'Tis The Season...To Be Safe!

OK, so we're obsessed with safety. There are worse things to be. Especially when you devote your days and nights to creating entertaining and educational programming for preschoolers. So when everyone else's thoughts turn to "sugar plum fairies", our thoughts, at Safety4Kids, turn to those same fairies falling on their heads! It's not always easy being us!

But as the temperatures drop and the forecast is for snow in many parts of the country, we turn our focus to the particular safety hazards of the season. And how best to prevent them.

Dr. Carl Baum, our favorite expert wearing both his toxicology and pediatric emergency hats, offered his thoughts on the "top" safety hazards to be aware of.

Automobiles (approximately 43,000 deaths per year)
Make sure your children are restrained in age-appropriate car or booster seats. And if you're in the market for a new car, consider one with good crash resistance, paying close attention to side-impact resistance. These sites can help:
http://www.iihs.org
http://www.safercar.gov/

And remember that SUVs are not the "super-fortresses" that the public perceives them to be; in one large study, any benefit from increased mass in terms of child-occupant protection was lost because of the tendency to roll over. (Not to mention that SUVs are obscene gasoline hogs and increase your carbon footprint.) We care about wellness AND safety! And the environment is part of it all.

Carbon Monoxide (approximately 500 unintentional deaths per year)
Make sure your furnace is inspected and cleaned annually. Be extremely careful venting exhaust from portable propane or gasoline-powered generators and heaters. And have at least one carbon monoxide detector in your home. Remember that during a power failure--when people often turn to alternate sources of power and heat--only battery-powered detectors will continue to work.

Other Poisoning
Grandparents visiting for the holidays? Make sure their medications and your toddler stay separated! One-and 2-year-olds account for approximately 1/3 of the 2.4 million calls to US poison centers annually.
Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222.

Recalls
2007 seems to be the year of the recall! Confused? You're not alone. Here's a website that summarizes recalls, not just of toys but of many consumer products, including cars. You can search the database and sign up for email notification:
http://recalls.gov/

Check back often for updates and more helpful information from our safety team at Safety4Kids. Happy, healthy, and safe holidays from our family to yours!

(c) Judi Brenstein. Image from BigStockPhoto.com