Helmets at the Olympic Winter Games: Your Golden Opportunity

“Mommy, I thought Shaun White was good. Why is he wearing a helmet?”

In the 2010 Winter Olympics, sports like ski jumping, snowboarding, speed skating, luge, and bobsled are among the ones requiring athletes to wear helmets!

We’re glad to see that helmets are becoming the norm in snowsports. Unfortunate accidents like Natasha Richardson's death last year after a head injury while skiing without a helmet, have helped raise awareness of helmet use.

If you have trouble getting your kids to wear helmets and other safety equipment, this is the perfect opportunity to bring up the discussion. Point to the Olympic athletes as examples and show that wearing safety equipment doesn’t mean you don’t have enough skills in the sport. 

According to Safe Kids Worldwide, for sports like skiing and snowboarding, a ski helmet is recommended. For snowmobiling, a snowmobile helmet is what you need. Even though there isn’t a special helmet for ice skating and sledding, wearing a bike, skateboard or ski helmet is better than not wearing one at all.

Check out these crazy helmets at the Olympics!

A Dresser or a Step Ladder? The Danger of Furniture Tip-Overs

While we may see dresser drawers, our tots may see a ladder. Children love to explore and play and sometimes think they’re invincible. Even if you teach them not to climb on furniture, they will not recognize the hazard and will do it anyway!

Furniture safety is important for kids of all ages, especially for those under the age of 10. Your babies will hold on to furniture to learn to walk. Your toddlers will try to climb and the weight can bring even seemingly stable heavy furniture crashing down.

Try the “tip test”:

• Open your dresser drawers so they form a ladder.
• Now put some weight on the bottom drawer.
• Notice the shift in weight? Even if you don’t, that does not mean the piece is tip-proof.

Think that it can’t happen? So I was telling my husband about the must-see video from Consumer Reports showing what happens when the equivalent of a small child was placed on top of one of the drawers and he had a story for me!

  

He opened the top two drawers of his dresser, which had a TV on it, turned his head for a split second and the dresser and TV began to fall on him. Oh and by the way he was 25 years old when that happened!

Prevent Tip-Over Hazards:

• Anchor all pieces of freestanding furniture, dressers, bookcases, entertainment centers, large appliances, TVs and other top heavy furniture to the wall. There are many easy-to-install options to make your furniture more stable, some as low as $3.50 per strap.
• Place TVs on furniture that is sturdy and appropriate for its size. The furniture should be stable on its own, and anchored to the floor or wall using brackets, screws or straps for additional security. 
• TVs should be placed only on sturdy, low-rise bases and pushed as far back as possible.
• While we know it’s hard to do this, keep items that might be attractive to children, (toys and remote controls) away from the top of the TV or TV stand so kids aren’t tempted to use the drawers to climb, which may cause the furniture or TV to topple.
• Keep all electrical cords out of your child’s reach and teach your kids not to play with them.

Secure your furniture today! Tip-overs CAN happen!

Avent Pacifiers May Pose Choking Hazard

We wanted to let you know of a potentially dangerous situation with Avent pacifiers. A mother found that her baby’s pacifier had come apart in 3 pieces. The nipple and nipple shield were still in the baby's mouth but the button that holds the handle on and the handle were both in pieces in the baby’s crib. Both of these pieces are serious choking hazards.

The parents called Philips Avent to report the incident. They also reported it to US Consumer Product Safety Commission, who told her to stop using the product immediately, even the ones that weren’t broken.

While this is not an official recall notice, we wanted to get this information to you, just in case.

Stay tuned for more details.