The
Sentinel –
Making Utah
a Safer Place for Kids
Select an article below, or download the
entire issue:
§
Teach Your Child
Safety
§
Pretty
Poisons
§
Are Your Car Seats
Safe?
§
Preparing for the
Worst
§
“LATCH” on to This
…
§
Hunt for Your
Guns
§
Safe at
Home
THE
SENTINEL – FALL 2002
Teach Your Child
Safety
The
Problem
Unintentional injuries are the number one
killer of children under the age of 14 in the United States. Each
year one in four children is hurt seriously enough to require
medical attention. These injuries can be prevented if families take
the simple steps necessary to protect their
children.
As a parent, what can
I do?
Parents have the greatest responsibility
for safety education. Whether you notice or not, your child is
always imitating your behavior. Be a safety role model. Also, be
sure to keep your eye on your children during their everyday
activities; there is no substitute for parental
supervision.
Be a pedestrian role
model.
(Pedestrians account for one-fourth of
traffic fatalities for children under age
16)
§
Cross at corners and
crosswalks.
§
Teach your child to stop and
look “left-right-left” before
crossing.
§
Walk on the sidewalk if there
is one.
§
Obey all traffic signs and
signals.
Be a careful
driver.
(Motor vehicle crashes are the leading
cause of death for children age
5-15):
§
Take speed limits seriously,
especially in school zones and residential
areas.
§
Always drop off and pick up
children on the right side of the street. (Otherwise children may
dart out in front of traffic.)
§
Always buckle up! Statistics
show that when you buckle up, children will also buckle and stay
that way 90% of the time.
§
Obeying the rules of the road,
driving attentively, and using a car seat are the safest things you
can do for your child while in a
vehicle.
Teach your child to
bike smart.
(More than one-third of bicyclists killed
are between the ages of 5 and 15, and most deaths are due to head
injuries.)
§
Set
a good example by wearing your helmet when you ride, and teach your
children that helmets must be worn at all
times.
§
Show your children the proper
way to wear a helmet. It should rest low on the forehead just above
the eyebrows and fit snugly.
§
Obey all traffic signs and
signals while bicycling.
§
Always ride alone on a
bicycle, never carry passengers.
§
Riding a bicycle at night is
dangerous. Make sure to have both front and back lights if you must
bike at night. Teach your child simple safety today and give
yourself peace of mind tomorrow.
— Information provided by Salt Lake
Valley Health Department.
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THE SENTINEL – FALL
2002
Pretty
Poisons
All That Glitters is Not
Good
What child can resist the allure of a
festive holiday tree, or a candle flickering on a tabletop? The
holidays bring out the best in our decorating instincts, but can be
a dangerous time for kids who are natural explorers. As you prepare
to deck your halls, keep these precautions in
mind:
Toxic
Tinsel
§
Mistletoe and holly berries
can be poisonous if swallowed.
§
Old
tinsel may contain lead. Dispose of it safely if you don't know
exactly what it's made of.
§
Lamp oils are colorful and
attractive to children - but extremely hazardous. Keep holiday lamps
out of reach.
Food, Drink &
Parties
§
Improper handling,
preparation, cooking or storage of food can result in food
poisoning. Keep hot foods hot and cold foods
cold!
§
Clean up immediately after
parties. Leftover alcohol and cigarettes are tempting but toxic to
children and pets.
Holiday
Visitors
§
Holidays are for visiting and
daily routines are often disrupted. Parents need to be even more
cautious to prevent poisonings.
§
Remind visitors to keep pills
in a secure location, away from
children.
Coughs and
Colds
§
The
onset of winter brings the cold and flu season, and that means there
may be more medicines in your home than at other times of the year.
Remember:
- Keep all medicines in a locked cupboard, out of reach
of children.
- There is no such thing as childproof! Child-resistant
lids can delay access to medicines, but children can often open
the lids.
- Always keep medicine in its original
container. Don't transfer to a food container or plastic
bag.
For more
information, call the specialists at
Utah
Poison
Control
Center toll-free at 1
(800) 222-1222 or visit their new Web site at www.uuhsc.utah.edu/poison.
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THE SENTINEL –
FALL 2002
Are Your Car Seats
Safe?
Just Ask the Experts at Primary
Children's
Primary
Children's Medical
Center and the Utah
SAFE KIDS Coalition are proud to welcome their new Child Safety Seat
Inspection Station now open at the Salt Lake City-based hospital.
The station gives parents and caregivers a free and convenient way
to find out whether their car seats are installed and working
properly.
This is great news in light of a new
study that shows more than 85% of all child restraints are used
incorrectly. Even seemingly small mistakes can lead to deadly
consequences, as motor vehicle crashes remain the leading killer of
kids ages 1 to 14. Each year, more than 1,700 children are killed
and another 264,000 are injured as occupants of motor
vehicles.
The study by the
National SAFE KIDS Campaign analyzed the incorrect use patterns of
469 Utah child safety
seats and vehicle safety belts that were seen at several SAFE KIDS
car seat check events from February 2001-March
2002.
To prevent three very common
mistakes:
- Secure safety seats tightly with less than one inch
movement.*
- Check instructions to see if a locking clip is needed
for proper installation.*
- Place retainer clip at armpit
level.*
The inspection station officially opened
Sept. 26 and is available by appointment only. It is staffed by
English and Spanish-speaking trained technicians who will teach you
all the ins and outs of car seat safety. The station is one of 30
new child safety seat facilities opening
nationwide.
Recently, a family visited Primary
Children's for help with their car seats. Just weeks later, the
family was involved in a serious motor vehicle crash. The car was
destroyed, but the children were all safe. While this illustrates
the efforts parents are making to protect their children, it also
demonstrates the importance of having resources available to teach
parents about restraint safety.
Primary Children's and the Utah SAFE KIDS
Coalition hope parents will take advantage of the new inspection
service. The station is open to the public by appointment only.
Please call the (801) 588-CARS hotline for more details or to locate
car seat help in your community.
Remember, using a child safety seat can
reduce injury and death by 50%, and using a PROPERLY INSTALLED seat
can reduce injury and death by
71%.
* For more help understanding safety
guidelines for buckling up your children, please visit the National
SAFE KIDS Campaign Web site at www.safekids.org.
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THE SENTINEL – FALL
2002
Preparing for the
Worst
Teach Your Kids the Danger of
Strangers
With the recent
child abductions in Utah and across the
country, frightened parents are asking themselves what they can do
to keep their own children safe.
Children too are watching the news - many
are now afraid to step out of their homes alone for fear of being
kidnapped. Amid all this, it's important to remember abductions are
still very rare, and the majority of children will make it to
adulthood safely.
One of the challenges of parenting is
teaching children to be cautious without stirring up too much fear.
It's important to create a nurturing environment where your children
feel safe and cared for. Although dangers exist, you can reduce the
chance a child will be taken. First, give children the basics on
avoiding and escaping potentially dangerous
situations.
Teach Them
to:
§
Never accept candy or gifts
from a stranger.
§
Never go anywhere with a
stranger, even if it sounds like fun. Attackers often lure children
with questions like, “Can you help me find my lost puppy?” or “Do
you want to see some cute kittens in my
car?”
§
Run
away and scream if someone follows them or tries to force them into
a car.
§
Always ask permission from a
parent to leave the house, yard, play area, or to go into someone's
home.
§
If
someone they don't know talks to them, run home or to the nearest
friend's home.
Because the first few hours are the most
critical in abduction cases, it's important to have information
about your child immediately available. This includes height,
weight, eye color, hair color and a current picture. Parents can
keep these other tips in mind
also:
§
Have ID-like photos taken of
your children every six months.
§
Have your children
fingerprinted. Many local police departments sponsor fingerprinting
programs.
§
Keep your children's medical
and dental records current.
§
Make sure younger children
know their name, address, phone number and whom to contact in case
of an emergency. Discuss with them what to do if they get lost in a
public place or store. Remind your children that they should never
go to parking lots to look for
you.
§
Show your children the homes
of friends in the neighborhood where they can go in case of
trouble.
§
Never leave children alone in
a car or stroller, even for a
minute.
§
Develop code words for
caregivers other than mom or dad, and remind them never to tell
anyone the code word. Teach them never to go with anyone who doesn't
know the code word.
§
If
your children are old enough to stay home alone, make sure the doors
and windows are locked and to never tell anyone they are home
alone.
Most often families will never have to face the terror of
abduction - but as with all safety precautions, an ounce of
prevention is worth more than a pound of
cure.
Information provided from www.primarychildrens.com. (Kids
Health)
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THE SENTINEL – FALL
2002
“Latch” on to This
…
New Government LATCH Rules Make Car Seats
Safer
If you've ever been frustrated when
installing or transferring a child safety seat - this article is for
you.
In an effort to
reduce vehicle-related child injuries and deaths that result from
incorrectly installed safety seats, the
U.S. and Canadian
governments have adopted a new restraint system. It's called LATCH
and it requires U.S.-made vehicles and child safety seats to be
equipped with a universal anchor system that makes installation and
use much easier. LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) is a
standardized method of installing a child restraint without using a
seat belt.
The law affects
all vehicles and child safety seats manufactured after
Sept. 1,
2002. And while both
will be manufactured with the new system, the new seats will still
work in your old vehicle. The LATCH system consists
of:
§
One
tether anchor for a top tether of a forward-facing child restraint.
You will find these in the rear window deck area or on the vehicle
seatbacks. To find the locations, check your vehicle owner's
manual.
§
Two
lower seat anchors at the seat “bight” - the area where the top and
bottom of the seat come together. You will see two small dots sewn
onto the seat to show the anchor
locations.
§
The
child restraint after September 1,
2002
will have a top tether strap and two flexible attachments made of
webbing or a rigid framework to slip into the seat
bight.
This system is designed to make it easier
for parents to both install seats and to tighten them down, as loose
seats are very dangerous in a
crash.
Whether your car or car seat is new or
old, always remember to read the instruction booklet that comes with
the child restraint and your vehicle owner's
manual.
Together, these important documents will
help keep your child alive in a
crash.
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THE SENTINEL
– FALL 2002
Hunt For
Your Guns
Then Lock Them
Away
If your home is
like half of those in the
United
States, there is a
firearm somewhere inside. While firearm incidents have decreased
significantly over the last 20 years, national statistics show that
guns still kill a child every 90
minutes.
With hunting season upon us, now is a
good time to evaluate the safety of the firearms in your home. If
you own a gun, your most important responsibility as a parent or
caregiver is making certain children cannot find it. The precautions
you take can be effective in saving a life. If you don't take
precautions, you could face civil and/or criminal consequences if
someone gets hurt with your gun on your property. Below are some
suggestions you can - and must - take to prevent firearm
injuries:
§
Make sure all weapons are
unloaded and safely stored, with the ammunition secured in a
separate location. A locked firearm case or safe is best when a gun
is not being used.
§
Use
a gunlock while storing your firearm. Many of us already have smoke
detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and burglar alarms. Gunlocks
are just another device that can make your home safer. Cable-style
locks are inexpensive and easy to use and can be purchased for
around $10.
§
Always re-check your firearms
carefully and completely to be sure they're still unloaded when you
remove them from storage. Unintentional injuries have occurred when
a family member or friend has borrowed or loaned a firearm and
returned it to storage with ammunition still
inside.
§
Always clean and place your
firearms in their proper storage location immediately after
returning from a day on the range or a hunting
trip.
It is also
important to talk with your children about the importance of firearm
safety. Be sure to
address and encourage the
following:
§
Don't go looking for firearms
in a friend's or relative's home. Don't let other kids look for
firearms in your house.
§
If
you find a firearm in your house or anywhere else, leave it alone.
Don't touch it! Don't let anyone else touch it! Report it to an
adult immediately.
§
Even if a firearm looks like a
toy, don't touch it. Some real firearms look like toys. Don't take a
chance. Once again, tell an
adult.
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THE SENTINEL
– FALL 2002
Safe at
Home
A Household Safety
Checklist
While you're locking up your guns and
poisons, there are plenty of other potential hazards in your home,
so take a few minutes to check for the
following:
§
Are
knives, forks, scissors and other sharp tools in a drawer with a
safety latch?
§
Are
glass objects and appliances with sharp blades stored out of
children's reach?
§
Is
the garbage behind a cabinet door with a safety
latch?
§
Are
all appliances unplugged when not in use, with cords far from
reach?
§
Are
all cleaning supplies - even dishwashing liquid - in a cabinet with
a safety latch?
§
Are
all plastic garbage bags and sandwich-style baggies far from
reach?
§
Are
all bottles of alcohol in a high cabinet far from
reach?
§
Are
long telephone cords far from the
floor?
§
Is
the thermostat on the hot water heater set to 120 degrees F or
lower?
§
Are
there rubber pads under loose rugs to hold them securely to the
floor?
§
Is
the crib free from soft pillows, large stuffed animals, and soft
bedding?
§
Are
window blind cords tied up with clothespins or specially designed
cord clips?
§
Are
all unused outlets covered with safety
caps?
§
Are
televisions and stereo equipment positioned against
walls?
§
Are
dressers secured to walls so they cannot be pulled down on top of a
child?
§
Are
there safety bars installed on upper-story
windows?
§
Are
there hardware-mounted safety gates at the top and bottom of every
stairway?
§
Are
stairways clear of tripping
hazards?
§
Are
all hazardous automotive and gardening products in a securely locked
area?
§
Does your family have an
escape plan in case of a fire?
Overwhelming as it may seem, going
through the above checklist is a critical first step in keeping your
kids “safe at home.”
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