Halloween Safety

This spooky October night can be an exciting time of make believe and “treats” for children, but the “trick” is to avoid the common injuries often associated with this holiday. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) unintentional injuries due to falls, burns, and traffic accidents, increase significantly. Prevent a frightful night by following a few tips and keep your little ones safe and sound this Halloween:

1. FallsFalls are the most common cause of injury to children during Halloween - not surprisingly as children are walking around in the dark!

• Carry a flash light when you are out trick-or-treating and shine it in the path of your child.
• Prevent children from tripping over costumes by shortening hemlines, tying up scarves or other dangling pieces.
• Only allow your child to wear their own comfortable shoes - don’t include high heels or adult shoes as part of the costume.
• Ensure your child has good peripheral vision. Make-up and non-toxic face paint is safer than masks. If you do include a mask cut the eye holes a little bigger (if you need to, prevent skin showing through, simply camouflage the area with a bit of black face paint). Avoid over-floppy hats or wigs that fall into the eyes.
• To help avoid injuries from falls select soft, flexible props and avoid objects that are sharp, pointy, or long.
• Make sure your walkway or steps are well lit to assist trick-or-treaters as they come to your door.

2. Fire and burns Candles in jack-o-lanterns combined with flammable fancy-dress costumes can result in a nasty burns.

• Costumes - including wigs and hats - should be made from flame retardant material or treated with a flame retardant spray.
• Take extra care if your child is wearing a baggy or flowy costume.
• Older children should practice the “drop and roll” technique.
• Choose electric candles to light your walkway or steps.

3. Pedestrian accidents The AAP says that a child is four times as likely to be hit by a car on Halloween than at any other time.

• Remember standard road rules still apply! Look before crossing the street, walk on sidewalks.
• Work into the costume design a glow stick, flash light or other reflector - sew or stick reflectors on the back and front of the outfit.
• Refer to the old saying “walking at night, wear something white” - try to incorporate some light colors into the outfit, a child dressed in black is hard to find in a crowd, and hard for a passing motorist to see.
• Carry a cell phone and pin your number on your child’s back in case you get separated.

Happy trick-or-treating and keep safe.

Free child car seat inspections

Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for children in our country. Selecting a safe vehicle and properly using child restraints and seatbelts may be one of the most important things you can do to protect your family.

On average, almost 75 percent of all car seats inspected are not installed correctly or are misused. We urge everyone to have their car seats inspected by a qualified CPS technician.

There are currently one day events around our region offering free car seat inspections. Thirty minutes of valuable interaction with a technician can save your child's life. To find your closest inspection clinic, please click on the your preferred state: District of Columbia | Maryland | Virginia

Private, In-Home CPR Classes

CPR has undergone its first major change since it was introduced in 1960 - creating the perfect time for you to renew your skills and re-gain the confidence to treat an infant or child in the event of an emergency.

Due to popular demand, we have extended our CPR training deal on Certifikid. Call us soon to book - the deal expires this weekend.

Safe Start Baby focuses on both injury prevention and what to do in an emergency. We cover child and infant conscious choking, child and infant CPR, and child and infant unconscious choking. We'll come to your home or playgroup - and love doing CPR parties or brunches!

First Time Parent's Baby Proofing Checklist

In honor of September being National Preparedness Month we thought we’d provide all of you first time parents with a basic baby proofing checklist. When creating your personal baby proofing checklist start by creating an inventory of the rooms in your house and tackle the rooms you spend the most time in first. Many parents start by getting down at floor level and evaluating any potential safety concerns from the perspective of the baby.

Kitchen:

For parents who spend a lot of time in the kitchen, the task of making the area safe for their baby can be overwhelming. There are a few basic products that can turn a kitchen danger zone into a safe play zone including:

• Install cabinet and drawer latches on any cabinets or drawers you do not want your toddler getting into. This should include any cabinets with chemicals or cleaning supplies. Or better yet, keep your cleaning supplies in a Smart Guard container.
• If you use your stove and oven we suggest putting a stove guard up to prevent curious fingers from reaching the stovetop when in use. You can also put an oven lock on your oven door.

Family Room:

Because of the amount of time most families spend in their family room, this is one of the first rooms we recommend tackling when beginning your baby proofing project:

• Make sure all outlets are covered with either outlet plugs or sliding switch plate covers.
• Protect your kids from the fireplace by installing a hearth guard or fireplace gate.
• Ensure that your coffee is kid friendly and cushion any hard corners with a expandable table edge protector.
• Contain cord clutter with your electronics and mini blinds. Make sure wires are kept tidy and inaccessible to any small fingers.
• If you have a large flat screen television you may want to consider buying a flat screen TV lock in order to prevent any tip over accidents.

Of course, this list is only the start. Next week we’ll explore baby proofing your bedrooms and bathrooms. Meanwhile, visit www.safestartbaby.com for additional babyproofing tips, services and products.