Video: How to Protect Young Children from Poisoning

Last updated on January 23rd, 2017 at 01:14 pm

In this 2-minute video, Katrina Phillips of the Child Accident Prevention Trust talks about what you can do to protect your child from poisoning.

https://youtu.be/yWHCJJR8ykA

 

Editor’s Note: Video Highlights

• The most common culprit for child poisoning is everyday painkillers
  • It’s important to put them somewhere where a small child can’t be tempted by the bright colors and where they can’t reach them
• The other common cause of poisoning for young children is household cleaning products
• Note that child safety caps on medicines and cleaning products can slow young children getting them open, but they’re not actually childproof
  • Some three and four year-olds can open those caps in seconds, so it’s important not to rely on child safety caps to keep young children safe from poisoning
• There are other things around your home that you wouldn’t suspect could be poisonous to small children but are – including:
  • Perfume on your dressing table
  • Aromatherapy oils that you might have in your bathroom
  • Small amounts of alcohol, like the dregs left in the bottom of a glass
• You need to think about what might be harmful to a small child and put it somewhere where they can’t see it and where they can’t reach it
• Also, get your gas appliances serviced every year – and fit a carbon-monoxide alarm that will sound a warning if levels of the poisonous gas are too high in your home
• Finally, if you think your child has swallowed something poisonous, it’s important to get immediate medical advice and help

Parents, Forget Cool! Get Your Kids the Boring Safety Pads

Last updated on March 9th, 2018 at 12:12 am

The holiday season is upon us and all the little boys and girls have made their lists and are hoping for that new toy they have been dying for.  Some kids are hoping for video games, some kids are hoping for dolls, and some are hoping for bikes and skateboards.   While the video games and dolls can be exciting, it is the bikes, skateboards, and other moving toys that need our attention.   While there is nothing that equals the smile on a child’s face when they learn to ride alone and get the hang of their new toy,  there is also nothing like seeing them in the E.R with a broken bone or worse a head injury.

Every year thousands of children are sent to the hospital with bumps, bruises, broken bones and head injuries from falls off of bikes, skateboards and even scooters.  The old saying is true, helmets save lives. With the CDC findings that helmets can prevent 85% of head injuries, elbow pads 82% of elbow injuries and knee pads, 32% of knee injuries – and having been on more than one call where a helmet did its job and took the hit – there is no reason not to include this in your holiday shopping.   I know it is not cool, and I know that there are very few children out there wishing that they will get that new set of safety pads this year, but it may be being uncool that saves our kids from serious injuries with their new toys.

As always, please make sure that your children know how to properly ride whatever toy they have and please make sure that all the safety equipment like safety pads and helmets are the proper size and allow your children to properly and safely enjoy their new toys.

I hope you all have a Happy Holidays with exciting toys and boring safety stuff.  

Holiday Decorations & Kids: Hidden Dangers You Need to Avoid

Last updated on November 14th, 2016 at 11:39 am

The holidays are fast approaching and the preparation has already begun for Thanksgiving and eventually Christmas.  Family will be coming over to your home or you will be traveling to theirs for food and festivities.  While this time of year is a joyful one please keep in mind the little things that pose a danger to the children.  Things like electricity from lights and decorations, breakable objects that can be knocked over onto a child or create sharp edges.  Choking hazards are greatly overlooked during the holidays.  While we are all aware of toys having choking hazards and warning labels , holiday decorations can have parts that are easily swallowed if found by a child such as small light bulbs, parts from battery operated decorations,  holiday village scenes, snacks in snack bowls,  and a host of other things that need to be secured and checked.

When I teach CPR classes for new parents, soon to be parents and even grandparents, I encourage everyone to go home and lie on the floor and see the world from a child’s perspective and see what a different world it is.   I do this to emphasize a point that there are hidden dangers under furniture and that the children will find anything you have lost like pills, money and other objects.  I encourage this around the holidays as well because it will give you a perspective of your home that will allow you to see how easily the holiday decorations and electrical cords can be reached by small children.   Give it a try, I promise you it’s an eye opening experience.

I hope you have a safe and happy holiday season!

Your Young Child and Sports Injuries: Should You Worry?

Last updated on March 9th, 2018 at 09:56 am

As school begins again, your child will be exposed to various sports- participation should be encouraged.  The fall sports usually include soccer, football, and late baseball.  You, as parents should do your homework also about safety and sports and always promote the acquisition and use of the best and latest equipment available to protect your children from injury.  Once this is accomplished, you should also be on the lookout for injuries to your own child during sport play.

The younger your child is, the less likely there is to be a significant injury and the more likely the level of theatrics will be elevated.  Many reasons for this are:  lighter body weights, lack of high volume inertial injuries, slower running, and natural avoidance of collisions during sport play.  You should not only rely on the opinion of coaches and ancillary personnel to decide if it is OK for your child to continue to participate in the sport. In point of fact they might very well be more conservative than you when determining if a child should return to play. Either go to him/her or call him/her over to you and do your own rapid exam and evaluation; after all, you are the one who knows your child better than anyone.

Limb injuries are very common among sports injuries and you should ask him/her where and how much this hurts.  Feel the area for irregularities in shape and/ or movement.  Ask him to use the extremity in the appropriate action and judge his/her level of discomfort;  he/she would not like to be taken out of the game and “stigmatized” as a “baby”- but at this age will not have the same drive to participate that the older child will show.  Because of the reasons mentioned above, an actual fracture would be unusual at lower ages- not impossible.  If there is any doubt in your mind, take him to an urgent care or emergency room for evaluation.

Head injuries are less common than extremity injuries but are the most important and become more so as the child grows and exerts more and more inertial energy to collisions.

Any child who is unconscious for any length of time after the injury, is amnesic about the details of the incident, cannot answer simple questions as to where he/she is or, what he/she is doing here, etc., or is just “not acting right” to you as his/her parent should be removed immediately from the game and taken for evaluation. 

While mild “concussions” are common these children must be observed as per his/her Doctor, and repeated such episodes can become dangerous.

In summary, know your child well, be proactive in helping to assure there is the proper protective equipment and evaluating your child’s injury yourself, and always be conservative with decision making after sports injuries.

Back to School Safety Tips…for Parents of Gen Z

Last updated on June 5th, 2018 at 02:57 pm

Summer is winding down and a new school year is right around the corner.  A new school year can bring changes in routine and even the schools themselves.

The following is a list of safety tips we have compiled and distributed for back to school time and may serve as a nice guide or refresher to help us all get back into our school year routine.

School Zone Driving Safety Tips

• Be on the lookout for school zone signals and ALWAYS obey the speed limits.
• When entering a school zone, be sure to slow down and obey all traffic laws.
• Always stop for school busses that are loading or unloading children.
• Watch out for school crossing guards and obey their signals.
• Be aware of and watch out for children near schools, bus stops, sidewalks, in the streets, in school parking lots, etc.
• Never pass other vehicles while driving in a school zone.
• Never change lanes while driving in a school zone.
• Never make U-Turns while driving in a school zone.
• Never text while driving in a school zone.
• Avoid using a cell phone, unless it is completely hands-free, while driving in a school zone.
• Unless licensed to do so, never use handicap or emergency vehicle lanes or spaces to drop off or pick up children at school.
• Please look out for kids with their head down, looking at the phone and not at the street they are crossing.

Riding Your Bike to School

• Check with the school to make sure your child is allowed to ride their bicycle to school. Some schools do not allow students to ride bicycles to school until they reach a specific grade.
• Make sure your child always wears a bicycle helmet! Failure to wear one could result in a traffic citation. Furthermore, in the event of an accident, helmets reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent.
• Obey the rules of the road; the rules are the same for all vehicles, including bicycles.
• Always stay on the right-hand side of the road and ride in the same direction as traffic.
• Be sure your child know and uses all of the appropriate hand signals.
• Choose the safest route between home and school and practice it with children until they can demonstrate traffic safety awareness.
• If possible, try to ride with someone else. There is safety in numbers.

Playground Safety

• MA supervisor must always be present when children are at the school’s playground. Make sure your school has someone who monitors the playgrounds at all times.
• Playground equipment should be surrounded by shock-absorbing material that is at least nine inches thick.
• Protective surfaces should extend six feet in all directions around the playground equipment. For swings, it should extend twice the height of the set.
• Due to strangulation hazards, do not attach ropes, jump ropes, clotheslines, pet leashes or cords of any kind to playground equipment.
• Be watchful of sharp edges or points on equipment.
• Alert the school if you notice anything strange about the playground equipment at your child’s school.
• Spaces that can trap children, such as openings between ladder rungs, should measure less than three and a half inches or more than nine inches.
• All elevated surfaces, such as ramps, should have guardrails to prevent falls.

Walking to School

• Leave early enough to arrive at school at least 10 minutes prior to the start of school.
• Use the same route every day and never use shortcuts.
• Go straight home after school. Do not go anywhere else without permission.
• Always use public sidewalks and streets when walking to school.
• Demonstrate traffic safety awareness and pick the safest route between your home and the school and practice walking it with your children.
• Try and walk to school with other students. There is strength in numbers.
• Teach your children to recognize and obey traffic signals, signs, and pavement markings.
• Only cross streets at designated crosswalks, street corners and traffic controlled intersections.
• Always look both ways before crossing the street and never enter streets from between obstacles like parked cars, shrubbery, signs, etc.
• Always walk and never run across intersections.
• Avoid talking to strangers. Teach your children to get distance between themselves and anyone who tries to approach or make contact with them.
• If a stranger does approach your child, make sure they know to immediately report the incident to you or a teacher.
• Teach your children to never get into a vehicle with anyone, even if they know them, without your permission.

Clothing and School Supplies

• To prevent injury, backpacks should have wide straps, padding in the back and shoulders, and should not weigh more than 10 to 15 percent of a child’s body weight.
• When placing items in a backpack, place the heavier items in first. The closer the heavier items are to a child’s back, the less strain it will cause.
• Children should use both backpack straps and all compartments for even distribution of weight.
• Remove drawstrings from jackets, sweatshirts, and hooded shirts to reduce the risk of strangulation injuries.
• Art supplies in the classroom should always be child safe and non-toxic. Be sure they have “CONFORMS TO ASTM D-4236” on their packaging.
• Make sure your child’s school is up-to-date on the latest recalled children’s products and toys.

School Bus Safety

• Make habit of arriving at the bus stop at least five minutes before the scheduled arrival of the bus.
• Make sure your child stays out of the street and avoids excessive horseplay while waiting for the school bus.
• Be sure the bus comes to a complete stop before getting on or off.
• When riding the bus, make sure your child understands they must remain seated and keep their head and arms inside the bus at all times.
• Do not shout or distract the driver.
• NEVER walk in the drivers “ blind spot “ which is from the bumper to about 10 feet away from the bumper.

I hope this helps to get us all back into our school routine and I hope everyone has a great and safe school year!

Video: Dealing with Burns and Scalds in Young Children

Last updated on August 22nd, 2016 at 04:31 pm

In this short video, health visitor Melissa Green talks about the things you can do to deal with burns and scalds.

https://youtu.be/qDM1HeJ8Mk4

Editor’s Note: Video Highlights

• Children’s skin is much thinner than adult skin, so it’s very important to treat their burns and scalds quickly for the best chance of healing
• Most important is to run cold water over the burn for no more than 10 minutes
• Water should be cold, but not ice-cold
• The next step is to place something clean over your child’s burn to protect from risk of infection – like cling film or a clean linen tea towel
• If your child has something stuck to their burn, don’t try to remove it – leave it there and go to the hospital for treatment
• Also don’t put anything on the burn, such as creams or lotions
• If your child has a burn larger than a postage stamp, take them to get medical advice from the hospital
• If your child complains of pain after their burn, you can give them something like paracetamol (acetaminophen) or ibuprofen – don’t give them any aspirin
• If the burn has a blister, don’t tamper with it – it should be left to burst naturally
• Blisters that have burst may be raw and need a dressing – you may want to see your doctor or nurse for this

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