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Car accidents
Obviously children need to be in approved car seats and/or seat belts. Ironically most school
buses are not made to conform to this law. As concerned citizens we should call the school superintendents in our districts
to try to get this incorporated.
Besides car accidents many children are run over by parents
or grandparents. The small child might be playing in the driveway or run after a parent and the parent not seeing the
child runs over the child.
There have been cases where a caregiver has place on infant seat on the hood or trunk
of the car and forgot the baby there and drove off with the baby falling from the moving vehicle.
Also in the news
were babies left in the car where the tempertures rose so high that the child was severely damaged and some dies. This
is often a totally careless mistake where a parent is taking the baby to daycare and forgets to drop the baby off and goes
to work and finds the child dead when the parents gets of work. If you have a young child please take a moment to check
your back seat to see if you might have a little one there. Every year at least one child dies this way. It has
even been reported on daycare buses where a child fell asleep and the bus driver left the child on the bus. Mistakes,
accidents do happens but with a little foresight and caution lives can be save.
Safety in the homes
We all have heard not to leave a child alone in any amount of water. Yet, every year children died this way.
If a child is in the water, do not leave the child to answer the phone and do not cook on the stove while a child is in water.
Suffercation
Certainly keep pictic bags away from children. Do not have a baby sleep
with a pillow. One thing which many seem to overlook is sleeping with a newborn. Loving parents have been known
to wak up and discovering that they rolled over and suffercated their newborn with the parents own body.
Never
cover a child's mouth as it is too easy to block their air flow. Keep pets away from sleeping infants. If
you are not with the baby than keep the animals away too.
Family
Pets
You might have a wonderful dog or even pet snake and think the baby or child benefits from the creature.
Every year several young children died from family pets. Some of the time, the dog usually a large loving pet will hear
the
baby cry and actually pick the baby up and drag the baby to the caregivers. many times this is by the head
and kills the infant. Some other family pets which harm kids are aniomals which or not tame and loving pets but viscious
animals who only behaved for their master, these are very harmful to children.
Falling objects
Toddlers love to climb and they will on anything they can.
Unfortuantely many have died when a stove or tv fell on them. Be careful to secure all appliances and shelves to the
wall. If you cannot do this than keep the toddler out of that room when you are not there alos.
Fire
Children play with matches and are fascinated by flames. Keep all matces, candles away from kids.
Swollowing
objects
Childproof any area the child will be where the child might be alone for even a minute, children
tend to put everything into their mouths. If you cannot babyproff the entire area than keep the child in a safe area
such as a playpen and if something fits in the child mouth consider it a threat to the child and keep it from the child.
Weapons
Certainly, one knows to keep all weapons including knives and guns locked up and
out of reach of all children.
The Kitchen and bathroom
Keep knives away from
the child and keep the child away from a sink with a garbage disposal. make sure stove, refrigerator, heaviy mixers,
food processors, blenders are all fixed so a child cannot pull them down.
Have all appliances with knobs out of
reach of a child, this include the clothes washer and dryer as kids have been know to crawl into them. Keep all cleaners
marked and locked away from the reach of the children.
Stairs
Put up gates on stairwells to keep the child from falling down.. Watch out for object on stairs including
laundry waiting to be taken upstais and toys left on them.
Electrically
outlets
Do cover these with child safety plugs and keep extension cords away from the children.
Windows and Blinds
Keep windows shut or only opend from the top or at most 3 inches with a lock
preventing them from being opened more. Keep the cords of blinds above a childs reached.
Clothing
and toys and baby furniture
Follow the advise of the American Pediactric Association and watch for recalls.
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