Safety Video for Your Family!

Last time we posted, we gave you some facts about car seat safety. The statistics are staggering and something has to be done. Well, something is being done!

National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) and the national childrens public television show SeeMore's Playhouse have teamed up! And on Tuesday, October 7th we're launching a fun, educational DVD entitled: "SeeMore's Playhouse Car and Pedestrian Safety". The DVD features educational storylines, engaging music your kids will love, and messages we as parents will love.

But don't take my word for it. View a sample clip here, and if you like what you see, click on over to amazon.com and before you know it, you'll be sharing this vital information with your family.

Enjoy the DVD, share some very important information with your kids, and above all...stay safe!

Car Seat Safety--Serious Business

Did you know that 8 out of ten car seats are not installed properly?

Did you know that more than 40,000 children under the age of 4 are injured or killed in car crashes each year?

Did you know that child seats, properly installed, reduce the risk of an infant being killed by 71%?

Do we have your attention now? Most of us buy a car seat for our child, install it the way we think it's supposed to be installed, but never really check that it's exactly right. As a result, many children are injured or killed in crashes and many of those tragedies can be prevented.

At Safety4Kids, we're all about prevention. That's why we're partnering with the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) to raise awareness about this important issue. Check out our website for all the facts. And while you're at it, check out that car seat!

Stay Safe!

Safe-Smart Rules for Kids and Grownups!

Our friend Pattie Fitzgerald, founder of Safely Ever After, Inc., is back blogging with us, and offering her "Super Ten "Safe-Smart Rules" for Kids and Grownups. Pattie knows what we know at Safety4Kids--that keeping kids safe is a full time job! But there is so much good information out there to help us all--and Pattie is leading the way when it comes to dealing with the way in which your child interacts with friends, family and strangers. Here's some great information you may want to keep handy--talk about this with your kids. An ounce of prevention...uh-oh, I sound like my parents again!


Who's afraid of the big, bad wolf? How about the boogeyman? Okay, good--so we've got those two covered!

But how about the ice cream man, or the next door neighbor, or the after-school sports coach? Now, before you get mad at me for picking on those three, let me just say I have nothing against any of these community members! In fact, my daughter and I buy Fudgsicles from our local ice cream man at the park all the time, and I have a very cool next door neighbor. So why bring them up?

Because...as a child safety advocate and sexual abuse prevention educator, it's my job to make sure that we are teaching our kids about personal safety in the most effective, up to date manner. By now, most parents know that the "stranger-danger" concept is outdated and doesn't serve our children.

And, many parents are at least somewhat familiar with the statistic that 90 percent of childhood molestation occurs by someone the child knows, and has some kind of a relationship with.

Okay everybody...breathe!! This DOES NOT mean we have to teach our kids to fear everyone or suspect that everybody out there in the world is a child molester. In fact, quite the opposite. Most people are not waiting in the wings, ready to harm our kids the moment we turn our backs. Good news, right?!

But, unfortunately, we do live in a world where childhood sexual abuse exists and the best way to protect kids is to EMPOWER them with the right kind of safety information. So, how do we begin to teach our children to interact with various adults every day without being taken advantage of? I like to start with my Super-Ten "Safe--Smart” Rules!

The Super-Ten Rules work for kids at every age, whether they are 4 years old or 14 years old. The only difference is the manner in which you teach them to your children.

The Super-Ten Rules work because they can help kids (and parents) identify a "thumbs up or thumbs down" situation or spot a potential red flag in another person's behavior.

The Super-Ten Rules are a great way to start the safety dialog with your kids. You can even role-play or create specific "What If...?" scenarios with your children and apply one or more of the Super-Ten rules as the response.

So without further ado... here they are:

The Super-Ten Safe-Smarts Rules For Kids and Grownups!

1. I am special and I have the right to be SAFE!
2. I know my name, address and phone number...and my parents' cell phone number, too.
3. Safe Grownups Don't Ask Kids for Help. (They go to other adults for assistance.)
4. I don't keep SECRETS from my parents. (No one should tell a child to keep a secret from their parents, especially another adult.)
5. I never go ANYWHERE or take ANYTHING from someone I don’t know...no matter what they say.
6. I always ASK FIRST and get permission before: I go anywhere, change my plans, or accept something...even if it's from someone I know.
7. Everybody's bathing suit areas are private. No bathing suit area games allowed.
8. I don't have to be POLITE to anyone who makes me feel scared or uncomfortable. It's okay to say NO! even to a grownup if I have to.
9. If I ever get lost in a public place, I can FREEZE AND YELL or go to a MOM WITH KIDS and ask for help.
10. It's not my fault if someone tries to touch me in a "weird" or uncomfortable way. I will always tell a safe grownup if I feel scared or confused about any touches. And I will keep telling until I get help.

Safe-Smarts work for kids at every age. Even very young children can be taught these basic concepts. Review them often; clarify and update as your child matures.

Let us know how you deal with these situations--what do you tell your kids? What you tell them can make all the difference in the world.

Be Safe!

(c) Sonya Etchison. Image from BigStockPhoto.com

More on Dry Drowning

As with everything related to health and well-being, there are different schools of thought. At Safety4Kids, we always turn to our distinguished Safety Council member Dr. Carl Baum, Director, Center for Children's Environmental Toxicology at Yale University Department of Pediatrics. Here is what Dr. Baum has to say:


The World Health Organization classifies drowning outcomes as death, morbidity, and no morbidity. The terms wet, dry, active, passive, silent, and secondary drowning should no longer be used.

Although it is true that the amount of liquid in the lungs can vary in drowning victims, it is not clear that the tragic death of the 10-year-old in South Carolina was a case of drowning. The sequence of events described, including the fact that the child walked home from the pool, is not consistent with common drowning scenarios, and suggests that there were other factors involved in his death.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reminds us that children most commonly drown when they are able to enter a pool despite a fence, or when they are playing in the pool without supervision. Here are some strategies to help prevent drowning:

--Install 4-sided isolation fencing, at least 4-feet high and with self-closing, self-latching gates, around pools. The house, in other words, should not serve as one side of the fence, because children may be able to enter the pool area through doors or windows.

--A responsible adult who is not distracted by other activities should supervise children who are swimming. And swim lessons should never be considered "drown-proofing," and are no substitute for constant, close supervision.


(c) Photo courtesy Yale University.

Dry Drowning: Invisible Tragedy

You take your kids to a pool. They frolic and splash, swallowing a little chlorinated water. Then they dry off and you take them home for a shower or a bath. Hidden in this every day scenario is a tragedy that is almost unthinkable. Your child can drown. Drown! In that little bit of water. All it takes is for that water to get into the lungs.

A recent tragedy in South Carolina brought this hidden hazard to light.

There are warning signs that your child may have gotten water in his lungs, but the signs themselves are so common, they rarely register as unusual. Be vigilant. Here are the signs:

• difficulty breathing; this is not uncommon after swimming or exerting lots of energy in a pool; pay close attention
• extreme tiredness; this is a tough one because, again, kids are tired after playing in the water
• changes in behavior; we all know that can come out of nowhere; be particularly attuned after water sports

All of these signs signal loss of oxygen to the brain, but they are difficult to diagnose and we're parents, not doctors. But this is a deadly hidden hazard, and with the hot weather in full swing and the pools open, please be especially vigilant. It can even happen in the bath.

Keeping our kids safe is a full time job.

Related Topics:

• S.C. 'Dry Drowning' Death Draws Attention
• First Aid: Drowning Treatment

Technorati Tags: dry drowning, safety, kids

Parents - Fear Predators, Not Safety

As I mentioned in my last post, Pattie Fitzgerald, founder of Safely Ever After, Inc., was a member of the Safety Panel at Baby Celebration, L.A. Pattie was among those surprised and concerned by the lack of interest on the topic of safety among parents. Here's what she had to say.

Note to Parents: No Need to Fear "Safety"

If knowledge is power, why then are so many parents reluctant to learn how to keep their kids safe from child predators? In the last few weeks I set off to find the answer to this burning question after participating on a Q&A safety panel with other safety experts, including Nancy Davis, resident blogger for Safety4Kids, at an event in Los Angeles.

The answers I found aren't particularly earth-shattering nor surprising, but they did make me realize that most parents are still in the dark about the realities of childhood sexual abuse and subsequently, how they can protect their kids from becoming victimized by a molester's tricks.

So...why are parents reluctant to learn about predator safety? Here are a few of the most recurrent comments parents shared with me (and my responses!):

1. We've already talked to our kids about stranger-danger, so we've covered this.
The truth is 90 percent of childhood sexual abuse doesn't happen by a "stranger". More often than not, it's someone the kids know. And, equally important, most kids don't have a clear idea of who a stranger is. Anyone who smiles and introduces themselves to a child, perhaps offering an enticing treat of some kind, may no longer be viewed as a "stranger" by that child.

2. We don't want to scare our kids, so we'd rather not bring up the issue at all.
I hear ya on the first part of that, but not the second part! There are plenty of ways that parents can empower kids with safety skills and concepts using effective, kid-friendly language, AND without ever using scary stories or fear tactics. Parents teach their kids about fire safety, pool safety, even safety about crossing the street all the time. You haven't made the kids terrified of swimming pools or cars, you just gave them clear guidelines. It's the same with teaching kids about "good touch/bad touch".

3. It's going to be too depressing, we just don't want to "go there".
Denial isn't going to make the problem go away or keep our kids safe. The good news is that by focusing on positive ways to talk to children, you can protect your kids without ever hitting a doom and gloom note or wallowing in depressing statistics.

As a Child Safety Educator, it's my job to help parents and caregivers teach their kids effective "safe-smarts rules" that work. It's as easy as 1...2...3!

So if you happen to be at an event that includes a FREE presentation in safety...come and check us out. It's a whole lot easier (and definitely less scary) than you might think.

Safety First? Not So Fast.

Recently I spoke on a Safety Panel as part of Baby Celebration L.A. I was invited there by Jill Starishevsy, founder of HowsMyNanny.com, which is an incredible idea/product/website and I urge you all to not only take a look, but sign up! Jill's work extends now beyond this initiative and she is in the process of publishing a book for parents and children that will no doubt become an essential part of any home library. Hopefully, Jill will blog about it here in the coming weeks. Jill has blogged before and generated lots of interest.

Meanwhile, back to L.A.! The Safety Panel was featured by the people who produced the event, Penny Domschot, Patrice Meluskey, and their team from Seascape Productions. It was a wonderful, extremely well attended two days and people literally lined up for an hour before the doors opened to get the first peak at the latest products and services available for new parents. The place was teeming with adorable children in strollers and snugglies and every form of baby transport! There were fashion shows, sing-alongs, and much more. Kudos to Penny, Patrice and everyone involved in making this a smooth and successful event. And for trying so hard to promote safety as part of any baby celebration.

But it brought to light again, the issue of safety and where that issue exists on the list of priorities for young parents. Judging from the attendance at our Safety Panel, it's not very high on the list. And this is of great concern to me and my colleagues on the panel. One of my fellow panelists, Pattie Fitzgerald of SafelyEverAfter.com was similarly struck by the apparent lack of interest about safety among the parents in attendance. And we've all tried to figure it out since L.A.

--Was it just that parents wanted a wonderful outing that was more fun and fashion than serious safety information?

--Do parents feel they already know about safety and don't want to hear people recount scary statistics?

--Are parents afraid of hearing about the real dangers that lurk in their children's everyday lives?

I've tried and tried but I can't answer these questions? More people showed up for the fashion shows than the seating could contain. Of course, many of them had kids modeling the fashions, and that's reason enough to show up! But I was struck by the decided lack of interest in safety.

I'm not going to list the scary statistics here--we have them all over our blog here and on our website at Safety4Kids.com. But the real question is: what do we do now, to get parents to pay attention and understand that prevention is the ONLY way to secure any child's safety. And without the information, there is no hope of eliminating those scary statistics.

Look for more about this in the coming weeks. We are determined to keep kids safe. Won't you join us?

(c) Photo of SeeMore the Safety Seal courtesy of Safety4Kids LLC.