Tag Archives: safety

Don’t forget the sunscreen!

 

Americans take suncare for children VERY seriously.  Take time to learn these sun safety tips and prevent sunburn.

APPLY SUNSCREEN DAILY. Kids will fuss when you try to apply sunscreen.  Remember, you are the adult in charge and responsbile for their well being.   Apply sunscreen daily.

REMEMBER EASY-TO-MISS SPOTS. The most vulnerable parts of the body are often the ones that get overlooked when applying sunscreen. To make sure your kids are covered, teach them “BEENS.” This useful acronym stands for Back of knees, Ears, Eye area, Neck, and Scalp (if visible).   Bottom line: For a handy reminder, write “BEENS” on your sunscreen bottles.

BE GENEROUS.   We may all use sunscreen, but most of us aren’t putting on enough.  If you apply a third of the recommended dose of SPF 30 product, the protection is more like SPF 10.  Bottom line:Adults should apply an ounce (about a handful; see above), and kids half that much, of a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 every two hours, and more frequently if they’re swimming or sweating.

COVER UP. To avoid burns when the sun is strongest (between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.), take frequent shade breaks, wear a UV-protective shirt while swimming, and use a sunscreen with zinc oxide.  Bottom line: You probably can’t keep kids out of the mid-day sun completely, so it’s important to be all the more vigilant about protection during those hours.

SET A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR YOUR KIDS. If your child sees you following sun-safety rules, he’ll take them for granted and follow suit. Skin protection is important for every member of the family, so team up with your children to stay protected when venturing out in the sun.  Trust me, you will be thankful when you are 40 years old you applied sunscreen.

Photo from channel3000.com

Winter driving safety tips

Driving safely on icy roads

  1. Decrease your speed and leave yourself plenty of room to stop. You should allow at least three times more space than usual between you and the car in front of you.
  2. Brake gently to avoid skidding. If your wheels start to lock up, ease off the brake.
  3. Turn on your lights to increase your visibility to other motorists.
  4. Keep your lights and windshield clean.
  5. Use low gears to keep traction, especially on hills.
  6. Don’t use cruise control or overdrive on icy roads.
  7. Be especially careful on bridges, overpasses and infrequently traveled roads, which will freeze first. Even at temperatures above freezing, if the conditions are wet, you might encounter ice in shady areas or on exposed roadways like bridges.
  8. Don’t pass snow plows and sanding trucks. The drivers have limited visibility, and you’re likely to find the road in front of them worse than the road behind.
  9. Don’t assume your vehicle can handle all conditions. Even four-wheel and front-wheel drive vehicles can encounter trouble on winter roads.

Pool Safety

Parents and families can build on their current safety systems at pools and spas by adopting additional water safety steps. Adding as many proven water safety steps as possible is the best way to assure a safe and fun experience, because you can never know which one might save a child’s life—until it does.
  • Never leave a child unattended in a pool or spa and always watch your child when he or she is in or near water
  • Teach children basic water safety tips
  • Keep children away from pool drains, pipes and other openings to avoid entrapments
  • Have a telephone close by when you or your family is using a pool or spa
  • If a child is missing, look for him or her in the pool or spa first
  • Share safety instructions with family, friends and neighbors
  • Learn how to swim and teach your child how to swim
  • Learn to perform CPR on children and adults, and update those skills regularly
  • Understand the basics of life-saving so that you can assist in a pool emergency.

If you own a pool or spa:

  • Install a four-foot or taller fence around the pool and spa and use self-closing and self-latching gates; ask your neighbors to do the same at their pools.
  • Install and use a lockable safety cover on your spa.
  • If your house serves as a fourth side of a fence around a pool, install door alarms and always use them. For additional protection, install window guards on windows facing pools or spas.
  • Install pool and gate alarms to alert you when children go near the water
  • Ensure any pool and spa you use has compliant drain covers, and ask your pool service provider if you do not know
  • Maintain pool and spa covers in good working order
  • Consider using a surface wave or underwater alarm

From http://www.poolsafely.gov/parents-families/simple-steps-save-lives/ and iaff523.org

Privacy & Personal Information Online

We live in a time of constant sharing through social media. We often share pictures, plans of somewhere we are going or rants about problems, without thinking much about who will see it and what could be the consequences.

Before clicking “post”, stop to think:

  • Am I violating someone’s privacy?
  • Am I sharing personal info. that could put me in danger?
  • Would I want my current or a future employer to see this?

This will help protect your privacy and safety as well as that of your host family. It is important to respect your host family’s privacy and not share personal details and information.  This applies to all kinds of situations, including: personal conversations, email and social websites.

For your own safety, it is a good idea to be careful what personal information you share about yourself as well. You should not give out information like your telephone number and address to people you don’t know. Safer to meet a new friend in a public place, than to give them your address before knowing them.

Once you post something on the internet (even if you later delete it), it can show up elsewhere.  Unless you have specific permission from your host family, you should never post pictures of them, their children or their home on the internet.

If you have a blog or website where you post in your native language, remember there is translation software. So, even if you say it in your native language, be sure it is not something that might be misinterpreted in translation or something you will regret saying.

Three Ways for Au Pairs to Stay Red Cross Ready

Being knowledgeable in basic first aid and CPR is important for au pairs (and anyone else caring for children). Au Pair in America’s commitment to infant/child safety begins before au pairs arrive to the U.S., with pre-arrival training and continue throughout the au pair year.

#1 Training At Orientation

Our orientation includes seminars by American Red Cross instructors who provide hands-on demonstrations in infant/child CPR and safety. Printed materials are provided that reinforce the safety information and can be used to review from time to time.

#2 Enroll in a Red Cross Certification Class

After settling into their host community, all au pairs are encouraged to complete an Infant/Child CPR and First Aid certification program. Au Pair in America will pay for this training through the American Red Cross.

Classes are available through the Red Cross. Au Pair in America will pay for the cost of a class providing an au pair has at least six months left on her visa and is taking one of several approved childcare/child safety-related classes, such as Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED. Au pairs should check with their community counselor and host family before signing up. Au Pair in America will register the au pair directly.

To locate a class, visit www.redcross.org/takeaclass. For step-by-step instructions on how to locate a class and have Au Pair in America complete enrollment, click here.

#3 Stay Current on Safety Information

The Official American Red Cross First Aid app puts expert advice for everyday emergencies in your hand. Available for iPhone and Android devices, this app gives you instant access to the information you need to know to handle the most common first aid emergencies. With videos, interactive quizzes and simple step-by-step advice, it’s never been easier to know first aid. Download the app for free from the American Red Cross website or in your app store.

Photos: Robin Leon

It’s Baby Safety Month

Image may contain: 2 people, people sitting, people eating and child

There are safety tips throughout this site to keep the children safe. Here are some more tips for baby in honor of Baby Safety Month:

  • Check condition and sturdiness of toys. Discard any that have sharp edges or are broken or falling apart.
  • Check children’s clothing for loose buttons and remove strings.
  • Is baby’s pacifier still in good condition? Be sure it isn’t coming apart. Never use strings to attach the pacifier to baby’s clothes or crib.
  • Where do you set baby’s carrier when she’s in it? Not on the counter please, or any high surface. Babies can wiggle and tip themselves over.
  • Are you using an old walker? It’s time to throw it out. Walkers can be dangerous (especially old ones that don’t meet today’s safety standards).
  • Stroller check. If your stroller is collapsible, be sure latches are secure before putting baby in. Always check that your child’s arms are out of the way when reversing handle directions so they won’t get pinched. Be sure to use that safety strap. Don’t hang overloaded or heavy bags on the handle of the stroller; this may cause it to tip over.
  • Can you name the 12 most common choking foods for kids under five? Popcorn, hot dogs, chunks of meat, raisins, ice cubes, chunky peanut butter, peanuts (nuts of any kind), hard candy, grapes, raw carrots, potato chips and corn chips.
  • Don’t leave toddlers alone while eating; if they begin to choke you need to be nearby to assist.
  • Get a piggy bank: this is a great place to put coins so they don’t end up on the floor, in the couch cushions and then baby’s mouth.
  • Never leave your child unattended in the bathtub. If the phone rings, let the machine get it, or bring a cordless phone into the bathroom with you. Wait until baby can sit alone to give baths in the tub. It’s easier in the sink until then.

Enroll in an infant/child CPR and first aid class. This will be a valuable investment of your time, and Au Pair in America will pay for it if you have at least 3 months remaining on your visa.

10 Tips for Summer Safety

  1. Remember to bring along drinks, especially water. Try to get children to drink water every 20 minutes, when they are outside in hot weather.
  2. Pay attention to surfaces that can be hot against children’s skin, such as metal slides and other playground equipment in the sun.
  3. Safety around water is particularly important. A child can drown in just a few inches of water. Whenever you are near water you must never leave a child alone – if the phone rings, take them with you or let it ring! Always stay within arm’s reach when the children are in or near water.
  4. Young babies should be kept out of direct sunlight. Keep the baby in the shade or under a tree, umbrella or stroller canopy.
  5. Dress babies in lightweight clothing and use brimmed hats.
  6. Apply sunscreen 30 minutes before going outside, even if it appears overcast (cloudy).
  7. Try to keep children out of the sun in the middle of the day when the sun is strongest.
  8. Learn what poison ivy looks like and keep children out of it. A good rule to teach the children is “leaves of three, let it be.”
  9. Use insect repellent spray to keep away mosquitos and ticks. Ask your host parents before applying.
  10. Check for ticks when you bring children in from playing outside, especially if you’ve been in tall grass or the woods.

Photo: Scott97006 (Flickr)

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Halloween safety tips

Have a safe and fun Halloween! 

  1. Make sure to inspect the children’s Trick Or Treat candy to make sure everything is in a sealed wrapper and appears safe.
  2. Small children should not eat hard candy because of chocking.
  3. Children should be supervised when they go Trick-or-Treating.  Many parents will come home early from work on the day to go with their children.  Check with Host Parents about this.

 

Halloween Safety Tips for Drivers

Halloween is a wonderful holiday, but because of increased foot traffic and that Trick-or-Treaters are out at night, the potential for automobile related accidents with young pedestrians increases four times on this night according to a CDC (Center for Disease Control) study.

Streets are literally crawling with all sorts of witches, ghosts, goblins, vampires and all other sorts of costumed people. This makes for added responsibility for drivers to make sure that they drive safer than normal.

In many areas, people drive their kids into subdivisions and let them out to walk from house to house. Usually the parent follows behind in the car. This can cause traffic jams in small areas and much confusion as kids dart between cars on the streets going from house to house. A driver is already distracted because they are trying to keep an eye on their own kids and usually aren’t paying attention to much else.

Children and adults tend to be preoccupied and may not pay as much attention to safety as they should. They may not see your vehicle or just assume that you see them automatically. Stay on the defensive and you shouldn’t have a problem while driving on Halloween night

* Don’t use a cell phone or other electronic device while driving on Halloween night. You shouldn’t be doing this anyway, the rate of cell phone related auto accidents has jumped dramatically since the use of cell phones and texting has risen so high. Some states have already made laws concerning this and others are working on it.

Make sure your child carries a flashlight, glow stick or has reflective tape on their costume to make them more visible to cars. Left them know if they carry a flash light to never shine itin the eyes of a driver. This can cause blindness on the drivers part temporarily and they may not see your child.

Drive below the posted speed limit in residential areas during trick-or-treating hours. This will allow you time to break if you see a child dart in front of you.
   
   
   
   
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Facebook tips

  • Do not post pictures of your host children on Facebook!
  • Do not say anything on Facebook about your host family that is negative!
  • Do not mention your host family’s address or phone number on Facebook!
  • Do not mention that no one is home at your host family’s house (for example that you are all away on vacation together)
  • Do not write anything on Facebook that you would not want your host family to see!

Anything you put on Facebook is there for the world to see!  Do not put anything on Facebook that will embarrass your host family or compromise your position with them. Remember future employers will search Facebook before they consider you for employment.  Facebook is a fun way to connect with friends and family, but it is NOT PRIVATE, so be careful!!

Keeping cool in the heat!

Tips for Staying Cool This Summer
• Be aware of the heat. Pay attention to it and modify your activities appropriately.
• Pay attention to your hydration status and be sure to drink plenty of fluids.
• Try to stay in relatively cool areas, even when outside. Many public places, such as libraries, shopping malls and movie theatres, are air conditioned.
•Avoid hot, enclosed places, such as cars. Never leave children unattended in a car!
• Use a fan, if available.
• Stay on the lowest floor of your building.
•Eat well-balanced, light and regular meals.
•Wear loose-fitting, lightweight and light-colored clothing.
•Cover windows that receive a significant amount of sun with drapes or shades to help keep your house cool.
•Cool beverages are good for cooling down the body, while alcoholic drinks can impair the body’s ability to regulate its temperature.

Signs of Heat Overexposure
•Heavy sweating — though if heat stroke sets in, the body can no longer compensate and stops sweating.
•Pale skin.
•Muscle cramps.
•Feeling tired and weak.
•Altered mental status (confusion or disorientation).
•Headache.
•Becoming semi-conscious or passing out.
•Nausea or vomiting.

Steps to Take After Recognizing Heat-Induced Illness
•Call 911.
•Get the person out of the sun and into a cool area. An air-conditioned area is ideal, but moving someone into the shade will also help.
•Apply water to help the person cool off.
• Apply ice to the neck or armpits, where large blood vessels are close to the surface.
•Remove any heavy clothing.
•Immerse the body in cool water, either at a swimming pool or in a bathtub.

photo from lisatortorello.blogspot.com