“Best of” Back-to-School Health and Safety Tips 2011: Part II

If you are someone who takes care of kids in any way, shape or form (which I’m assuming you are if you’re reading this) one phrase has probably dominated your world for the past couple of weeks: “back-to-school”. It is likely that you have not spent a day, opened a newspaper or a journal or gone to the sites you typically visit online without seeing these words staring back at you in an article offering you advice on: “How can you best prepare your kids”, “The 101 things you should know about your child’s health and/or safety before you send them back to school…” etc.

Unfortunately, too much of a good thing is not always a good thing… With so many articles and so much information it can be a bit overwhelming at times. With that in mind, I’ve done a little searching and pulled together a “best of” health and safety tips across all the expert information I’ve found. While last week’s back-to-school health and safety tips focused on everything to consider before they head off to school, today’s tips focus on what you need to know to send them off and make sure they return safely. Hopefully it will save everyone a little time that they could be otherwise be using to get 5 more minutes (or 1 extra hug) with their kids. (*Please note: as with my last post, I am sourcing other author’s tips and will cite all references below – all copyrights, credit and thanks belong to them)

Heading to School:

Getting on the Bus Safely:

• When the bus arrives, stand at least three giant steps (6 feet) away from the curb.
• If you have to cross the street in front of the bus, walk on the sidewalk or along the side of the road until you are five giant steps (10 feet) ahead of the bus. Then you can cross the street.
• Be sure the bus driver can see you and you can see the bus driver.
• Never walk behind the bus.
• If you drop something near the bus, tell the bus driver. Never try to pick it up first because the driver may not be able to see you.

While on the bus:

• When on the bus, find a seat and sit down. Loud talking or other noise can distract the bus driver.
• Never put head, arms or hands out of the window.
• Keep aisles clear—books or bags are tripping hazards and can block the way in an emergency.
• At your stop, wait for the bus to stop completely before getting up from your seat, then walk to the front door and exit, using the handrail.

Getting off the Bus:

• If you have to cross the street in front of the bus, walk at least ten feet ahead of the bus along the side of the road until you can turn around and see the driver. Make sure the driver can see you.
• Wait for a signal from the driver that it’s safe before beginning to cross…then, walk across the road keeping an eye out for sudden traffic changes.
• Stay away from the wheels of the bus at all times.

Walking to school:

• Walk to school with a group of kids and always have a responsible adult with you.
• Always walk on the sidewalk if one is available. If no sidewalk is available, walk facing the traffic.
• The safest place to cross is at a street corner or intersection.
• If you are 10-years-old or younger, you need to cross the street with an adult. Before you step off the curb, stop and look all ways to see if cars are coming. When no cars are coming, it is safe for you to cross, but look left-right-left as you do and hold the adult’s hand.
• Walk, don’t run. This gives time for drivers to see you before you enter the roadway.
• Don’t dart out in front of a parked car. The driver of the car coming down the street will not be able to see you.
• In neighborhoods with higher levels of traffic, consider starting a “walking school bus,”  in which an adult accompanies a group of neighborhood children walking to school.

Riding a bike to school:

• Always wear your helmet and make sure it fits correctly. The helmet should fit low on your forehead so that two fingers fit between it and your eyebrows.
• To ride safely, you need to know the “rules of the road”. Ride on the right side of the road in a single file line in the same direction as other vehicles and come to a complete stop before crossing streets. Wait for a driver’s signal before crossing the street.
• Wear bright colors during the day and right before the sun rises or sets.
• Riding at night can be dangerous. You should have a white light on the front of your bicycle and a red reflector on the back. You also can get lights and reflective materials to put on your shoes, helmet and clothing.

By the Way – Here’s a great brochure by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that uses graphics and humor to teach little kids how to be safe on their way to school.

Teen Driving:

• Graduated Driver Licensing allows teens to practice driving skills in low risk situations, moving through driver license stages with gradually increasing responsibility. GDL reduces teen driver crashes and deaths by up to 40%. You can implement life-saving GDL practices in your home by following these tips:
  • Extend the learner’s permit period until at least 6 months of practice has passed.
  • Set a nighttime driving restriction – no unsupervised driving after 10pm.
  • Set a passenger restriction – no one younger than 18 allowed during a teen’s first 12 months of driving.
  • Ban cell phone use and make safety belts mandatory while driving. Prohibit alcohol – zero tolerance for underage drivers.

During the School Day:

Eating during the day:

• Most schools regularly send schedules of cafeteria menus home. With advance information, you can plan on packing lunch on the days when the main course is one your child prefers not to eat.
• Try to get your child’s school to stock healthy choices such as fresh fruit, low-fat dairy products, water and 100 percent fruit juice in the vending machines.
• Each 12-ounce soft drink contains approximately 10 teaspoons of sugar. Drinking just one can of soda a day increases a child’s risk of obesity by 60%. Restrict your child’s soft drink consumption.

Bullying:

• “Bullying is when one child picks on another child repeatedly. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or social. It can happen at school, on the playground, on the school bus, in the neighborhood, or over the Internet”. The American Academy of Pediatrics has detailed guidelines on managing bullying from the perspective of the child being bullied, the child who is the bully and the bystander. Across all 3 categories, what is consistent is involving a parent or another adult to develop a proactive solution. Rather than try and abbreviate this section, if this is an issue for your child, well documented and excellent guidelines can be sourced here.

School Sports

• Acclimate children to hot weather workouts by gradually increasing time outdoors about ten days to two weeks before official practice begins to help prevent heat injuries.
• Make sure children drinking plenty of fluids and take frequent breaks: every 10-15 minutes while playing outdoor sports. Also make sure they wear light clothing and limit their exposure to the sun in the hottest part of the day. Apply towels soaked in ice cubes and water to the head and neck to stay cool.
• When heat illness is suspected, move the athlete into the shade or coolest area nearby. Try to cool them as quickly as possible by exposing the skin to ice/cold water and cool circulating air.
• Young athletes with asthma should use preventative inhalers 20-30 minutes before exercise, do a gradual warm-up and should have a rescue inhaler available to them during practices and during competition.
• Make sure children wear a well-fitted helmet if they play football, softball or baseball to prevent severe injuries such as concussions.
• Remind children to immediately tell the coach or trainer if they feel dizzy or have a lapse in memory after taking a blow to the head. They should not return to the same practice, game or contest and should be evaluated by a physician prior to return to play.

Keeping them safe at school:

• Ask your child about safety in his or her school. Where do they feel most safe? Least safe? Why?
• Identify comfort levels and methods for reporting safety concerns. Do students have at least one adult and/or method through which they would feel comfortable reporting safety concerns at school?
• Examine access to your school. Are there a reduced number of doors that can be accessed from the outside (while still allowing children to exit from the inside in an emergency)? Does faculty know who is in their school?
• 5 excellent questions that your school’s crisis management team should know the answer to – if not, get involved:
  • How do you dial 9-1-1 from the school phones? Do you need to get an outside line first?
  • What is the actual street address of the school if asked by a 9-1-1 dispatcher?
  • If your school’s nearby walking evacuation site is a community church, does someone have the keys to get in if no one from the church is there when you arrive?
  • How long does it really take to mobilize your school bus drivers in the middle of the day if you need to evacuate multiple buildings?
  • Have you ever trained students NOT to open doors to people on the outside trying to get into the school?

After School:

Getting home from school safely and staying that way:

• Make sure your child walks home with a group of friends or a responsible adult.
• Make sure to have an adult at the bus stop after school to ensure the kids get home safely.
• Make a code word that will be used when someone else they do not know will pick them up. Every time you have someone pick your child up from school they have to know your secret code word or your child will not get in the vehicle.
• Let them know that if an adult makes them feel uncomfortable or is following them they should call 911 and find a safe place – go back to school, to the police, or to a friend’s home as quick as possible.
• Along those lines – teach your children “No, Go, Yell, Tell”: Say No! loudly if they feel they’re in danger; Go! run fast and far to the nearest safe place; Yell! as loudly as they can while they run; Tell! a trusted adult exactly what happened as soon as they reach safety.
• If they are going to be alone in the afternoons, teach them to go straight home, lock the door and only open it for people with permission to enter the house. Never open the door to delivery people.
• They should never tell someone on the telephone or on the internet that they are home alone. If asked about mom/dad say something like “He or she is busy right now. Can I take a message?”

So folks, I know it was a long list, but I hope it’s one you’ll find useful. Until next time, keep them healthy and keep them safe…

*******************************************************************************************************************

As we did with “Best of” Back to School Health and Safety Tips 2011: Part I, we’d like to send out our thanks and recognition to some very smart folks for some really terrific advice:

1. Waiting for the Bus, While on the bus, Getting off the Bus, Walking to school and Riding a bike to school: (Traveling to School: Safety tips to share with your children: National Safety Council)
2. Teen Driving: (Teen Driving Safety: Graduated Driver Licensing saves lives: National Safety Council)
3. Eating during the day and Bullying: (Back to School Tips: American Academy of Pediatrics 2011)
4. School Sports (Children Should Rely on Safety Equipment to Prevent School Sports Injuries: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center)
5. Keeping them safe at school: (Parents & School Safety – Can you Prevent Another Tragedy? How Safe is Your Child’s School: Ken Trump, president of National School Safety & Security Services)
6. Getting home safe and staying that way bullets #1,2,3,4: (Children’s safety tips to remember for back to school: Melina Ann Collison, St Louis Crime Examiner, July 27, 2009)
7. Getting home safe and staying that way bullets #5: (Living Safe – Teach your children “No, Go, Yell, Tell”: Katherine Cabaniss Crime Stoppers)
8. Getting home safe and staying that way bullets #6,7: (After-school safety tips from the American Red Cross)

“Best of” Back-to-School Health and Safety Tips 2011: Part I

It’s that time of year again… back to school. A time filled with carpools, backpacks and homework…and on many parent’s minds, a question… How can I keep my kids healthy and safe without following them around 24/7? We know they need to experience independence, learn how to develop friendships and how to make good decisions, yet we’re torn with a desire to protect them in every way possible. Unfortunately the hazards they face – bullying, gangs, drug sales, reckless drivers and predators, just to name a few – can happen before, during or after school. The best we can hope for is to make sure they are healthy before they walk out the door, ensure their trip to and from school is “uneventful”, and equip them with the tools, knowledge and resources to help them keep themselves safe and healthy until they are once again in our care.

To assist our efforts, experts provide us with articles and blog posts of “back-to-school” health guidelines and safety tips do and don’t lists. In fact there is a wealth of knowledge on the web on how to best prepare your child and send them off to school. Hello information overload! So, in an effort to save you a little time – which at this time of the year we all know is in incredibly precious – I’d like to share with you our compiled list of the best back-to-school tips we’ve been able to find. In “Back-To-School” Part I, we’ll cover everything you need before they head out the door. Part II will keep them safe until they come home. (*Please note – I am sourcing other author’s tips and will cite all references below – all copyrights, credit and thanks belong to them)

Before School Begins:

Prep for back-to-school physicals:

• Bring five questions with you to be discussed during the visit. This helps parents to start thinking about their child’s health concerns earlier which may prevent parents from forgetting topics they want to discuss.
• Be sure to know the name and dosage of all medications your child is on.
• Bring shot records with you – especially if you’re changing pediatricians as vaccine schedule recommendations can change.
• Bring sports physical forms. Pediatricians can fill these out and conduct the sports physical exam in tandem with the yearly checkup.
• Bring report cards and conduct grades. If your child has special needs or classes, bring that information in as well. This information can help pediatricians look into, and potentially address, any underlying medical reason behind low marks.

Review your back-to-school health check list:

• Immunization: Ensure your child’s preschool immunization is completed prior to entering Kindergarten to protect her against vaccine-preventable diseases. Check here for the CDC 2011 Child & Adolescent Immunization Schedules.
• Vision screening: Have your child’s vision tested before he starts Kindergarten (ideally by age three) and annually until age 18. As much as 80% of learning is visual, so ensuring children can see properly will help them reach their full potential in the classroom.
• Hearing/speech screening: If you suspect your child may have a hearing or speech problem, check with your doctor for a referral to an audiologist and/or speech specialist. An undetected problem could interfere with your child’s learning.
• Dental checkup: Regular dental checkups should begin by age three. If your child hasn’t had her teeth examined prior to starting school, now is a good time for it. Regular checkups and cleanings help detect and prevent dental problems early.
• Mental Health Check: Pediatricians are now requesting that patients and their parents fill out questioners to monitor behavior and psychological healthiness. For children ages 18 months to two years this can help doctors rule out pervasive developmental disorders such as autism. For teens and pre-teens this can help doctors determine whether the child should be treated for depression.
• Emergency contacts: Make sure the school has up-to-date emergency numbers, including contact information for parents, physicians, etc.
• Health conditions: Ensure the school has up-to-date information about any physical impairments or medical conditions your child may have, including allergies. Also inform the school about any medications your child takes. Check here for more detailed information on preparing children with asthma to return to school
• Nutrition plan: Ensure your child has a healthy breakfast before heading to school in the mornings, and help her pack a nutritious lunch. Planning meals ahead of time and involving children in planning and preparation can make this task more manageable and fun.

Conduct a Back-to-school backpack check:

• A child’s backpack should weigh no more than about 15% of his or her body weight. This means a student weighing 100 pounds shouldn’t wear a loaded school backpack heavier than about 15 pounds.
• Select a pack with well-padded shoulder straps. Shoulders and necks have many blood vessels and nerves that can cause pain and tingling in the neck, arms, and hands when too much pressure is applied.
• Adjust the shoulder straps so that the pack fits snugly on the child’s back. Wear the waist belt if the backpack has one. The bottom of the pack should rest in the curve of the lower back. It should never rest more than four inches below the child’s waistline.
• Distribute weight evenly by using both straps. Wearing a pack slung over one shoulder can cause a child to lean to one side, curving the spine and causing pain or discomfort.
• Load heaviest items closest to the child’s back (the back of the pack). Arrange books and materials so they won’t slide around in the backpack.
• Check what your child carries to school and brings home. Make sure the items are necessary for the day’s activities.
• If the backpack is too heavy or tightly packed, your child can hand carry a book or other item outside the pack. If the backpack is too heavy on a regular basis, consider using a book bag on wheels if your child’s school allows it.

Deciding when they’re too sick for school:

• Fever: Fever is a common symptom of viral infections, like influenza. If your child’s temperature is 100.4 degrees or higher, keep your kid at home. While at home, encourage your child to drink plenty of liquids. If you have concerns about your child’s health, get in touch with her pediatrician. A child should be fever-free for 24 hours (without medicine) before returning to school.
• Mild Cough/Runny Nose: If there’s no fever and the child feels fairly good, school is fine.
• Bad Cough/Cold Symptoms: Children with bad coughs need to stay home and possibly see a doctor. It could be a severe cold or possibly bronchitis, flu, or pneumonia. But when the cough improves and the child is feeling better, then it’s back to school. Don’t wait for the cough to disappear entirely — that could take a week or longer!
• Diarrhea or Vomiting: Keep your child home until the illness is over, and for 24 hours after the last episode (without medicine).
• Sore Throat: A minor sore throat is usually not a problem, but a severe sore throat could be strep throat even if there is no fever. Other symptoms of strep throat in children are headache and stomach upset. Keep your child home from school and contact a doctor. Your child needs a special test to determine if it is strep throat. He or she can return to school 24 hours after antibiotic treatment begins.
• Earache: The child typically needs to see a doctor.
• Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis): Keep the child home until a doctor has given the OK to return to school. Pink eye is highly contagious and most cases are caused by a virus, which will not respond to an antibiotic. Bacterial conjunctivitis will require an antibiotic; your doctor will be able to determine if this is the case.
• Rash: Children with a skin rash should see a doctor, as this could be one of several infectious diseases. One possibility is impetigo, a bacterial skin infection that is very contagious and requires antibiotic treatment.

Check back again soon for Part II where we’ll pick up our “Best” Back-to-School Health and Safety Tips 2011 with suggestions for what to do once they head out the door. Until next time keep them healthy…keep them safe…

*****************************************************************************************************************

Sending out thanks and recognition to some very smart folks for some really great advice:

1. Prep for back-to-school physicals: (Texas Children’s Pediatric Associates prepare patients to go back to school by Texas Children’s Hospital, Aug 2, 2011)
2. Review your back-to-school health check list: (Back to school health checklist by Alberta Health Services)
3. Conduct a back-to-school backpack check: (Backpack strategies for parents and students by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.)
4. Deciding when they’re too sick for school: (Your Child: Too Sick for School? by Jeanie Lerche Davis for WebMD September 2010)

New FBI Child ID App Helps Parents Locate Missing Kids

According to the FBI “A child goes missing every 40 seconds in America… many do not return home.”

Not long ago one of our editors shared a story about her experience with Code Adam – the phrase used to initiate a “lockdown” if your child goes missing in a store. But what if they’re not immediately found? The new app – “FBI Child ID” can help.

The FBI Child ID App provides a convenient place to electronically store photos and vital information about your children so that it’s literally right at hand if you need it. You can show the pictures and provide physical identifiers such as height and weight to security or police officers on the spot. And, using a special tab on the app, you can also quickly and easily e-mail your child’s information to authorities with a few clicks.”

The App also offers advice for parents on how to keep kids safe, as well as specific guidance on what to do in the “first few crucial hours” after a child goes missing. And for parents concerned with privacy the FBI offered the following:

Note: the FBI (and iTunes for that matter) is not collecting or storing any photos or information that you enter in the app. All data resides solely on your mobile device unless you need to send it to authorities. Please read your mobile provider’s terms of service for information about the security of applications stored on your device.

Right now the FBI Child app is only available for the iPhone, and can be downloaded for free here at iTunes, however the FBI plans to expand this tool to other types of smartphones (such as Google Android devices) in the near future.

***********************************************************************************************************************

Editor’s Notes:

Although the FBI has been very proactive in addressing internet privacy concerns, one area that seems to have been overlooked is local data security. Since the FBI Child ID app is not password protected, if someone steals your phone they would have easy access to all of your child’s data. Additionally, the big red “Call 911” and “Call NCMEC” buttons might seem very tempting to a child playing with the phone. Again, password protection will help with this.

Overall our thoughts are that this is a terrific app that is still very early in its development and we will likely see additional security features (like password protection) in upcoming releases.

TWO Sensory Friendly Movie Screenings in August: 8/6 & 8/27

For those of you not familiar with ”Sensory Friendly Movie Screenings“, AMC Entertainment (AMC) and the Autism Society have teamed up to bring  families affected by autism and other disabilities a special opportunity to enjoy their favorite “family-friendly” films in a safe and accepting environment.

The movie auditoriums will have their lights turned up and the sound turned down. Families will be able to bring in snacks to match their child’s dietary needs (i.e. gluten-free, casein-free, etc.), there are no advertisements or previews before the movie and it’s totally acceptable to get up and dance, walk, shout, talk to each other…and even sing – in other words, AMC’s “Silence is Golden^®” policy will not be enforced during movie screenings unless the safety of the audience is questioned.

To quote our Special Needs Parenting Expert Rosie Reeves: “It can be challenging enough to bring a child to a movie theater – they are dark, the sound is very loud, there are tempting stairs and rails and they are expected to sit still and stay quiet. When a child has special needs all these elements and many others can prove too daunting to even attempt such an outing. And yet getting out, being with the community and sharing in an experience with an audience can be invaluable for just such children – and their caregivers, too”.

On August 6th at 10am local time, “The Smurfs” will be screened as part of the “Sensory Friendly Movie Screenings” program. On August 27th,  ”Spy Kids – All the Time in the World – In 4D” will be screened. Tickets are $4 to $6 depending on the location.  To find a theatre near you, here is a list of AMC theatres nationwide participating in this fabulous program.

Coming October 1st: Dolphin Tale

*****************************************************************************************************************

Editor’s note: Both The Smurfs and Spy Kids 4 are rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America. Please check the IMDB Parent’s Guide for a more detailed description of The Smurfs or Spy Kids 4 to determine if either is right for you and your child.

It’s Our 2 Yr Bloggiversary! Join Our “Help Save a Child” Giveaway!

We want to jump up and down and shout from the rooftops…
It’s been 2 YEARS since we launched Pediatric Safety!!

Back in 2009, our goal was to create a place where everyone who cares about children’s health and safety could get together to stay informed on the topics that have the potential to affect them and the children in their care. Since our launch, we’ve had the fortune to meet and work with some wonderful folks – a pediatrician, a nurse and child safety expert, a family psychologist, a water safety specialist, a dentist, an environmental safety lawyer, an EMS safety specialist and a special needs parenting expert – all of whom volunteered their time to help make this site a community where you can find answers and hopefully give answers to others when they need them.  At it’s heart, it’s a place where people can support each other – the village needed to raise a child.  If we’ve been able to accomplish even a little of that, then this has been 2 years well spent

So where does this “Giveaway” thing come in???   We want to celebrate…and we’re hoping you’ll join us AND maybe help save a child’s life all at the same time!  

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, (NCMEC), is a private, nonprofit organization created over 25 years ago to serve as the nation’s resource on the issues of missing and sexually exploited children.. As of 1984, police could enter information about stolen cars, stolen guns, and even stolen horses into the FBI’s national crime computer – but not stolen children. That is no longer the case. Thanks to NCMEC, more missing children come home safely today and more is being done today to protect children than anytime in the nation’s history.  And in light of the recent tragedy in New York where a young boy was abducted and killed after getting lost on his way home from camp, we’d like to lend them a hand…

Introducing: Pediatric Safety’s “Help Save a Child and We ALL Win” Giveaway

Something for the kids…and a little something for you too!!

• For each person who signs up to join the Pediatric Safety community, we will donate $1 to NCMEC
• And for two first place winners – to thank you for helping us celebrate 2 years of making a difference, we’d like to give you each
  a $25 Amazon gift card.

Here’s How it Works:

For your MANDATORY ENTRY:

• Register to join the Pediatric Safety Community by clicking here and select “I just joined” on the form below. . If you are already a member of Pediatric Safety, then select “I am already registered” on the form below Also, it’s not required but we’d love if you leave us a comment below.

For your BONUS ENTRIES:

• Retweet one of the following:
  • “Amazon gift card 4 u & $1 for Nat’l Center for Miss & Exploited Children! Help celebrate our 2 yr Bloggiversary http://tinyurl.com/3m3f3m5”  (you may tweet this once daily = 1 entry)
  • “Help celebrate 2 yrs for @pediatricsafety! Join us & we’ll donate $1 to the Nat’l Ctr for Miss & Exploit Children http://tinyurl.com/3m3f3m5″ (you may tweet this once daily = 1 entry)
• Click on the “Share This” at the bottom of this post & submit this to your favorite social network  (= 1 entry)
• Blog about this giveaway and link to this post http://tinyurl.com/3m3f3m5  (=2 entries)

Below you will find our CONTEST ENTRY FORM. After you have completed either your MANDATORY entry or one of the BONUS entries please fill this out.  For simplicity you can use this form for each bonus entry – simply skip the mandatory entry box and check the “bonus entry” box

Loading…

Contest Rules:

Giveaway is open to readers in the USA and Canada only. Giveaway starts Tuesday July 19, 2011 (our Bloggiversary) and ends at 5pm EST Friday July 29, 2011.  Please fill out a separate form for the mandatory entry and for each bonus entry so we can make sure each entry gets counted. (…that means if you completed a bonus that has 2 entries, please submit 2 forms). Please make sure each form has your name and a valid email address. Winner chosen using random.org. You will have 48 hours to email us if you win.  Good Luck to all entrants!

***************************************************************************************************************

**THE GIVEAWAY HAS NOW CLOSED**

Our 2 Winners are:

#17 Paul Shearer

#12 Christel Ide

Thank you to all participants!