While I was at Camp Baby, I learned of two impressive programs that I would like to mention here.
Today I will profile Safe Kids USA. National "Safe Kids Week" was actually last week, so I missed the boat in announcing it week-of; however, the Safe Kids USA website has plenty of valuable material for parents.
Although some hospitals have carseat checks before the new parents are allowed out of the parking lot, and many police departments offer free carseat checks, many parents don't take them up on their offer. I remember traveling down the freeway when Splig's infant seat tipped over, despite being installed by several people who should have known what they were doing.
And then there is water-safety. (Pictured are Oscar winner actress Marcia Gay Harden and Charisse Nurnberg, mother of Matt, who drowned at the age of 3 - photo from Safe Kids USA) Unfortunately, I have a scary story to tell:
We attended a Memorial Day Weekend party when I was pregnant with Spliggle. My cousins' kids, confident swimmers, lapped about, laughing and enjoying the water. The Cat, then age 3.5, ran towards the deep end and jumped in.
I was shocked, but expected one of the many adults on that side of the pool would bail him out, especially when I yelled "He jumped in! He can't swim!" But nobody could hear me above the happy sounds of kids playing.
I lumbered as quickly as I could over to the other side of the pool, still yelling that the Cat COULD NOT SWIM. People laughed and smiled, oblivious. My son was bobbing up and down but swallowing water. Of course the race to his aid must have only been seconds, but in my mind I moved in slow-motion before I jumped in (and most certainly created quite a splash in my very-pregnant state) and hoisted the Cat above the water.
He was fine, but there are many other kids who disappear under the water's surface in plain sight. After my scare, I can see how: people don't recognize that not all kids are confident swimmers. They are focused on their own kids. They think that in a full pool that "someone" will notice if another kid has trouble. I'll just grab this phone call... But drowning happens fast, and can happen in as little as an inch of water.
Accidental injury remains the largest killer of kids.
Safe Kids USA exists to educate parents and caregivers about ways to prevent these accidents. Please go visit them. Safe Kids Week may have ended for this year last Saturday, but we have a whole season of outdoor fun that should remain enjoyable.
In addition to water safety and car safety, Safe Kids USA includes other safety checklists for things such as "poison safety" and "toy safety." As many of you know, our household had a scary story about a "sundae-of-doom".
I consider myself an attentive parent, but as evidenced above, I have anecdotes about three of the big ones: carseats, water-safety, and poison-safety.
Please go see how Safe Kids USA can help your family stay safe!
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cross-posted on The Karianna Spectrum
