Volume 28  Issue 51                                                                                   Winter 2023

Safety Source

                      Thank you for being part of the Safety Source family!

Winter Safety Edition

 Our February monthly newsletter highlights Burn safety, How to use a car seat manual, ATV safety, Preparing your teen for the road, and more. There are interactive tools for your children to learn about burn prevention and home safety!

 Let us know if we can be a resource to you in any way!

Brought to you by SafeKids.org

How to Prevent Burns in the Kitchen

1. Create a kid-free zone. Teach younger children to stay at least 3 feet away from your cooking space. If you need to watch babies while cooking, place them in a highchair outside of the kid-free zone where you can see them.
2. Keep hot objects out of children’s reach. Cook on the back burners of the stove and turn pot handles away from the edge. Keep hot foods and liquids away from the edge of your counters and tables.
3. Teach older children to cook safely. Make sure they know to never leave the kitchen while cooking and always use oven mitts or potholders to carry hot pots and pans.
4. Avoid using microwaves to heat baby milk or formula. Microwaves can heat unevenly and create hot spots, so heat bottles by placing them in warm water. Check the temperature using inside of your wrist.

How to Prevent Scalds During Bath Time

1. Set your water heater to a maximum temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Check bathwater temperature. Before placing your child in the bath, check the water temperature with the inside of your wrist just as you would with baby’s milk. The water should feel warm to the touch, not hot.
3. Place your child in the bath facing away from the water faucet. This way they won’t be tempted to touch the hot faucet or turn on the hot water.

How to Prevent Burns from Gas Fireplaces (Hot Glass)

1. Make sure your gas fireplace has a safety screen or safety gate. These barriers help keep children away from the hot glass on fireplaces. If you need a safety screen, contact the fireplace manufacturer or retailer for the best option for your home.
2. Keep fireplace remote controls out of children’s reach and sight. Make sure children also stay away from on and off switches for gas fireplaces.
3. Think about places outside of your home with fireplaces. When traveling to other homes, restaurants, hotels or resorts, there may not be a safety screen or safety gate installed. Keep children away from the fireplace and teach them not to touch the glass.
4. If there is an emergency, call the doctor or 9-1-1 immediately. Physicians can give you information on how to treat a burn correctly.

How to Prevent Burns in Other Areas of the Home

1. Store matches and lighters out of reach. Teach kids it is not safe to play with matches, lighters or fireworks.
2. Keep candles at least 12 inches away from anything that can burn. Blow them out when you leave the room or before you go to sleep
3. Unplug and safely store irons, flatirons and other appliances. These appliances can become very hot and take a long time to cool down, so don’t leave these appliances unattended when in use. Make sure to turn off and unplug appliances when you are not using them.

How to Prevent Chemical Burns from Button Batteries

1. Keep devices with button batteries out of children’s reach. When swallowed, a child’s saliva triggers an electrical current which can cause a severe chemical burn in their esophagus. Learn more about button battery safety.
2. If a child swallows a button battery, go to the emergency room right away. Do not let them eat or drink and do not induce vomiting.

The month of February often reminds us of Valentine’s Day and those we love. We cannot think of a better way to celebrate love than keeping the one’s you love safe!

For this month we are focusing on making the most of your manuals. When it’s time to install a child safety seat correctly, manuals are excellent sources of information. It is important to read and understand both your vehicle owner’s manual and child safety seat manual. Always keep both in an easily accessible place, such as your vehicle’s glove box or another storage bin or seat pocket.

Can’t find your manuals? You can get replacements, freely available online in digital form.

HOW TO USE CAR SEAT MANUALS

Your car seat manual contains information about the seat’s height and weight requirements. It also provides important safety precautions. These include never leaving a child unattended in the car seat, not using the seat if it has been damaged or is missing parts, and ensuring you maintain the labels that come affixed on the seat.

Common uses for your child safety seat manual

Height, weight and age limits. When can my child start using this seat? When will they outgrow it? Different seats have different limits and restrictions.

Correct installation in your vehicle. What installation methods does your seat’s manufacturer allow? What positioning options are available? Pictures and diagrams are often included to make installation easier.

Where a seat should be installed. The back seat is the safest location for installing a child safety seat, but each vehicle may vary regarding which seating position is best. For example, some vehicles’ rear center seat would not be a safe location if they lack anchor points.

Use of the LATCH system. Your safety seat manual will explain how to use the Lower Anchor and Tether for Children (LATCH) system, but you’ll also need your vehicle owner’s manual to determine the location of the lower anchors and tethering point. If your car was made on or after Sept. 1, 2002, it will include the LATCH system in at least two seating areas. Use either the LATCH system or a seat belt, but never use both together. Each vehicle manual will explain which installation methods are allowed.

Expiration. How long will this safety seat remain safe? Most seats expire in six to 10 years. Check your manual for your specific seat’s useable life. You should also be able to find this information on a label adhered to the seat itself.

Care instructions. Using correct cleaning methods will help avoid damage to the seat, which may void its warranty.

Aircraft use. Do you travel frequently? Consult your manual to learn if your safety seat is approved for aircraft use. A notice will appear on a seat label as well.

HOW TO USE VEHICLE OWNER’S MANUAL

Your vehicle owner’s manual is likely in the glove compartment. If you cannot locate it or it did not come with the car when you bought it, you can find a digital version online. Check your auto maker’s website or call your nearest dealer for help.

Whether your car is new or used, register it with the manufacturer so they can contact you in case of a safety recall. You’ll need the vehicle’s make, model name and year. This information is likely on the front cover. You’ll also need the vehicle identification number (VIN). This is often on a white label on the dashboard facing the windshield, or on a white label on the driver’s door well (check next to the driver’s seat).

The table of contents will guide you to information about how your car operates, its specific features, and passenger safety. When locating information about child safety seats, look for phrases such as “child restraint” or “child passenger safety.”

Use the manual to locate seat belts and air bags. This information will help you know the best location to install the safety seat. Never place a rear-facing seat in front of an active air bag. When available, the back seat is always the safest place for children.

The owner’s manual also provides guidance about how and where to install different types of child safety seats. It explains how to use the LATCH system, including the location of the tether anchors. This is a critical safety feature when the seat is facing forward.

When installing the child safety seat, always consult both manuals. Both include information about child passenger safety. Reference them together to ensure the child safety seat is installed as safely as possible.

Sources:

Safe Kids Worldwide: https://ucsg.safekids.org/

Healthychildren.org: https://www.healthychildren.or...

Superbowl Sunday is coming up, which means lots of family and friends will be gathering for their annual Superbowl parties! With this, it’s essential to recognize the potential risks of TV and furniture tip-overs in order to create a safe environment for our children. TV and furniture tip-overs can result in visits to the ER and even death, which is why action needs to be taken before the event to make sure your household is safe.

Below are some basic steps to prevent TV and furniture tip-overs to create a safer environment.

• Mount flat-panel TVs to the wall, which will be out of reach for children.
• Put older, box-style TVs on low, stable furniture that can hold the TV’s weight.
• Attach furniture to the wall when possible. Anti-tip brackets, braces, or wall straps can be used to secure furniture to the wall.
  • These can be purchased at stores such as Target or Amazon
• Consider using furniture and wall brackets that are metal. Plastic can become brittle and weaken over time, causing them to break and fail.
• For dresser drawers, install stops to keep them from being pulled all the way out.
• Identify heavy objects in the house and store them on lower shelves or lower drawers.
• Place remote controls, toys, and other items in higher places where kids can’t be tempted to climb up or reach them.
• If you have a TV on top of your child’s dresser, place the TV somewhere else in the house that the child doesn’t utilize or have as much access to.
• If you have old TVs you don’t use, find a location that safely recycles unwanted TVs.
• IF there is an incidence where a TV/furniture falls on your child, take them to the emergency room or pediatrician RIGHT AWAY. Call 911 if needed.
  • There could be internal bleeding or damage to their organs that isn’t visible.

Sources:

https://www.safekids.org/tv#:~:text=Top%20Tips%20for%20TV%20Safety&text=Place%20older%2C%20box%2Dstyle%20TVs,pulled%20all%20the%20way%20out.

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-home/Pages/Preventing-Furniture-and-TV-Tip-Overs.aspx

February is the month of romance! Love is in the air, and Valentine’s is just around the corner. Your teenaged children may be dating by this point; it’s completely normal and healthy part of their development. However, parents should be sure to talk to their kids about what is and is not acceptable in a relationship, before they begin dating. Teen dating violence affects millions of teens each year (CDC, 2020). Violence can be physical, sexual, psychological, or stalking. It can happen in-person, or electronically.

The Centers for Disease Control states that nearly 1 in 11 female high schoolers and 1 in 15 male high schoolers have experienced physical violence by someone that they’re dating within the last year. By setting healthy boundaries at an early age, parents are instilling healthy habits in their children, to allow them to make good choices in romantic partners. Here are some pointers to consider in having conversations with your kids:

• Teasing is normal, to an extent. don’t teach your child that name-calling is a sign of interest from another person; instead, remind your child that name-calling isn’t nice and that respect between one another is important.
• Talk about boundaries. This will help protect them against abuse in a relationship.
• Teach your child about the importance of communication, and practice having tough conversations.
• Be their safe space so that they will come to you to talk through difficult situations.
• Tell them what an unhealthy relationship looks like.
• Have a serious conversation about digital abuse. While children are wildly tech savvy, sometimes they don’t understand the consequences of their actions in sending texts, pictures, posting on social media, or sharing passwords.
• Talk with your child if you suspect that they’re involved in an unhealthy relationship or friendship. Even if you don’t suspect abuse or violence, teach them that respect is mutual and that there must be equity between them and their partner.

Establishing positive behaviors about relationship building and communication is such an important part of your child’s growth; by working to do so, you’re giving your kids the tools to be a successful and healthy adult!

In 2020 there was 2,276 people killed in car crashes involving teen drivers (15-18 years old)(1). It can be scary when a teen starts driving but parents can help. Parents are one of the biggest influences on teen drivers. The following are tips parents can follow to help prepare their teen before and after they start driving.

• Familiarize themselves with your state’s GDL laws- It is easier to enforce rules and restrictions on a teen driver when you understand the laws yourself. Every state is different when it comes to a teen’s license.
• Talk to their teen- Make sure the teen driver understands all the rules and responsibilities. Parents should let their teen know how important it is to do the following:
  • Never drive distracted
  • Wear their seat belt
  • Limit passengers
  • Don’t speed
  • Never drive while impaired or ride with someone else who is impaired
• Set Consequences- It is important for parents to let their teen know what they expect of them when driving. Set guidelines for to follow and act with consequences if they break the rules.
• Set the example- Be a great role model as a parent. Teens watch everything parents do. Parents should model the driving behaviors they are teaching to their teen.

It is never too soon for parents to start having these conversations with their teen. Parents who are involved in their teen’s driving habits and skills can make the roads safer for their loved ones and everyone else. For more teen driver safety tips, you can visit: https://tinyurl.com/5c439xpb.

Sources:

1. https://www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/teen-driving

ATV’s or All-Terrain Vehicles are a type of recreational OHV (off highway vehicle). These vehicles are very popular of all ages who love being outdoors but can be extremely dangerous, especially for younger riders. Children under 12 account for about half of all ATV deaths in the children’s age group. (1) The American Association of Pediatrics warns that children under the age of 16 should not use them, due to an increased health and safety risk from the size and open-air nature of the vehicle. (2)

If riding and ATV here are some safety tips you can follow to stay safe:

• Always wear protective gear such as helmets, long sleeves, goggles, and gloves. Helmets should be DOT-compliant.

• Attend an ATV safety class before you ride an ATV. ATV safety classes are provided by https://atvsafety.org/ and can be done online.

• Never carry a passenger on a single-rider ATV, and no more than one passenger on an ATV specifically designed for two people.

• Avoid using ATVs in low visibility areas or at night.

• Do not drive an ATV while impaired or drowsy.

• Avoid using ATVs on paved roads except to cross.

Sources:

1. OHV Report 2021 (cpsc.gov)
2. ATVs kill more children than bicycles: AAP urges families to yield to safety | AAP News | American Academy of Pediatrics

Understanding the importance of keeping children safe and knowing what safe environments look like are the first steps to creating a safe space for children to learn. It is up to you to make sure your environment is safe. There are several things you can do to keep children safe before they arrive and while they are present indoors and at home. Injury or death can occur because of innocent play. Here are some basic rules to make indoor play safer.

• Install smoke detectors, safety switches and power point covers. Ensure that water coming out of your bathroom taps is no hotter than 50ºC.

• Securely store household poisons in a cupboard that’s at least 1.5 m high and has child-resistant locks.

• Never leave children alone in the bath or near water. Always stay within arm’s reach and sight of them.

• Install safety glass in windows and doors or put shatter-resistant film on windows and doors. Put stickers on glass at eye level.

• Lock windows. Move chairs and other things away from windows. Attach TVs and other heavy furniture to walls or the floor so they can’t fall on your child.

• Put safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs and at the entrances to balconies.

• Store sharp items out of children’s reach. Watch out for small objects that could be choking hazards or that your child could stick into their nose, ears or eyes.

• Prevent strangulation. Keep chains and cords on blinds and curtains shorter than 5 cm or wrap them around cleats at least 1.6 m above the floor.

• Display emergency numbers and safety contacts on your fridge or store in your phone. Get more tips for child safety at home.

Sources:

https://www.virtuallabschool.org/preschool/safe-environments/lesson-1

https://raisingchildren.net.au/newborns/safety/home-pets/indoor-safety

Our team will be participating in these upcoming events and meetings:

• Virtual Child Passenger Safety Class

         Wednesday, February 15th at 7pm

         Register here: Virtual Monthly Child Passenger Safety Class

         Anyone is welcome to register. This class is open to the public.

• Rutherford County Baby Shower

          Saturday, February 4th from 10am-1pm

         Join us at our booth and visit with other great organizations!