Volume 17 Issue 39 .                                                                                    Winter 2021

Thank you for being part of the Safety Source family!

Winter Safety Edition

Our January monthly newsletter highlights the importance of winter sport safety, carbon monoxide safety, car seat installation, and more. 

You will also find interactive tools for your children to learn about carbon monoxide safety as well as information for parents. We hope this will be a fun way to learn about important safety topics together as a family. There is also a special egg carton snowman craft for your family! Let us know if we can be a resource to you in any way!

Winter is a time for fun cold weather activities, but any outdoor activities in cold, winter weather can become dangerous if proper safety measures aren't taken. Keep these things in mind if you plan to play in the cold with your children this year:

Dress for the weather-

• Use thin layers to keep warm. Always wear warm boots, gloves or mittens, and a hat. Make sure the outer layer is water resistant!
• A rule of thumb for dressing infants and small children is to dress them in one additional layer than an adult would be warm in. If you have 2 layers to stay warm, your child should be dressed in 3 layers. 
• Be cautious with clothing with strings like hoodies and with using scarves for smaller children. These are suffocation risks, especially when playing outside.
• For winter sleep, remember there should be no blankets or loose items in your baby's sleep environment. Use fitted sleepers and wearable blankets like sleep sacks to stay warm.
• Remember, warm coats and jackets need to be worn when playing outside, but children should not have thick or puffy winter coats and jackets on when they are harnessed in their car seats. It will not allow the harness to fit properly and will put the child at risk for ejection from the seat in a crash. 

When playing outside-

• Be sure your child is dressed warm enough, and change any clothing that becomes wet. Hypothermia, the drop of body temperature to a dangerously low degree, happens more easily in children and generally occurs when children aren't dressed properly or when they are wearing wet clothing in cold temperatures.
• Take frequent breaks to come inside and warm up. If outside too long, children may complain of body parts being numb or they may appear pale, gray, or blistered. This is common in frostbite, and is very dangerous. 
• Wear sunscreen. The sun doesn't go away when summer ends. In fact, it can reflect off the snow and cause bad sunburns to occur.
• Stay hydrated. Dry, winter air will cause children to lose more water through their breath. Offer plenty of water. Use warm soups and drinks to also help keep them warm and hydrated.

If you are using fires to stay warm, whether a fire outside while children play or an indoor fireplace at home, exercise extreme caution. Accidents happen quickly, and fire spreads fast. As always, double check your fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors in your home to be sure they are working. Kerosene heaters, wood stoves, and fireplaces increase the likelihood of both fires and carbon monoxide poisonings.

If temperatures drop below -25°C, or the wind chill becomes -28°C or greater, children should play indoors until conditions improve. Winter can be so much fun for families with children, but to stay healthy and injury-free, parents have to play it safe when playing outside!

Sources:

Healthy Children

Save The Children

NCBI

Winter sports are one of the most exciting parts of the winter season for a lot of families. Ice skating, sledding, skiing, and snowmobiles are wonderful ways to make memories with your children, but they can be an easy way to get hurt if your children aren't being safe while playing. Make sure to share these winter sport tips with your children to help keep them safe.

For Ice Hockey and Ice Skating:

• Only skate on approved surfaces. Look for a sign that it's been checked or go to a location set up specifically for it. Never venture onto unknown ponds, rivers or lakes. 
• Go with the direction of the other ice skaters and don't dart across the rink if your ice skating. 
• Wear hockey or ski helmets to avoid dangerous head injuries. 
• Never skate unsupervised.

For Skiing and Snowboarding:

• Take lessons from professionals and never go out alone.
• Check your equipment and gear annually and always wear a well fitted helmet. 
• Keep your children on slopes that fit their ability level and avoid any slopes with obstacles like trees. Also, only use marked slopes. Never use unknown or unmarked slopes.

Sledding:

• Stay away from roadways, busy areas, and any crowded areas, included tree-covered areas.
• Always supervise children. Do not allow children to go sledding alone.
• Consider having children wear a helmet to avoid head injuries in the event of an accident.
• Always sled with feet first in a steerable sled that is in good working order.

For Snowmobiles:

• Children 5 and younger shouldn't be on a snowmobile even with an adult.
• No one under the age of 16 or anyone who has not completed a formal snowmobile safety course should ever operate a snowmobile.
• Every driver and passenger of a snowmobile, should wear a helmet and goggles for safety. No exceptions. 
• Stay on marked paths and trails only.

In addition to these safety tips for winter sports, remember that if your child plans play in the snow, snowballs, especially tightly packed snowballs can become a danger to children's eyes. If they are building things out of snow, remember no tunnels. They can collapse and suffocated the child, so encourage them to build forts instead with large, visible openings. Use these precautions, and keep your family safe during their winter sports events. For more winter sport safety, visit our website here. 

Source:

Healthy Children

NCBI

Safe Kids

You're ready to install your child's car seat, and now you have to decide how you will install it into your vehicle. Should you use the LATCH system or the seat belt? Actually, either method is safe when done correctly, but you do need to know a few important things for either method.

1. You cannot use the LATCH system and the seat belt at the same time. They are not designed to be used together, nor are they crash-tested together. It is not safe.
2. When installing the car seat using the seat belt, the seat belt MUST be in the locking mode. This means you will pull it out and it will sound like its cranking back as threads back in. 
3. If your seat belt does not go into the locking mode when you pull it all the way out, and your vehicle does not have LATCH as an option for install, you will need a locking clip which should come with your child's car seat, unless the car seat has a built-in seat belt lock-off.
4. LATCH anchors in the vehicle have a maximum capacity of 65lbs in most vehicles. This is the combined weight of the child and the car seat, so it is likely that your child will outgrow this weight limit while in the forward-facing position. For this reason, if you are planning to use the LATCH system for a forward-facing install, you will either need to track the total weight of your child and the seat, or choose to use the seat belt for install in the forward-facing position instead.
5. No matter which method you use for install in the forward-facing position, you must ALWAYS use the top tether. In the forward-facing position, the LATCH system or the seat belt secures the bottom portion of the car seat to the vehicle seat. The top tether is what secures the upper portion of the car seat to the vehicle seat. It must be used every time.

With these tips in mind, you should be able to determine which installation option would suite your car seat and vehicle best. Always refer to your car seat's manual and vehicle's manual to determine the best location to place the car seat in your vehicle based on your family's needs. Always refer back to these manuals and consult a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician at a fitting station near you if you have any more questions or cannot seem to install the car seat correctly or securely. 

Remember, that the safest seat for your child is the seat that you can install and correctly use every ride, every time. For more tips car seat safety tips visit our website here.

Source:

Healthy Children

Consumer Reports

Carbon monoxide is called the silent killer. It's an odorless gas that has the potential to cause serious illness or death from exposure. That is why you need a carbon monoxide alarm on every level of your home, and you have to get out immediately if you hear the alarm go off. 

Here are some warnings to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning:

• Don't use a gas oven, dryer or range to heat your home.
• Never burn charcoal in a tent, garage, or home.
• Don't run a generator in a home, garage, basement or crawlspace.
• Don't leave a vehicle running in a garage, even if the door is open. 
• Have your chimney, fireplace, or any appliance burning gas, coal, or oil inspected by a professional every year.
• Call a professional to assess any noticeable cracks, rusting, or sooting on any chimney, fireplace, or fuel-burning appliances immediately.
• Test your CO alarms monthly and familiarize yourself with the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning:

• Headache
• Fatigue
• Shortness of Breath
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Death

Don't put your family at risk. Make sure you have working carbon monoxide alarms, and be mindful to recognize the risks and symptoms. Take action to correct any risks to exposure in your home immediately. For more safety tips visit our website here.  

Source:

NFPA
CPSC

Safe Kids