize and transport a child with severe head or neck injuries to an emergency care facility, transfer the injured child into their care and then depart to handle the next emergency. Without a backboard, we soon discovered this was not possible. The child could be secured directly to the device, but then the device would need to remain behind…along with all the pediatric medical supplies stored in its compartments. The safest path for the child and best for the EMS staff was for us to add a backboard to the design…so that’s what we did.
Turning our 2-Dimensional Prototype into a 3-Dimensional One
The 2-D patent drawings were really just the first step in bringing our concept to life
With a little more help from our engineer…
we added some color…and some depth…
and our concept came alive
