Archive for the ‘Health and Safety’ Category

Sometimes it can be difficult to get your children to understand the effects that sun can have on them, but it so important to teach your children how to be sun smart.  By teaching them, the will have a lower risk of skin cancer.  Many people today wish they had been more cautious while in the sun in the earlier years. 

One idea on how help your child learn about being sun smart is to consider sun safety to be like a seat belt.  You wouldn’t explain a car accident or gingivitis to your young child, but you still get her to let you buckle her into her car seat and brush her teeth.   If you make sun protection part of your routine of non- negotiable things that you do in order to stay safe, your child will be more accepting. Read the rest of this entry »

There are few things that are scarier to new parents than the prospect of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). SIDS is defined  as the “sudden death of an infant under one year of age that remains unexplained after a complete investigation, which includes an autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the symptoms or illnesses the infant had prior to dying and any other pertinent medical history.” Sounds pretty terrifying, right?

While there is no way to absolutely eliminate the risk of SIDS, there are several practices that you can do to reduce your baby’s risk. SIDS most often affects babies between the ages of 1 and 4 months. The most important thing you can do to reduce the risk of SIDS for your baby is to ALWAYS put your baby to sleep on his or her back and never on his stomach or sides. You should  also be sure not to ever put your infant down alone in a bean bag, waterbed, or blanket that can cover the baby’s face. Read the rest of this entry »

If there is an emergency in the home, do your kids know who to call? Do they know how to dial 9-1-1? Can they tell their address to the operator on the phone? It is a good idea to have emergency information posted above the phone in your house. Write down the emergency numbers, and your address. Even adults have forgotten their address in a crisis.

When you have an emergency, it is too late to plan. Make sure that you and your children have a plan in place to protect your family in an emergency. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Set a limit on computer time. Experts advise that children have no more than two hours of television, electronic games, or computer use in a day. Monitor their time on the computer to try to keep within these guidelines.

Show them how to search for things they are looking for. There are several great search engines for kids. Some popular search engines that cater to children include www.yahooligans.com and www.ajkids.com. If you allow them to search for information through a search engine, monitor their web browsing to make sure they don’t end up where you don’t want them.

The internet can be a great tool for children, and provided a wealth of information, games, and other fun activities. Monitor their computer time, and watch where they are surfing. Always make sure that your kids are following safety rules when on the internet.