Grandparents have always helped care for their grandchildren — during holidays, weekends, and even during the week while parents work or run errands. Many grandparents also raise their grandchildren. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 4 million children in the United States live in homes headed by a grandparent. Of these, nearly 1.5 million are being raised solely by their grandparents. Technology has brought more hazards into the home and it’s critical that grandparents know how to keep their grandchildren safe from unintentional injury — the number one killer of children ages 14 and under.
Each year, approximately 5,500 children die from unintentional injuries and an additional 7 million are treated in emergency rooms. Nearly all of these injuries and deaths could have been prevented. "Providing a loving environment and having the best intentions are not enough," says Karen Brock, Director of Connecticut SAFE KIDS. "Tragedies happen in a matter of seconds. Make sure your home is safe and secure by practicing simple life-saving precautions."
Connecticut SAFE KIDS recommends the following safety guidelines for grandparents caring for young children:
SAFETY IN THE HOME
The home is one of the most dangerous places for a child. Every year, approximately 2,500 children ages 14 and under die in the home and an additional 4.5 million are injured from unintentional injuries. Young children are at the greatest risk because they spend most of their time in and around the home. The majority of home injury deaths are caused by residential fire and burns, drowning, suffocation, choking, falls, unintentional firearm injury and poisoning.
RESIDENTIAL FIRES
Children, especially ages 5 and under, are at the greatest risk of home fire-related death and injury. The majority of children are injured or die in homes without smoke detectors. To prevent the devastation of a residential fire, you should:
Install smoke detectors in your home on every level and in every bedroom. Test them once a month, replace the batteries at least once a year and the detectors every ten years.
Plan and practice two fire escape routes from each room in the home and identify an outside meeting place.
Teach your grandchildren to "stop, drop and roll" if their clothing catches fire.
BURNS
Tap water scald burns, which most often occur in the bathroom, are associated with more death and injury than those caused by other hot liquids. Young children are especially vulnerable to burn-related injury and death. The Connecticut SAFE KIDS recommends these safety guidelines for burn prevention:
Never leave your grandchild alone, especially in the bathroom or in the kitchen. If you must leave the room, take your grandchild with you.
Set hot water heaters for 120 degrees F or below. It only takes three seconds for a child to sustain a third degree burn from water at 140 degrees F, which would require hospitalization and skin grafts.
Always test the water temperature before your grandchild gets in the bathtub or shower. Consider installing anti-scald devices in bathtub faucets and showerheads.
Keep your grandchildren out of the kitchen while preparing meals. Children can pull containers filled with hot liquids off stoves and counter tops onto themselves, causing devastating burns.
Never carry or hold your grandchild while handling hot liquids (coffee, tea, and hot water).
Use pans on back burners and turn all pot handles toward the back of the stove.
Keep hot foods and liquids away from table and counter edges and avoid leaving hot items on tablecloths and placemats.
Keep appliance cords tied up and out of reach.
Check the temperature of all microwave-heated foods and liquids and never let young children use the microwave oven.
Cover unused electrical outlets with safety devices.
DROWNING
Children age 4 and under have the highest drowning death rate of any age group. For your grandchildren’s safety, use these prevention tips:
Always supervise children in and around water, especially in the bathroom. Drownings usually occur when a child is left unattended or during a brief lapse in supervision. Children can drown in as little as one inch of water in a matter of seconds - in a bathtub, a five-gallon bucket of water, or a toilet.
If you own a pool or spa, install a four-sided isolation fencing that is at least five-feet high and equipped with a self-closing and self-latching gate. It should completely surround the pool or spa itself and prevent direct access from the house and yard. Be sure to have a phone, emergency numbers and rescue equipment poolside.
Make sure your grandchildren always wear U.S. Coast Guard approved personal floatation devices (PFD’s) when on boats or near natural bodies of water. Air filled "swimming aids" are not substitutes for PFD’s.
SUFFOCATION
Suffocation is the leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths for children under age 1. The majority of suffocations occur in the home, so it is extremely important to practice these safety guidelines when preparing infants for sleep:
Place your grandchild on his back or side on a firm, flat crib mattress in a crib that meets national safety standards. Look for a Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) certification label.
Remove pillows, comforters, toys and other soft products from the crib.
CHOKING / POISONING
Young children are at significantly higher risk for choking and poisoning because of their curiosity and natural desire to put everything in their mouths. Choking is the leading cause of unintentional death in young children, especially children age under age 5. Annually, more than 1.1 million unintentional poisonings among children ages 5 and under are reported to U.S. poison control centers. To help prevent unintentional chokings and poisonings while your grandchildren are in your care:
Keep small objects out of reach of your grandchildren (coins, safety pins, small toy parts, balloons). In addition, round and hard foods such as nuts, hot dogs, carrots, grapes and hard candies, are hazardous to young children.
Store medicines, vitamins and household cleaning items locked away and out of reach of your grandchildren.
Request child-resistant packaging. Child-resistant containers may take a moment longer to open, but are much safer when young children are around.
Keep poison control center phone numbers, 1-800-222-1222 and other emergency phone numbers by all telephones.
Install carbon monoxide detectors in your home. A carbon monoxide detector is designed to sound an alarm before dangerous levels of carbon monoxide accumulate. Detectors should be placed in every bedroom and on the ceiling at least 15 feet away from fuel-burning appliances.
Check space heaters, furnaces, fireplaces and wood-burning stoves annually to make sure they are properly vented.
FALLS
Falls are the leading cause of unintentional injury among children. Follow these simple safety tips to help prevent unintentional fall-related injury to your grandchildren:
Never use baby walkers with wheels. Baby walkers account for more injuries than any other nursery product among children ages 5 to 15 months.
Install safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs if your grandchildren are infants or toddlers.
Install window guards on windows ground floor and up unless designated as emergency fire exits.
Never leave your grandchildren unsupervised on furniture (beds, changing tables) even for a second.
Check the surface under playground equipment. Injuries sustained from falls onto unsafe surfaces are the leading cause of injury on the playground. Take children to playgrounds with safe surfaces such as mulch, pea gravel or shredded rubber. Loose-fill surfacing should be maintained at a minimum depth of 12 inches and extend at least 6 feet in all directions around equipment.
TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 14 and under. In 2002, over 1,000 children ages 14 and under were killed and an estimated 281,000 were injured as passengers in motor vehicles. Child safety seats and safety belts can save lives. The correct use of child safety seats is extremely effective, reducing the risk of death by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers. When traveling by car with your grandchildren, you must:
Never ride with an unrestrained child in your vehicle. In the event of a crash, the child could be seriously injured or killed.
Properly restrain children ages 12 and under in the back seat. It is the safest place to ride.
Obtain and correctly install a child safety seat in your motor vehicle. If you cannot afford a child safety seat, inquire about a discount, loaner or giveaway program, through a local hospital, health department, police department, or social service agency. Never use a child seat that has been involved in a crash. Even if it looks intact, it may be structurally damaged. Also, be sure to check the date of the child safety seat. Seats manufactured before January 1, 1981 were not required to pass a dynamic crash test and may not protect a child in a crash.
Secure your grandchild correctly in a child safety seat or safety belt every time they ride in the vehicle. Infant-only seats and convertible seats should be used for children until they are at least 20 pounds and at least 1 year old. They should always face rearward. The convertible car seat should be turned to a forward-facing position for children 20 to 40 pounds and between the ages of 1 and 4 years old. Booster seats are for children who have outgrown a convertible seat and are not big enough to correctly wear a safety belt. Booster-weight children are between approximately 40 and 60/80 pounds, and are usually between 4 and 8 years old. A booster seat protects a child from serious spinal cord and internal injuries caused by incorrect safety belt fit.
Make sure that the child safety seat is compatible with the automobile. Read your child safety seat and automobile manuals to make sure the child safety seat fits snugly in the vehicle. When purchasing the child safety seat, ask the store manager if you can try out different models before making a purchase.
Never use pillows or cushions to boost your grandchild. If the car is hit, the pillow may cause the child to slide under and out of the safety belt.
Never put luggage or other hard objects on the back window shelf of the car. In the event of a sudden stop, the items could fly forward and hit passengers.
CHILDREN AND AIR BAGS
Never put a rear-facing infant seat or a rear-facing convertible seat in the front passenger seat of a vehicle with an air bag. The back of a rear facing infant seat rests too close to the air bag cover. Due to the considerable force with which an air bag deploys, close or direct contact with the air bag or its cover may cause serious or fatal injuries to the infant.
Properly restrain your grandchildren in the back seat whenever possible, particularly if your car has a front passenger air bag. Children should be in the back seat until they are at least 13 years old.
If it is absolutely necessary for a child to ride in the front seat of a car with a front passenger air bag:
· - never put an infant (less than 1 year old) in the front seat;
· - secure the child in a restraint system that is correct for the size of the child - front-facing child safety seat, a booster seat, or a lap/shoulder belt;
· - move the front seat as far back as away from the dashboard as possible; and
·
- never allow a child to lean forward toward the dashboard.
Whether you’re raising your grandchildren, baby-sitting them for the weekend or having them over for the holidays, it is important to keep them safe and sound. Practicing simple safety precautions in your home, at play and in the car will help ensure a happier, healthier life for you and your grandchildren.
For more information, call Connecticut SAFE KIDS at (860) 545.9988.
