Author: Marianne Halterman

Accidents happen, we know this. But beyond noting that unintentional injury is still a major contributing factor in early childhood death in this Country, we need to do everything we possibly can to make parents, family members and caregivers aware of child safety measures and information available about dangerous products and toys on the market.

It’s nearly Christmas. Holiday shopping is upon us along with gatherings of family and friends–it is not the most serene of seasons we wish for, but often the most chaotic and confusing. On highways and in stores, people are rushing trying to find the one last stocking-stuffer or that one final gift and just the right tree. It’s very easy to be distracted in traffic and by all that we think needs to be done before we are permitted to relax into a peaceful holiday season.

In Saddle Brook, New Jersey, a family member holding a child accidentally allowed a 3-month old child to fall to the floor, the child hit its head and is in critical condition in a New Jersey hospital. Prayers are requested. Accidents occur. On December 8, a New Jersey woman accidentally backed over her toddler nephew, in Ocean County; sadly, this child has died from injuries he received. As reviewed and amended October 6, 2016, the most recent data available on Child Mortality (2014)¹ according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), indicate 3,830 children between the ages of 1 and 4 in the United States had died that year. Accidents were one of three of the leading causes of death. In the same year, children ages 5 to 14, over 5,000 children in the U.S. had died, and again, accidents were one of the leading causes of death.

We know that not all childhood injuries can be prevented, but there is much free, good information available to parents, family members and caregivers to help prevent accidents. The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website, www.cpsc.gov posts recall announcements of defective or dangerous products that have been marketed and may have been sold to parents and family members of young children. Other agencies, such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), www.nhtsa.gov, have websites which advise of unsafe products used for and by children, such as defective seat belts, booster seats and strollers.

Parents, family members and caregivers need to pay attention, this time of year more than ever, because there is so much going on, so many products on the market, people are purchasing and giving gifts that they may not have thought to safety check. Items that come to mind which have been problematic in the past, this time of year, are painted candles, holiday decorations, combustible children’s pajamas, space heaters, children’s bicycles with sharp toys on the handlebars, “Bucky balls”, button batteries and more. BeChildSafe.org’s mission is to share child safety information and make it available to parents, family members and caregivers of young children in the hopes that all of our holidays this year may be safer than ever!
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¹Summary Health Statistics Tables for U.S. Children, National Health Interview Survey (2014), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/child-health.htm

As an adult you may not have problems sleeping safely, but babies need our help when it comes to safe sleep and sweet dreams!  Many of our nation’s hospitals will attest to the need to create safe sleep spaces for babies. Unintentional injury is still a leading cause of infant death.  So there are things parents and caregivers can do to assure babies sleep safely. A recent public service advertisement by Dayton Public Health, Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, caught our eye. We thank them for posting their PDF, and we synopsize it below:

• Baby should sleep on his or her back, alone, in a crib. Baby’s caregiver should be nearby, but not in the same bed.
• Baby’s room should be between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit, not too warm, not too cold.
• Baby will sleep best in a one-piece sleeper or sleep “sack”. No blanket required.
• Baby’s room should be smoke free (absolutely!).
• It is not safe for baby to sleep in an adult bed, on a couch or futon, in a chair or beanbag chair, or on a waterbed.
• A safe crib should have a firm mattress and fit the crib with no gaps.
• There should be no missing slats in the crib and the slats should not be more than 2 ⅜” apart.
• There should be no corner posts or cut-outs in the headboard or footboard of the crib.
• There should be no pillows, bumper pads, stuffed toys, quilts, blankets, or lamb skins in the crib with the baby.

You may think that these tips go “without saying”, but statistics unfortunately show these recommendations need to be out front so young parents and caregivers–and their infants– can benefit from them.

We, at BeChildSafe.org, hope your Thanksgiving was a happy, blessed and bountiful one! Be sure to check in to our website through the run-up to the holidays as we will post any important recalls.

Halloween is over and the holiday magazines touting children’s toys are arriving in mailboxes and online. There is an incredible variety of children’s toys on the market, and parents of young children have the daunting task of evaluating toys in the best interest of their children’s safe play.  Sometimes it’s difficult when the hype over a toy gets kids happily excited and encourages them to want a particular toy–remember “Bucky Balls”–and you as a parent learn that the toy is not safe–and you are momentarily heartsick about disappointing your child for safety’s sake and saying, nope, not this time.  Well, there is help! Nemours has a very good website called “Kids Health” and they have it down to a science (which is their specialty) about what toys kids should have and how parents can evaluate certain toys.  Here is the link and I urge parents to check it out, this particular link is about evaluating toys for toddlers: http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/safetoys-young.html?WT.ac=p-ra# ¹

One point KidsHealth makes that is extremely important is the size of the toy, that it cannot be swallowed and block a child’s airway.  Toys for infants and toddlers need to be “at least 1¼ inches (3 centimeters) in diameter and 2¼ inches (6 centimeters) in length — so that they can’t be swallowed or lodged in the windpipe. A small-parts tester, or choke tube, can determine if a toy is too small.”  If you don’t have access to one of those, you might use the toilet tissue roll (insert) and measure by that size.  Can it be swallowed?  Toys with small or detachable parts, or that have sharp edges are also ill-advised.

Painted toys can be a problem, parents need to make sure that whatever paint was used on a toy, it is lead-free.  Parents should check age-appropriateness for children and whether a toy may be too loud to be used by a young child. We don’t want a toy’s noise to contribute to hearing loss.

A few years ago, there were troubles with stuffed animals manufactured overseas, which were contaminated with cadmium. Cadmium, lead, and other toxic chemicals have been found in imported children’s toys which makes the toys toxic to children.  In 2010, the CPSC noted that children’s jewelry items (manufactured overseas) frequently contained cadmium, an alloy used to strengthen metal.

Fabric toys should have labels noting whether they are flame resistant or flame retardant.  Stuffed toys need to be washable. Older and hand-me-down toys, while they come with sentiment, can also be a problem because they may have breakable parts, lead paint, or other contaminants, and because they were made before stricter rules about children’s toys were in place.

So choosing a toddler’s toy is more difficult than perhaps we give parents, family members and caregivers credit for doing!  Be safe, and if you have questions, ask AND check out KidsHealth’s safe toys website.

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¹  KidsHealth, Nemours, http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/safetoys-young.html?WT.ac=p-ra#

Over the weekend, a man holding his two children, ages 1 and 3, jumped off a highway overpass in New Jersey and into the Wanaque River. He died–but thankfully, the children survived this terrifying experience.  Who knows what the rest of their lives will be like?
I cannot guess whether the domestic dispute this dad had just experienced, perhaps caused by a fear of his children being taken away in a custody battle, could have prompted the man’s behavior, but I know one thing:  An atmosphere of heated domestic disputes is not healthy for children.  It is, in an old fashioned word, selfish, for parents to use their children against each other.  Whatever the parents’ troubles are, be they legal problems, relationship, health or financial issues–the problems can be worked out and overcome, with help and patience.

When my parents, who were both educated people, had a problem with one another, they took it behind closed doors–out of earshot of the rest of the family.  Not only out of respect for each other and their family, but to protect their young children from hearing things they might not understand in the heat of an argument or discussion–and I don’t care how good your marriage is, “air clearings” or misunderstandings happen and are often necessary and are ultimately good agents for change that help marriages grow–provided the fighting is fair, done with care and respect for the person-hood of those involved.

But how often these days are we seeing parents who take a selfless approach when it comes to their children?  How many parents stay in stale marriages for the sake of their kids? How many parents try to work it out for the sake of their kids?  Important words like duty, responsibility and accountability all come to mind.

In addition, when substances enter into the equation, there are added problems and disputes.  Parents who are deeply involved in drugs and alcohol cannot be good partners to each other or good parents to their children–however kind they are when they are sober.  Children should not have to be afraid of their parents’ behavior, ever. And bizarre behavior coupled with drug or alcohol abuse is not uncommon.

Last winter, a man in Florida flung his young child over a bridge, to her death, because he was mentally unstable and could not cope with his life situation. In this instance, his little daughter became a hostage. If he had taken himself out of that situation, gotten some help in some manner, the outcome would have been better, for himself, for his wife and their child.  Aberrant behavior, whether it is caused by stress, mental illness or is drug-or-alcohol abuse-related, children in a family suffer for it. And when an erring parent sobers up or “comes to” and realizes what they have done in the heat of argument or the depths of despair– they must live with the result and society’s punishment which will undoubtedly follow. Still, it is the children who live in emotional chaos who suffer the most.

If you as a parent, caregiver or family member are aware that there is a situation in your family, in your neighborhood; if you suspect drug or alcohol abuse is taking its toll on a child or children involved, it’s no shame to get that family some help through some type of intervention. You may save their lives, their children’s lives, you might even save a marriage.  If you see something, say something, talk to a pastor or trusted family friend, contact the authorities. Children’s safety and perhaps even their very lives hang in the balance.  Do you want to be the person who says, “I saw, but I did nothing.”?