Protecting toddlers

Protecting Toddlers at Home
My children two and a half years old and three and a half years old have defeated just about every child-proofing device in our home. While it is great to think they are budding mechanical geniuses I’m not sure how to take a shower without them dumping the peanut butter and jelly borrowing my strainers to catch frogs and playing baseball with the eggs. The child lock on the front door still works but I wonder how much longer that will last. How have other families kept their children safe and secure without turning their home into a fortress?
Response
Here are a few things I found helpful with our three children. I bathe when my husband is home either at night or before he leaves for work. It seems that if I take a bath in the evening the next morning goes much more smoothly.
To keep doors closed we have found latch locks work well. We place them high enough on the door that only a medium-sized adult can reach them. I had one room that was a combination sewing room and office that was not child-friendly. Not one toddler ever figured out a way in.
Remember in a few short years your children will be older and less impulsive and you will be much more likely to have time for a leisurely shower.
Response
While it is prudent to control hazards when possible it is unrealistic to expect to completely protect children at any age from the many dangers they may encounter. My husband and I believe it is more realistic and beneficial to consistently enforce clearly established boundaries and to teach children to respect limits that benefit both themselves and others. Children and adults who do not acquire the discipline of self- control by respecting limits can threaten their own well-being and the well-being of others.
Three pieces of parenting advice have helped us with this area of discipline:
We use substitutes for the word “no” which more clearly convey the reason for “no.” Examples are “Don’t touch-will hurt Joshua!” (expressed in a voice of fear and alarm) and “ah-ah-ah-NOT for Baby.” It is helpful to then redirect the child’s attention to another object or activity. We found this advice in The Discipline Book by William and Martha Sears.
One radio psychologist observes that parents who say in frustration “I’ve tried everything and nothing works!” may need to simply be patient and consistent with one well-evaluated method appropriate to the child’s development.
We have also discovered that while it is impossible to completely monitor a child all of the time children can learn limits simply by spending more time in direct contact with parents. For a long time I regularly attempted to direct my children’s attention away from my work so I could “get something done.” Both my husband and I now look for ways to include our children in our chores instead. Though it may seem too time-consuming it takes no more time and much more positive energy than frequent intervention in their negative behavior. The benefits are many. We can more closely monitor their activities and we can encourage their curiosity and exploration of their environment cautiously and constructively.
Consistency is most difficult when one is tired or rushed but it is a key to problem areas. We have already begun to reap the benefits of consistently enforcing the boundaries we have set with our two- and four-year-olds. They generally respond quickly to warnings. If they don’t minimal corrective action is usually sufficient. Not only do we receive compliments on their respectful behavior more importantly my husband and I have found greater enjoyment having them with us at home and in public.
I wish success to all parents as they direct the curiosity of their geniuses!
Response
Our older child was (and is!) very inquisitive and hands-on. When he was a toddler I kept him safe not by keeping him away from dangerous things but by introducing him to them under close supervision. With him in my lap I would hold his hand firmly and give detailed explanations. I patiently allowed him to satisfy his curiosity. Phrases such as “one-finger touch” and “Wait that’s a supervision toy!” and “We’ll hold it together” go over better than a continual “No no don’t touch!” I also found that describing dangers such as “electricity is hot it burns like a big candle.” (I let them put their finger near a candle flame if necessary) and letting them understand little falls (from two steps up) was helpful. Draw a line on the floor or driveway to show the limit of approach and enforce it. If something is really an irresistible item try to put it out of sight for a few days until the fascination wears off.
Response
It is a marvel to behold the new skills those young ones can master! However make sure your amazement at what they can do is not indirectly “praising” their efforts to defeat your security measures. Try not to talk (and think) about safety measures as an attempt to outwit your children but as a way to keep them from harm. Kids should be given a consistent message that the safety lock means “not for them.”
You may have to modify your expectations about how long you can turn your back on young ones so active. Showering may have to wait until they are safely asleep or another adult is present or in extreme cases until they are in school! (But hey your true friends will tolerate your temporary hygiene habits!) This phase of mothering will not last forever.
You can padlock one closet or cabinet for the truly dangerous items such as knives medicines and cleaning supplies . For the messes that threaten only your home’s order (or your sanity) enlist their help in cleaning up. If they are old enough to dump the peanut butter and jelly they are old enough to help scrape it off the floor. Their “help” may not amount to much however having them go through the motions with you rather than doing a different activity they’d prefer might enhance their understanding of the consequences of their behavior.
Response
My boys are two and four. I have faced the same dilemmas. Two ideas that worked for me were:
I take both boys in the shower with me. They sit at the end of the shower and play with their toys. It is not as relaxing as a shower by myself but it takes away the worry about leaving them alone while I shower and they get clean too!
I hung a strap of jingle bells on each door. It warned me that the kids were playing near the door and gave me a chance to get to them before they got out (my oldest started undoing the safety screen lock when he was about three years old). I hope my ideas help!
Response
Keeping our children safe is one of our most important and scariest jobs. Thinking about all the “what ifs” can make us want to keep them away from just about everything. The most helpful idea that I received regarding safety actually is the complete opposite of always standing by to protect them. The person who can best take care of a child’s safety who is always there to do it is the child himself. Showing a baby how to go down stairs or a child how to use a sharp knife will protect him or her from accidents much more than putting up gates or keeping knives away. Gates will accidentally be left open and little hands will eventually find knives. Although it can be very hard for us to believe when we live in Western societies (especially in the USA) where the emphasis is more on controlling than on trust babies do come with strong self-preservation instincts. They unfortunately become completely detached from them when we take over for them and teach them not to trust themselves.
Another idea that really helped me to get my children to cooperate and behave appropriately is to expect the best from them. I treat them as allies not enemies because I know they want to please me. If you truly expect the best from your children you will treat them very differently than if you expect them to misbehave. For example you will say “I know that you will stay inside the apartment while I am showering” or “I know you will wait for me to be done showering before going outside” instead of “I don’t want you guys to go outside when I’m in the shower.” If you are interested in these ideas read The Continuum Concept by Jean Liedloff which is available in many LLL Group Libraries.
On a more practical level I try to teach my children what things are used for such as “eggs are for eating” and I give them appropriate alternatives. I love to admire and encourage my daughters’ creativity. I do however sometimes have to put restrictions on what they use in the process. Because I trust my children to want to do the right thing most of the time they live up to my expectations or they learn from their mistakes.

Protecting Children from Unintentional Injuries
Children’s surroundings contain a lot of potential hazards. Unintentional injuries are responsible for many injury deaths each year and it is estimated that 90 percent of unintentional injuries could be avoided. Unintentional injuries are those injuries that could be avoided if necessary precautions are taken. The five leading causes of injury death among children under age 15 are motor vehicle injuries fires and burns drowning firearms and suffocation. Parents and caregivers need to know the greatest risk factors for their children and to take the appropriate steps to reduce the risk of unintentional injury.
Table 1
United States’ Injury Death Rates by Type of Injury and Age (1996)
Number of deaths by age group
Birth to 4
5 to 9
10 to 14
15 to 19
Total unintentional injury deaths
2895
1564
1824
6735
Selected unintentional injury death types
Motor vehicle occupant traffic-related
514
359
531
3566
Pedestrian traffic-related
225
264
234
279
Bicyclist traffic-related
4
81
112
65
Drowning
533
223
225
388
Residential fire
451
192
97
70
Fall
55
30
21
94
Firearm
17
27
94
238
Suffocation and choking
532
57
77
67
Poisoning
57
18
34
190
Source
Compressed Mortality files National Center for Health Statistics Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As cited in Grossman David C. (2000). The History of Injury Control and the Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent Injuries. The Future of Children 10(1) 23-52.
Infants
Children age 4 and under are more likely than any other age group to sustain unintentional injuries that result in death and disability. Injuries resulting from drowning and blocked airways are responsible for the majority of unintentional injury deaths among infants. These injuries include suffocation choking and strangulation. These types of injury are largely preventable and parents and caregivers should understand how they occur in order to take the necessary steps to prevent their likelihood.
Sleeping in adults’ beds
Some parents may choose to sleep with their infants for easy access when the baby cries and to simplify nighttime feedings. However this can be a very dangerous practice. A preferred practice is to place the baby’s crib near the bed. Four major patterns have been identified that result in an infant’s suffocation while sleeping in adult beds:
An adult may roll over onto the infant causing the baby to suffocate.
An infant may suffocate after becoming entrapped or wedged between a mattress and another object such as the bed frame a wall or other furniture.
An infant’s airway may become obstructed when lying face down on a waterbed mattress.
An infant can be strangled when rails or openings in headboards or footboards are wide enough to allow the baby’s body to pass through while entrapping the head.
Baby crib safety
Strangulation and suffocation may occur in cribs that have older unsafe designs. Before using a crib look for a Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association certification seal indicating that the crib meets current safety standards. The following safety precautions should also be taken:
Ensure that the crib has no missing improperly placed loose or broken hardware.
Look for splinters and rough edges that could injure the baby.
Check the spacing between crib slats to ensure that the baby’s body cannot slide through the opening. There should be no more than 2-3/8 inches between the slats — a distance equal to the width of a can of soda pop.
Only use tight-fitting mattresses so the baby cannot become wedged between the mattress and the side of the crib.
Ensure that corner posts are not more than 1/16 of an inch above the end panels. This will prevent a baby’s clothing from catching on the post and leading to the possibility of strangulation. If the crib has a canopy the corner posts should be at least 16 inches high.
Look for cracked or peeling paint to avoid lead poisoning.
To reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) always place infants on their backs during naps or at bedtime. Parents were previously told to place infants on their stomachs to sleep; however doctors and nurses now believe this may be dangerous. If your infant was born with a birth defect spits up after eating or has breathing or heart problems check with your pediatrician about the best sleeping position for your baby. In addition always remove soft items such as pillows or comforters from the crib. These soft items may cause infants to rebreathe exhaled air and suffocate.
In addition to airway obstruction injuries infants also experience a large number of unintentional injuries resulting from falls. One of the most common products responsible for falls is baby walkers.
Baby walkers
Walkers are responsible for more injuries than any other nursery product. Most of these injuries result from falling down stairs or tipping over while the child crosses uneven surfaces. Eighty percent of these accidents occur while young children are being supervised. The Consumer Products Safety Commission has developed new standards to reduce the risk of falls. New baby walkers must be too wide to fit through average-sized doorways and they must have features that will stop the walker at the edge of a step. If you use a baby walker ensure that it has a “Meets New Standard” label. Before you place a child in a baby walker follow these safety tips:
Close doors or place gates at the top of stairways.
Always keep the child in view.
Only use the walker on smooth surfaces to prevent it from tipping over.
Prevent the child from going near hot surfaces.
Place all electric cords out of the child’s reach.
Prevent the child from going near sources of water such as toilets bathtubs and swimming pools.
Toddlers and preschoolers
As children begin to crawl and walk they become exposed to many more potential hazards. Their natural tendency toward curiosity may lead them into dangerous situations. In addition parents may underestimate their children’s abilities. Items such as medicines household cleaners and cigarette lighters should always be kept out of children’s reach. Following are some other products that pose a risk for young children.
Small toys
Children have a natural tendency to place objects in their mouths. If a toy is smaller than 1-1/4 inches in diameter and 2-1/4 inches in depth the toy should be kept away from children under 3 years of age. Small parts testers can be purchased to test objects; however another option is to test objects with a toilet paper tube. Only toys that do not fit through the hole should be accessible to young children. In addition parents should select products carefully keep them in good repair and dispose of items that could put children at risk for injury.
Balloons
Latex balloons cause the greatest number of toy-related choking deaths among children each year. To prevent suffocation or choking children under the age of 8 should not be given uninflated balloons. Uninflated balloons should always be stored out of reach of young children. An adult should always supervise when children in this age group play with inflated balloons. Always deflate and throw away balloons after use and discard balloon pieces immediately.
Window covering cords
Young children may become entangled in window covering pull cords. When possible keep cords out of children’s reach by adjusting cords to their shortest length. Also ensure that items such as cribs and climbing equipment are placed away from windows to prevent children from climbing to reach the cords.
Water safety
Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death among children between the ages of 1 and 4. Many of these deaths occur in residential swimming pools; however other sources of open water- rivers can also be dangerous. To reduce the risk of drowning parents of children of all ages should take a few precautions.
Tips for parents and caregivers:
Learn CPR.
Empty buckets when they are not in use. Five-gallon buckets can be particularly dangerous for small children.
Teach children to swim. Whether they have had lessons or not children should always be supervised while swimming. Flotation devices should not be used as a substitute for supervision. Even when using flotation devices children should remain in shallow water until they become skilled swimmers.
Ensure that children are always under adult supervision when swimming or playing in water. Adults should remain undistracted while watching children in bathtubs swimming pools or at the beach.
Additional tips for swimming pool owners:
Swimming pool owners should ensure that a 4-foot high fence or barrier surrounds their entire swimming pool. There should be no footholds or handles on the fence.
Keep rescue equipment by the pool.
Do not allow children to play around the pool because they could accidentally fall in. Keep toys out of and away from the pool because they may attract curious children.
Place a safety cover on swimming pools when they are not in use. Completely remove the cover before using the pool because swimmers may become trapped under covers that remain partially in place.
If a child is missing always check the swimming pool first.
School-aged children
The leading cause of unintentional injury-related death in this age group is motor vehicle accidents. In addition children in this age group participate in a variety of activities that could result in non-fatal injuries. The following products pose great risks for children in this age group but the recommended precautions can reduce the risk of serious injury or death.
Bicycles
With the exception of automobile accident fatalities and drowning injuries resulting from bicycle accidents are associated with more deaths among children than any other product. Many of these deaths are caused by head injuries that could be prevented if children consistently wear helmets while riding their bicycles. The following tips will also help prevent the risk of bicycle injuries:
When selecting helmets parents should ensure that helmets meet current CPSC safety standards.
Children should learn to wear a helmet every time and everywhere they ride their bicycles. This becomes a natural process if children begin wearing helmets when learning to ride their bikes.
Ensure that helmets are worn correctly. Bicycle helmets should be comfortable and snug but not too tight. Helmets should be worn level on top of the head and straps should always be buckled.
Help children understand and obey traffic laws as they learn to ride their bicycles.
Provide adult supervision until children develop safe bicycle riding skills.
Skates and skateboards
Children between the ages of 5 and 14 are at great risk for injuries associated with roller-skates in-line skates and skateboards. Younger children in this age group are particularly at risk because they are still developing the cognitive and motor skills needed to perform these activities well. The majority of deaths associated with skating and skateboarding result from collisions with automobiles. The following steps can help reduce the risk of injuries associated with these products:
Ensure that children consistently and correctly use the proper safety equipment. Children should wear properly fitted helmets wristguards elbow guards and knee pads while skating and skateboarding.
Restrict beginners to smooth surfaces in low-traffic areas to reduce the risk of accidents.
Provide adult supervision until children develop the appropriate skills.
Fireworks
Although fireworks may only be used a few times each year they are responsible for a number of serious injuries. Many of these unintentional injuries result from improper use of fireworks and typically involve burns to the hands eyes and head. The following steps should be taken to reduce the risk of injuries associated with fireworks.
Read and follow all label directions.
Always supervise older children when they are lighting fireworks. Never allow children under the age of 10 to play with fireworks including sparklers.
Ensure that everyone is out of range when lighting fireworks.
Light fireworks in open areas away from homes and motor vehicles and ensure that the ground is not dry.
Always keep a bucket of water handy for emergencies and to pour on any fireworks that do not ignite.
Keep unused fireworks away from the area where fireworks are being lit.
Never try to relight fireworks if they do not go off.
Never hold fireworks in your hands when lighting them.
Always demonstrate responsible behaviors around fireworks because children may imitate your actions.
FIREARMS
Children may have difficulty distinguishing between real and toy guns
Teach them to assume that all guns are loaded and dangerous and never to touch firearms. Tell your children to inform an adult if they find a gun or if they see another child with a gun.
Kids in cars
Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death resulting from unintentional injuries among children ages 14 and under. Failure to restrain all passengers is the greatest risk factor in accidents. Consistent and correct use of child restraint seats and seatbelts can prevent many injuries and deaths. The following tips can help reduce the risk of life-threatening injuries in these accidents.
Children under 12 years of age should be restrained in the back seat. This is true regardless of whether or not the vehicle has air bags.
Infants should be placed in rear-facing restraint seats until they reach the age of 1 and weigh 20 pounds. Rear-facing restraint seats should never be placed in the front seat of a vehicle that has an air bag. Before installing a child restraint seat read the instruction manual and your automobile owner’s manual to be certain that you install the restraint seat correctly. An estimated 80 percent of children are not properly secured when riding in vehicles.
Children that are at least 1 year of age and weigh between 20 and 40 pounds should be placed in forward-facing restraint seats.
Children between the ages of 4 and 8 and weigh between 40 and 80 pounds should be secured in car booster seats when they ride in vehicles.
All vehicle passengers who weigh over 80 pounds should be restrained by seat belts every time and everywhere they ride.
Safety equipment and adult supervision
It is very important that children always use appropriate safety equipment which includes things like bicycle helmets life preservers in and around the water and elbow pads knee pads and a helmet when rollerblading. Safety equipment can protect children from many injuries.
Note
Even when using equipment children still need to be monitored and supervised closely by adults
Parents should not let children take more risks when playing just because children are using safety equipment. Children are the safest from injury when they use safety equipment and receive close adult supervision requiring them to keep risky behaviors to a minimum.
Smoke detectors: A proven strategy for avoiding children’s injury and death from house fires
About 75 percent of deaths due to house fires are caused by a victim’s inhalation of smoke and lack of oxygen not because of extensive burns. Some children are at greater risk for injury and death from a house fire.
Experts study the risk factors for residential fire deaths from two perspectives: the risk of a fire starting in a home and the risk of injury or death once the first has started. The likelihood of a house fire is greatest in homes with faulty heating systems and homes where smokers live. The risk of child injury or death once the fire has started is greatest when adults are present who drink alcohol when the child is under 5 years of age and if the family resides in a trailer home a house that is older than 20 years and/or a home with two or fewer exits.
The presence of a working smoke detector is a major source of protection against children’s injury and death from house fires. Some experts estimate that working smoke detectors lead to a 50 percent to 70 percent reduction in deaths.

Protecting Kids from Choking Suffocation and Strangulation

Airway obstruction — choking strangulation or suffocation  — is the leading cause of accidental death in infants and the fourth leading cause of accidental death in children ages 14 and under. The majority of childhood choking suffocation and strangulation incidents occur in the home.
“Small children have small airways” says Mandi Summers. “It doesn’t take much to choke them and you know how kids are always putting small objects in their mouths.” Most choking incidents in children involve food — parents and caregivers should avoid giving small round foods such as hot dogs candies nuts grapes carrots and popcorn to children under age 3. To avoid choking always supervise young children while they are eating.
Other common choking hazards include coins buttons small balls and toys with small parts.  “Keep small objects that are potential choking hazards out of their reach. Literally get down on your hands and knees and crawl around. You’ll be surprised at how much is at your child’s eye level” says Mandi Summers. “If an object can fit through a standard toilet paper tube or a store-bought small parts tester don’t let your child play with it.”  Common items that strangle children include clothing drawstrings ribbons necklaces pacifier strings and window blind and drapery cords.
Strangulation is the primary cause of playground deaths accounting for over 50 percent of them. Remove hood and neck drawstrings from all children’s outerwear. Don’t allow children to wear hanging jewelry purses scarves or loose clothing on the playground — and don’t let kids wear bike helmets on the playground because the straps can get caught on equipment.
 Children can also be strangled in the slats or frames of cribs bunk beds strollers high chairs and other devices. A safe crib has no more than 2 3/8 inches of space (the size of a soda can) between slats is not placed near a window and does not have anything hanging on or above it on a string 7 inches or longer. Tie up all window blind and drapery cords up out of reach.
Three out of five cases of infant suffocation occur in the sleeping environment. Babies can suffocate when their faces become wedged against or buried in a mattress pillow infant cushion or other soft bedding or when someone in the same bed rolls over onto them. Infants should only sleep in properly equipped cribs. Babies and toddlers should never sleep on couches chairs regular beds or other soft surfaces.
 To reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome” Mandi Summers says “Always always always lay babies down on their backs to sleep until they can turn themselves over.” Kids under 8 should not sleep in the top bunk of a bunk bed and the bed frame and guardrails should not be more than 3.5 inches apart.
 Other suffocation hazards include plastic bags and entrapment in poorly ventilated spaces such as laundry machines car trunks and toy chests. Babies and toddlers under age 3 are especially vulnerable because they cannot lift their heads or escape from tight places. To prevent suffocation: “Supervise. There’s no substitute for active supervision” says Mandi Summers.
 “One of the best things a parent or caregiver can do is learn CPR and first aid for airway obstruction” says Summers. “Simply put if your airway is blocked you are going to die — quickly.” Parents can learn effective skills that can make the difference between life and death for a choking child.
 
Protecting your family
Babies under 12 months should not be exposed to direct UV and should be well protected from the sun. If being in the sun is unavoidable try to use a cover for the pram or cover as much of your baby’s skin with loose-fitting cool clothing and a hat.
Apply sunscreen on those small areas of skin still exposed. It’s a good idea to test the sunscreen on a small area of your baby’s skin to make sure there won’t be any reaction. Try a sensitive formula as it will be less likely to cause irritation. More tips for protecting young children from the sun.
When it comes to adolescents and young adults sun protection can be a hard sell – often they are more concerned with maintaining their image finding covering up a ‘hassle’ they can live without.
Parental guidance and role modelling plays an important role. Adolescents can also be motivated by:
the need to prevent the embarrassment of sunburn
the need to prevent ageing such as wrinkles and sun damage
health knowledge regarding skin cancer.
Here are some hints:
Be a role model for sun protection behaviour by wearing hats protective clothing and sunglasses using sunscreen and seeking shade.
Remind your teenager to protect themselves – show them the UV Alert and mobile phone app.
Leave sunscreen and hats at the door.
Allow them to choose their own hat sunscreen clothing rash vests and board shorts so the brand and style is acceptable to them.
Time outings for early in the morning or later in the afternoon.
Take shade to the beach.

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Protecting kids from marketers’ clutches
Coming soon to your daughter’s sleep-over party: viral marketing.
It sounds ominous and it is. Viral marketing is when a manufacturer gives products away in the hope of creating a buzz that spreads via the peer group. It’s already infiltrated the adult world and now it’s targeting our children.
The best example may be “Slumber Party In A Box” offered by Girls Intelligence Agency a Los Angeles-based marketing firm. Here’s the breezypitch it makes to girls: “You and your 10 best buds hangin out all night with the hottest yet-to-be-seen-in-stores stuff for chicas like you! . . . Enter to win a chance to be a GIA Slumber Party Host.”
When potential clients visit girlgames.com the come-on sounds more like a pitched battle:
“40000 secret agent influencers and their closest friends . . . Your product only all night long . . . Behind enemy lines — GIA gets you into girls’ bedrooms . . . Obtain immediate candid data from the trenches.”
For 8- to 13-year-old girls who are in the vulnerable stage of development where fitting in is paramount this is a chance to be cool to be a trend-setter to get free stuff and to be “special”: As a “secret agent” you tell GIA what your friends think. For GIA’s clients they get a personalized focus group and they can watch their product spread by direct injection into the $75-billion female youth market. Trouble is many girls don’t see that they are being used that their friendships are being exploited. By 11 or 12 they may already be so deeply into the consumer culture that they have absorbed its values: Stuff can make me happy. The more I have the better it is.
Trouble is the opposite is true.
“The more involved children are in being consumers the more [likely they are to be] dissatisfied with life” including having low self-esteem depression anxiety a more distant relationship with their parents and psychosomatic symptoms says Boston College sociologist Juliet B. Schor. In her just-released book “Born to Buy” (Scribner) she details the psychological effects of consumerism on 300 Boston-area 10- to 13-year-olds the first study of its kind on this age group.
In a similar study on teens