Bump and Beyond

Summer is in full effect and swimming is one of the most beloved ways to cool down from the summer heat! From large community pools to private backyard oasis-styled pools to the blow up kiddie pool that you can set-up anywhere, we all need to take extra precautions.

On average, 300 children under 5 in the United States drown each year. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2011 there have been 48 drownings since Memorial Day!

Here are some tips to help keep your family safe by the pool so you can continue enjoying your experience.

• Remove toys that attract children to pools once swimming time is over.
• Remove ladders that make swimming pools easily accessible to children. Children can use the ladders to climb into the pool, even above ground ones like in a recent drowning in Nederland, TX.
• Install pool fencing with a secure latch so toddlers cannot access the pool like in the Arelis Velarde drowning.
• Install a door alarm system so that you know when someone opens the door.
• Keep up-to-date on infant and child CPR and make sure your caregivers do the same
• Enroll your child in swimming lessons and yourself too if you don’t know how to swim
• Keep rescue equipment near the pool
• Talk to your children about pool safety just as we teach them to look both ways before crossing the street
• Have a buddy system and swim with another adult.
• Whether you are swimming in a public pool or private residential one, the American Association of Pediatrics recommends a hands on approach meaning an adult is within arms reach of a child at all times, especially for younger children.

The rules do not change even if you have a kiddie pool. We get so used to doing housework or preparing dinner while our children are playing with toys. We keep an eye on them, but are not giving them 100% of our attention. When using a kiddie pool, do not multitask. Young children can easily drown in a kiddie pool so they need your full attention and should be within arms reach of an adult. 

If you have your own pool, visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission publication on Safety Guidelines for Home Pools.

When many families install a residential pool, often times a hot tub goes right along with it. You want to ensure that the pool drain covers are operating properly. Children can become stuck to a hot tub drain if the cover is faulty. Learn more from the Virginia Graeme Baker story here.

Even if your child is able to swim, remember they can still drown. Treat swimming pools just like a bath tub. Do not get distracted by phone calls, texting, the doorbells, etc. Children need your undivided attention and supervision.

For additional resources on pool safety, please visit:

http://www.aap.org/family/tipppool.htm
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/chdrown.html
http://www.poolsafely.gov
http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Water-Safety/waterinjuries-factsheet.html

We all know that carseat safety is an important and hot topic for all parents. Recently, an article in Cafemom addressed the topic of rear facing vs forward facing. The American Association of Pediatrics is considering recommending parents in the US rear face until children are at least 2 years of age. Unlike the Swedish, who rear face until their children are 4 years of age, many Americans are quick to forward face at 1 year of age even though most convertible seats allow for rear facing well passed the first year mark. Often times, parents are concerned about their child’s legs being cramped. However, there has never been a reported case of a rear facing child breaking legs during an accident. In any case, a broken leg is better than a broken neck.

Here is a video showing a crash test between rear facing and forward facing.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today warned consumers to stop using infant sleep positioners.

CPSC and the FDA are warning parents and child care providers to:

STOP using sleep positioners. Using a positioner to hold an infant on his or her back or side for sleep is dangerous and unnecessary.
NEVER put pillows, infant sleep positioners, comforters, or quilts under a baby or in a crib.
ALWAYS place an infant on his or her back at night and during nap time. To reduce the risk of SIDS, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends placing infants to sleep on their backs and not their sides.

Also, the American Academy of Pediatrics does not support the use of any sleep positioner to prevent SIDS. Click here for more information.

Many parents ask “When can I forward face?” Often times they get an answer that goes something like “You can forward face when the baby is 1 year of age and 20 lbs.” That is a guideline, but it is not recommended. The American Academy of Pediatrics says “When children reach the highest weight or length allowed by the manufacturer of their infant-only seat, they should continue to ride rear-facing in a convertible seat.”

In many European countries, car seats are made to rear face up to 55 lbs! In Sweden, extended rear facing (ERF) is promoted and it is common for children to rear face up to 5 years of age. Many parents want to forward face because the child’s legs seem uncomfortable rear facing. Studies have shown that this is untrue. What they do know is that in a frontal crash, forward facing puts an extreme amount of force on a child’s spinal cord. Please keep your children rear facing as long as possible. Take a look at Joel’s story and let his tragedy be a wake up call for all of us.

My heart aches each time I hear of a story like this. NBC’s Jeff Rossen investigates whether manufacturer-installed warning systems and forward-facing car seats could help prevent these tragedies. Even if technology is put into place, it is still good to have a back-up plan.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Today, our society moves at such a fast pace. People are extremely busy, trying to multitask and under more stress than ever. These are contributing factors when is comes to putting children in danger. Too many children die each year from being left in cars. In many cases, the parents or caregivers were not abusive or negligent. Often times, they were out of their normal routine and simply forgot. 

Whether it’s summer time or not, it is always a dangerous situation when babies and children are left in cars. Premier Baby Planning wants to remind everyone double check your backseat to make sure you are not forgetting your child.

The temperature inside a locked car rises very quickly even if the window is cracked. On average, the temperature in a locked car rises 19 deg F after 10 minutes and 43 deg F after 60 minutes. This means if it is 80 deg F, just after 10 minutes it will be 99 deg F and 123 deg F after 60 minutes! When a person’s body temperature reaches 104 it is considered a heatstroke. A temperature of 107 is considered lethal. Furthermore, children’s body temperatures do not regulate as efficiently as adults. 

Here are some tips to try:

1. Make it routine to check all seating before you leave your car
2. Place something that you always need in the backseat such as a purse or cell phone
3. If your child is in childcare, develop a routine so that you and/or your spouse call the center to ensure that your child arrived safely. Have them phone you and/or your spouse if you child does not show up on time.
4. Use the Baby Bee Safe tool developed as a reminder to check for children in the car before you lock up and walk away. This tool is easy to use, inexpensive, transferable between caregivers.

These are just a few examples. Whatever you choose, get into the habit of doing it all the time! Hopefully, we will eliminate children dying from being forgotten in cars.

In order to protect babies, car seats should remain in the car.  A new study shows that about 9,000 infants go to the emergency room each year because of car seat accidents that happen outside the car.  These injuries happen, mostly, with infants under the age of one, and half of these happen at home, and the most common are neck or head injuries.  Researchers have found that part of the problem is the assumption that babies won’t move around if they leave them unstrapped even though infants have developed good motor skills and will fall out.  So, if possible, car seats should stay in the car and not be moved from the car; the use of child safety seats are intended for “use in motor vehicles to prevent injury in the event of a crash.” See full article here.