Kid’s Safety: New Crib Safety Standards

Triplet baby boys standing in crib

The last few years the Consumer Product Safety Commission committed themselves to improving the safety of our children’s products. On December 17, 2010 the CPSI voted unanimously to approve new mandatory safety standards for full-size and non-full-size baby cribs take effect June 28, 2011. These standards which are essentially the same as the voluntary standards developed by ASTM International are designed to stop the manufacture and sale of traditional drop-side cribs, make mattress supports stronger, make crib hardware more durable and make safety testing more rigorous. Under the CPSIA cribs are defined to include new and used cribs, full-size and non-full-size cribs, portable cribs, crib pens, and playards.

The crib standards are different from standards for the other durable infant or toddler products because they apply not only to manufacturers, retailers, and distributors but also owners and operators of child care facilities, family childcare homes, and places of public accommodation such as hotels and motels. Cribs manufactured, sold or leased in the U.S. on and after June 28 will have to comply with the new standards. In addition, day care centers will be required to replace over the next two years any cribs that do not comply with the new regulations. Nancy A. Cowles, executive director of Kids In Danger, a nonprofit organization that monitors the safety of children’s products, said the new crib standards were “a huge leap forward” after years of relative inaction by the safety commission.

Starting in March, parents will be able to do in-depth research on products. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is creating a new database in which parents can search for complaints about the safety of specific products. Scott Wolfson, a commission spokesman, said consumers would be able to search for safety complaints

Baby Standing in a Crib

about a stroller, a crib or a high chair. As it stands, consumers don’t learn about safety problems until a product is recalled.

Most of our children product manufacturers redesigned their cribs to cooperate

Deluxe Toddler Day Bed

with CPSC voluntarily. Many of the new cribs are multifunctional in several ways.  Dream On Me has a portable, convertible crib that easily converts to a toddler day bed and twin size bed growing with your child.  It is the ideal solution for those small areas that are unable to accommodate a full size crib. It features a stationary side rail on the crib with three-position mattress support. This 3-in-1 solid wood portable crib is a modern, yet classic style crib designed to transform with your child as they grow.  This Dream On Me high density firm 3 inch foam portable crib mattress will provide your baby with a comfortable and restful sleep.

Solid Wood 3-in-1 Portable Crib

Rest easy knowing this mattress is 100% Bedbug Free and constructed with quality materials and workmanship in the USA.

As long as our manufacturers are safety conscious and our parents are safety conscious, then we can keep our children SAFE.

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Kid’s Safety: Using Child Leashes

Child Pulling on Leash

As I was watching TV the other day, a special came on similar to the old TV show Candid Camera, where an adult was leading a child on a leash. Now in this scenario the adult was treating the child almost like a dog, and the cameras were recording the actions of those observing the situation. This TV special appeared after a lady was videoed dragging her child through the store by the leash because the child refused to stand up. In both situations, I do not believe the leash was the problem, but the method the parent was using the leash. These products are known as child leashes, child safety harnesses, wrist links, child tethers, kid keepers, harness buddies and more. Some parents swear by these products and others detest them.

Leashes have been around for many years. Twenty years ago I used one on my 18 month old and her 16 month old cousin when we went to Disney World. They only lasted so long in the stroller before they wanted out to walk. My daughter was so independent, wanted to explore everything, and do it herself. The leash that I attached to her arm provided the opportunity for exercise and exploration, and kept us both happy. At this time the child leash was not socially unpopular. In fact, many people that had not seen one before even asked where I had found the one I was using with my daughter.

Child Walking on Leash

Nicki Heskin, BllaOnline’s Early Childhood Editor,has determined certain circumstances that would be appropriate for use with the child leash.

Use Only as a “Just-in-Case” Some children are prone to dash off at the slightest distraction and rebel against holding your hand. In certain instances, these products provide a safety net when out in public with your child, but they do not replace supervising your child’s behavior. The leash is not intended to lead or guide as we do with an animal. Using a leash does not preclude holding hands with a child, picking them up, or using respectful guiding words with them just as we would if not using the leash. Under no circumstances is it appropriate to pull on the leash—not subtly to guide a child in a direction and certainly not forcefully. Nor is it a good idea to have a child tugging on the leash. Children should be using their words if there is something they want to do or see or touch.

Mother Walking with Twins

Freedom to Explore and Develop Using leashes is less restraining than keeping kids cooped up in a stroller all the time. They provide freedom to roam around, but allow parents to control boundaries and limit danger. They significantly, reduce the risk of children wandering away from parents, into the path of danger. Pediatricians have stated that many common injuries are to shoulders and arms from parents pulling up when a child falls while holding their hand. The harness allows you to gently guide your child while supporting them in their strongest place, the chest. Many supporters identify the hands-free aspect of leashes as the biggest benefit.  Also, holding children’s hands for an extended period of time can be uncomfortable for small children—-imagine how you’d feel keeping your hand raised above your head. As a child walks, he is developing gross motor skills. His right arm should swing forward as the left leg steps forward and the left arm swings forward with the right leg. To do this, the arms need to be free as he walks.

Some children are more manageable than others. So each child or family has a threshold of when safety is truly a factor that may be different from others. But just because a child is willing to wear the leash doesn’t mean they should.  When there is no realistic safety issue, that’s a great time to slow down and learn appropriate boundaries for exploration with your supervision, ad to practice more manageable behaviors that may preclude the need for the leash in the future.

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Kid’s Safety: Car Safety Seats

Study shows Colo. car seat use declines in 2010

Safety officials say the drop in car seat use and the low overall seat belt use among children highlights the need for continued education to parents and caregivers about the best ways to keep children safe while traveling in a motor vehicle. Several times a week I pick up a newspaper or hear on the news about a toddler dying from adult abuse of some type. These adults range in age from mothers to boyfriends to fathers to babysitters to playmates. And the abuse ranges over a wide spectrum from drunk driver, to a 16 year old baby sitter talking on the phone while the three year wanders into the backyard and drowns in the swimming pool, to a stressed out parent being late for work, forgetting to drop the infant off at the sitter’s home, but leaves her in the smeltering heat of the car all day. Children are our precious gifts, given into our care for a short time, to guide as they develop into adults. This includes keeping them safe and secure in their environment; after all, we are the adult.

Child Passenger Safety Week was September 19-25. Car crashes are the leading cause of death of children 3 to 14 years old. Adults are responsible for driving the cars. Adults are responsible for placing children in car safety seats. What I don’t understand is the WHY parents don’t take the time to correctly place their child in car seats, after all it is the law in all fifty states.  Overall, an average of four children under the age of four are killed in motor vehicle crashes every day in the U.S., but many injuries and fatalities are easily preventable. We, as adults, need to see that our precious cargo is safe when making trips in the automobile.

We can begin by teaching them safety in and around cars. Remind your child that they should not play in and around park cars. The number of heat related deaths in automobiles  in 2010 in children is rising. We need to teach them not to play with the windows or door locks, or climb in a parked car to play. When someone starts an engine, they should move away from the car immediately. Rollover deaths are a tragic way to die. Another way to keep your child safe is to provide the proper car seats and use them correctly. Safety seats can reduce vehicle-related injuries by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers. Because of new research,  AAA now urges parents to keep  children in rear-facing child safety seats until they exceed the weight or height limits of the car seat. Toddlers who ride in a rear-facing car seat up to their second birthday are 75 percent less likely to die or be seriously injured in a crash. In countries where children ride in rear-facing seats until ages 3 or 4, crash data show a further reduction in injuries and death. Parents are also encouraged to talk to their kids as they get older about safety in the car. So kids don’t try to get out of their cars seats or unbuckle their seat belts.

Infants should be placed in a car seat in the back of the car and have the car seat facing the rear. Current standards require children to ride in rear-facing seats until they are at least 1 year old or 20 pounds. Within the next six months, the American Academy of Pediatrics is expected to adopt a policy to keep children in rear-facing child safety seats longer. Car seat manufacturers have begun developing safety seats that will enable children up to 40 pounds to ride in rear-facing seats. As kids grow, the child seat will be replaced will a forward-facing booster seat until the child is 4’9″. AAA says most manufacturing companies include information on the required measurements and weight limits for parents. You need to take the time to read this information for the correct installation and length of time the child should use the safety seat.

Don’t forget your unborn child. During pregnancy, wearing a seat belt low across the abdomen protects you and your unborn child. It is better to be safe, than to die.

Child Passenger Safety Week should continue all year long for the safety of our children. For those parents that always check to see that the children are safely secured in the car, I give a high five!

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