Courtesy of Cari at www.emergencycafe.com

Ahhhhhhhhhhh! It is finally summer! The kids are out of school! Let your travels begin!

Whether you are taking to the sky or the road, here are some great tips to make your trip a fun and SAFE one.

Make a check list. Tickets, maps, ID, medication, phone numbers, and cameras should all be accounted for before you leave your home.

Always call to confirm your reservations - all of them - including restaurants! Get the confirmation number and name of person that you talked too.

Upon arriving at your hotel, take a moment to introduce yourself and your family to the concierge and front desk people! It sets the tone for your trip and you have an immediate connection with the hotel staff.

Have your car serviced before that road trip! Also, remember to take along healthy snacks and water in the car.

Make sure that you travel with your cell phone AND charger.

If someone is watching your home and/or pet, make sure they have all the phone numbers to contact you in case they need to reach you.

Consider throwing a flashlight and extra water and food into your suitcase when packing. If you never touch it - great, but you will always have it.

Bring a first aid kit on your trip.

Taking a few extra steps this summer before you leave will insure that your family has a wonderful, SAFE and memorable vacation! And after all… aren’t memories what it is all about?

Are you taking steps to protect your family from burn risks at home?

If you are like the majority of Americans, you aren’t. Although 75% of survey respondents report that either they or someone in their family has suffered a burn at home, most are not taking steps to reduce the risk of burns occurring in the home.  

The Home Safety Council in conjunction with H2otStop say that most people don’t take the simple steps that they could to reduce the risk of burns in the home.

Scald burns happen most frequently to children under the age of five.

Here’s what you can do to reduce the risk of scald burns:

• Turn the hot water heater down below 120 degrees F.
•  Once you have done that, test the hot water temperature with a candy thermometer or install an anti-scald devices.
• Keep children out of the kitchen or cooking area while cooking.
• Avoid placing hot food and beverages on table cloths that can be pulled by children or pets.
• When using the stove, turn the handles away from the edge of the counter, again so that children can not pull on them.

Finally, whereas burns in the kitchen seem more obvious, the bathroom is actually a place where almost 10% of burns take place. Hence, check that water heater!

Be aware, be careful, be prepared.

I have an idea…

Rather than make the same-old tired, played out, stale resolutions like “lose 10 pounds,” how about we all resolve to make children safer in their little tiny worlds.

There are so many ways to decrease their risk of injury, and I’ve covered that in previous blog posts. Now, how about knowing how to deal with an injury or medical condition BEFORE it happens!

I hear a lot of parents talk about allergies and allergic reactions.

Do you know what the signs and symptoms of what an allergic reaction looks, sounds or feels like?

• A skin rash is not the only sign of an allergic reaction.
• The membranes of the tongue, face or neck may swell and cause difficulty breathing.
• Other signs are redness, itching, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, anxiety, dizziness or wheezing.
• The faster the reaction, the more severe it is.

Rule #1 - Seek medical attention for severe allergic reactions.

Do you know what to do if your child swallows something poisonous?

If you said, “make them throw up” you would be wrong.

• The Poison Control Center (800-222-1222) does not encourage parents to get their children to throw up if they have swallowed a poison.
• In fact, the standard is NOT to give anything by the mouth, as it may be harmful to the child.

Rule #2 - call the Poison Control Center if your child encounters a harmful substance or anything that may be poisonous.

Finally, who of you knows what to do in case of a burn?

Those of you who said “put butter on it. That’s what my mama always told me” are wrong. You over there who raised your hand and said “do NOT put any ointment or household products on a burn (unless a healthcare provider tells you to), and instead cool the burn with a continuous flow of cold water” would be exactly correct!

Rule #3 - do not rely on old wives’ tales.

I point out these three fairly common first aid issues because there are misconceptions flying about our society about how to treat injuries. 

Learn what is taught today as common treatment for injuries. Take a first aid class. Know when to seek professional medical advice. You may save your child’s life or you may just save yourself a visit to the emergency room.

Do everything you can to make your child’s world a little safer.

Now there’s a good New Year’s resolution.

Approximately one infant (12 months & under) suffers an unintentional injury every 1.5 minutes.

Causes of injury:

• FALLS - leading cause of injury; more likely to be male than female (~55% vs. ~ 45%)
• HEAD or NECK area: puncture injuries, bruises, foreign body injuries and abrasions most frequent
• FRACTURES: more than 1/3 of fractures were to the arm or hand
• The BED is the most common product as being involved in the injury in every age except:
• 2 months - the car seat became the most frequently noted product
• 12 months - the stairs because the top “product” involved in the injury

Social environment, physical environment and products change as infants grow through their first year of life.

Safety and awareness must continue to adapt as your infant grows. Actually, what’s cool about SafetyMate for the New Parent is it can grow with your family. Not only does it have information for infants, it also has information for children and adults.

Be prepared to know how to deal with these emergencies. We don’t often think of infants getting injured. They seem so passive, soft, sweet, and resilient. These stats make it evident accidents do happen. We all hope it won’t happen to us. Underneath that, we all kind of believe it won’t happen to us.

It could. I think that’s why gifting SafetyMate to a friend can help break through that denial we all have that it won’t happen to us. Once the SafetyMate is in hand, learning about what to do in case of a fall is simple. Just press a button. It becomes less scary and more manageable once you know what to do. Be ready. Learn how to handle first aid issues.

Best wishes for health and well-being in all your families.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission, together with the White House and other governmental agencies, such as the EPA, have designate October to be Children’s Health Month.

Parents are urged during the month of October to do a “safety check” where by an inventory is taken of environmental hazards in their home. Taking a few simple steps can help reduce or eliminate home-based non-intentional injuries and deaths.

Some of the most common home emergencies include burns, head injuries, accidental poisoning, strangulation, drowning, and suffocation.

A few ways to prevent such injuries:

• Keep medicines and hazardous household chemicals locked up and out of sight. Use child-resistant packaging for medicines and hazardous household chemicals, and call 1-800-222-1222 if a poisoning occurs.
• Cut the loops on window-blind cords.
• Turn pot handles on the stove towards the back where toddlers can not reach.
• Stay within arm’s reach of your baby while your child is bathing or near any container of water.
• Babies on adult beds risk suffocation from hidden hazards such as entrapment between the bed and wall; entrapment involving the bed frame, headboard and footboard; or soft bedding such as pillows or thick quilts and comforters. Co-sleeping side beds are becoming more popular as these risks become more well-publicized.

Always call 9-1-1 first in case of medical emergency.

For other potentially life-saving tips, go to www.healthierus.gov or www.childrenshealth.gov. Finally, know what to do if an emergency does happen. Take a class, remain vigilant of environmental hazards as your child continues to grow, and make sure any caregivers are trained in first aid/CPR.

This month marks the 25th anniversary of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers’ Association (JPMA) sponsoring of Baby Safety Month - to bring public focus to an important issue. This year, the JPMA is focusing on car seat and booster seat safety.

When it comes to your baby, every safety issue is critical - from having a child-proofer help make your home a safe haven for you and your baby to having essential safety gear available when needed.

Look around. Plan ahead. Learn first aid and CPR. Leave your child with a competent, trained babysitter. And, of course, check out SafetyMate for the New Parent - which in a most timely, well-placed debut, is launching this month!

Be the ROCK STAR at your next baby shower and give the gift that shows you care!

Check it out at www.safetymate.com/home/index.html

So…you’re going out for your first night on the town after your baby is born. Lots of emotions vibrating through your body. Who do you leave your baby with? Is it a family member, a neighborhood teen, a good friend or an elderly woman who comes with recommendations…?

I guess the big question is - will it be a positive or negative experience for you, as a new parent?

A recent survey commissioned by iVillage.com found one out of four mothers questioned had a negative experience with a babysitter. Surprisingly, ten percent of the mothers reported mistreatment of their child by a babysitter.

Perhaps even more surprising to me is how willing many parents are to leave their child with someone who does not know how to deal with potentially life-threatening situations.

• A full one-third of mothers polled said they do not believe their babysitter knows how to help a child who is choking!
• Almost half of those polled do not believe the babysitter knows how to perform CPR.
• Over ten percent of mothers do not believe their babysitter can handle any medical emergency at all!!

With how fast we all know accidents happen and emergencies occur, these stats are shocking!

Babysitter training classes are available at local organizations such as American Heart Association and American Red Cross. Talking first aid devices such as SafetyMate for the New Parent can help teenagers or any caretakers refresh the information they learn in those classes in between annual trainings. www.safetymate.com/home/index.html

We all know if you don’t “use it,” you “lose it.” Unless you are a paramedic who is performing life-saving actions or CPR every day, there is no real way to become expert at dealing with crises.

Information is power. Learn, re-learn, practice, teach others…

I’m curious…what are the main fears parents have when bringing their newborn home from the hospital?

I’ll throw a few items out and I’d love to hear back from different members what your thoughts are.  Feel free to add others.

1. Will I know what to do?
2. Basic care issues (diapering, feeding, sleep schedules)
3. Medical concerns/First aid issues (what if baby stops breathing? what if baby falls? what if baby has seizures? what if baby is allergic to something and has a reaction?)
4. Will I ever be able to leave my precious baby with someone else? (competent babysitters, spouses, grandparents, etc.)

I am sure there are more. Please comment. I’d love to get your feedback.

As I noted in an earlier post, we have some exciting happenings!

After our debut on the TODAY show, it is now no secret that we are coming to market with a brand new solution to family first aid issues. SafetyMate for the New Parent is talking first aid for the home. The newest trend in essential safety gear for the modern mom and dad, SafetyMate allows parents the opportunity to refresh all the information they might have learned one time on-the-job or in an infant CPR class - at any time! Because SafetyMate is more interactive and engaging, with colored icons and blinking lights to guide the user, caretakers are much more likely to spend the time to refresh the information and to be prepared to deal with an emergency if the need arises.

Allison and I were recently at a trade show when a mother asked us how she was supposed to listen to the device over ”my own hysterical screaming.”

Interesting question.

My first thought was that in being afraid to even THINK about the issue that something might happen to your child is probably very normal and was, obviously for her, very anxiety provoking.

My own experience in being trained only once a year (while I was working in psychiatric hospitals) left me feeling vulnerable and afraid that I was supposed to know how to respond when actually I somehow felt LESS prepared than had I just remained totally ignorant. The diffusion of responsibility theory would absolutely be in play had I remained untrained.

However, now that I have been around this information and have listened to it numerous times, I have felt calm and totally capable of handling a situation. In fact, since I have been working with SafetyMate, I actually have responded on four separate occasions. In each case, I was able to not only remain calm myself, but have been able to keep others calm as well.

The point here is that preparedness does not increase anxiety, but allays it. The likelihood that a child is going to experience some emergency seems inescapable. The choice is to be prepared or to remain ignorant and perhaps when the time comes, to scream hysterically. Which would help your kid more?

CNN’s report on the tragic story of a five year-old kindergarten student in Marlborough, MA choking to death while on a bus ride to school was forwarded to me. 

The bus driver pulled over after being alerted of the emergency and called immediately for help. The child was reportedly choking on a foreign object. Since brain death begins to occur within four to six minutes of being deprived oxygen, EMS response time is critical. But really what is more critical is whether bus drivers, as the only adults present in this type of scenario, are trained in First Aid/CPR. School bus drivers across the nation are entrusted with the safety of our children.  Any adult who has the responsibility for caring for a child - be it for 20 minutes or for 6 hours - needs to be adequately trained in first aid/CPR and needs to be constantly refreshed on that information. Practice decreases panic. Accidents do happen. Adults need to be prepared to take care of the children in their care.