Should Your Child Wear a Mouth Guard?
Playing team sports are a wonderful experience for children. There are many physical and 
emotional health benefits.
There can also be safety and protection issues. Any sport can increase head and mouth trauma. Injury can not be completely eliminated but damage can be lessened. Mouth guards can decrease the potential for harm by up to 60%.
Besides preventing permanent loss or disfigurement of the most visible, front teeth, mouth guards can prevent a concussion.
The younger your child starts wearing a mouth guard, the more likely they are to continue wearing it through their sporting career. Custom fitting mouth guards allow your child to speak and breathe more comfortably, performing with the greatest confidence.
Benefits of a mouth guard:
- You increase the chance of damaging your teeth 60x if you don’t wear a mouth guard while playing spots
- Injuries to your teeth can result in permanent disfigurement of your most viable front teeth
- It is estimated that a lifetime dental costs to a tooth that is knocked out can be up to $20,000
As stated earlier, the habit of wearing a mouth guard is developed at an early age. Make sure you talk to your dentist about the best type of mouth guard for your child. There are several different types available to you.
Be safe this sports season!
An Important Story – Must See for Parents
On yesterday morning’s edition of the “Today Show” there was a very important and very well done piece on the devastation caused when children are left, even inadvertently in a hot car. Also featured are many inexpensive solutions. It also begs the age-old question; why are such devices not regulated and required.
Please click here to watch.
A Public Meeting on Safe Transport for Kids on Ambulances
In the Federal Register, dated July 19, 2010, a notice and invitation was posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the Department of Transportation (NHTSA). This Thursday – August 5th – NHTSA will be hosting a Public Meeting to hear comments regarding the newly-submitted draft recommendations for the safe transport of children in emergency ground ambulances.
What wonderful news! It’s about time that positive steps are finally being taken in the effort to establish consistent Federal guidelines for the safe transport of infants and children in emergency vehicles. This is most definitely a banner day for the Emergency Medical Service (EMS).
The issue of inconsistent guidelines for child emergency transport was first highlighted in a 1998 survey of state requirements for child safety restraints in ambulances, and the resulting report was the first to identify the many variations in guidelines existing from one state to another.
In 1999, a national consensus committee was convened to review EMS child transport practices. The resulting document, the “Do’s And Don’ts of Transporting Children in an Ambulance”, provided general guidance for EMS practitioners in the field. This document has remained the guide for the industry from then until now, even though protocols and practices remained inconsistent, often varied across jurisdictions and sometimes provided limited or inadequate guidance.
This problem is finally being publically recognized. The July 19th issue of the Federal Register states: “Currently there are no Federal standards or standard protocols among EMS and child safety professionals in the U.S. for how best to transport children safely in ground ambulances from the scene of a traffic crash or a medical emergency to a hospital or other facility. The absence of consistent national standards and protocols regarding the transportation of children in ground ambulances complicates the work of EMS professionals and may result in the improper and unsafe restraint of highly vulnerable child passengers. As a result, EMS agencies, advocates and academicians have turned to NHTSA for leadership on this issue.”
In September of 2008, in recognition of the need for improving child-oriented, safe, emergency ambulance transport, NHTSA initiated a project called: “Solutions To Safely Transport Children In Emergency Vehicles”, and formed a Working Group of experts in the field of Emergency Medical Services for the purpose of “drafting consistent national recommendations that will be embraced by local, state and national EMS organizations, enabling them to reduce the frequency of inappropriate and potentially unsafe transportation of ill, injured, or not sick/uninjured children in ground ambulances.”
In June of 2009, this website, Pediatric Safety.net was launched. This site made public awareness of the lack of safety guidelines and the use of inappropriately sized, non harness–equipped stretchers for child transport a primary concern. As a means of promoting awareness of the problem, pediatricsafety.net established a cause, ANSR (Ambulances Need Safety Regulations) for kids, which included a petition to be forwarded to each signer’s congressmen. The hope was that if enough people signed the petition, attention would force the government to play an active role in finding a viable solution to the problem.
In its “Innovation” section, pediatricsafety.net followed the development of the PedREST, a child-size safety transport system for infants and young children. From its humble beginnings as a crayon drawing concept idea, to a video prototype and now a physical prototype, the PedREST seemed to be a credible answer to the problem. Designed by an Emergency Medical Technician, it could, with a small amount of additional design modification by a qualified engineer, become this desperately needed safety transport device.
I am the cause advocate for Pediatric Safety. Two of my daughters were key in developing the PedREST. It took 15 years to get the PedREST through the patent process and the building of a prototype. Once created, it was disheartening to realize that companies were not falling all over themselves for the opportunity to take the idea and help commercialize it, so that it could be put to use as quickly as possible. What could be more important than protecting the life of an infant or small child already in the care of the very people committed to doing just that? What was even more upsetting was the fact that, even though so many articles had been written about the need for government intervention to establish industry guidelines, nothing had been publicly introduced over all these years to show that steps were at least being taken to that end.
Statistics say it all:*
- Approximately 1 in 10 patient ambulance transports involve children. The result: 6 Million Children are transported by emergency medical vehicles each year
- 3 out of every 100 transports involve children under 5 years of age. The result: approx. 1.8 million children are transported by emergency vehicles each year
- 5,000 ambulance crashes per year with minor to fatal results. The result: approx. 4 child fatalities per year
I think the time has finally come for action!
- Participate in the public hearing concerning the draft recommendations on safe transport for children on ambulances. Register for the webinar by sending an email to: sandy.sinclair@dot.gov
- Please sign the ANSR petition and tell your congressman/woman that we require that our kids be transported safely on ambulances – anything else is unacceptable!
Help us help NHTSA pass formal regulations and guidelines to be used on local, state, and national levels to keep our kids safe when they need it the most.
With thanks from all my grandchildren, and from me.
Sandy Schnee
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Reference:
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Dr Nadine Levick, MD/MPH, “Ambulance Transport Safety – Where is the State of the Art?”, Child Passenger Safety Conference NHTSA Region II, Sept 26th, 2008
Water Explorers: Family Fun in the Sun
Few images evoke the feeling of “getting away from it all” as does a canoe, kayak or raft gliding with the current. But you don’t have to live on water — or own a boat, for that matter — to organize an offshore trip. Nor do you have to sign on to an expensive, multi-day, wild river run to experience the wonders of water travel (sans motor) firsthand. With a little research, you can plan a safe and fun expedition that won’t sink your finances in the process.
Rent, rent, rent your boat: Where there is a lake or river, there are usually clubs, outfitters and/or liveries that rent out small vessels — and of course, life jackets — for several hours. Former river guide and adventure mom Julie Thorner of Bryson City, N.C., recommends the Web site AdventureVacations for finding reputable outfitters. Typically, you don’t have to worry about securing a permit. That’s the job of the organization you rent from, and it’s covered by the small fee you’ll be charged for the rental.
Know your water: What you do need to worry about, says Thorner, are the conditions of the water you plan to travel on. She advises all canoeists, kayakers and rafters to make a point of knowing the water. Rivers and rapids are classified to help paddlers know how challenging a route is. For example, a Class I river has few ripples or obstacles, a Class II has some moderately difficult rapids and so on up to Class V, an extremely challenging river with narrow passages, rocks and violent waves.
Know your limits: Novice paddlers looking for excitement can consider a rough river but only if they invest in the services of a guide to travel with them, says Thorner. The experience of a seasoned paddler will help calm nerves — if not the waters — when the craft encounters Class III or IV rapids. A good outfit will have a policy for determining age-appropriate trips. Just make sure in advance that all members of your group, kids and adults alike, are up for the adrenaline rush that comes when you hit dicier waters.
Take it slow: Prefer to leave the guide behind? Paddling newcomers should stick to lakes, which are flat except during windy weather, or Class I or II rivers. You don’t need a guide to do a day float on a gently flowing river or on a lake, says Thorner. “Plus, it’s a great confidence builder to do it on your own,” she says. If younger children are on board, bring along plenty of snacks and plan to stop several times along the banks of the lake or river, making sure to tie up the boat if you intend to swim or walk along the shore.
A no-tip tip: It doesn’t take much for a heavy canoe or traditional kayak to tip over, and righting them, especially in a current of any kind, can be very difficult. Many outfitters also offer inflatable kayaks (often called duckies) and rafts, which are less tippy and much easier to right should they flip over and you fall out. Patsy Fisher of Etna, N.H., once tipped a canoe on the Connecticut River while paddling on her own, and pulling the overturned craft to shore — forget about righting it — was “incredibly difficult.” That’s one reason she prefers the serenity of canoeing on the lake near her home, especially when she’s with one of her three children. “You can hold a conversation — or not — while you’re skimming across the water,” she says. “It’s physical, it’s peaceful, and you can enjoy nature.” Perfect.
My New Buddy Brian – Questions for Every Parent
This past weekend I was out walking my pack o dogs on one of our many trails. We were almost back to the parking lot and let me tell you we were hot. I had some bottles of water for me and a jug of water for the dogs. Right where we were to 
turn off to the parking lot there is a “T”. You could go North or South or to the parking lot. Here at this T junction was a special needs teenager on a adult tricycle looking back and forth, North and South, North and South. I watched for a minute while the dogs panted and waited. I asked him if he needed help and his response was to ask where his Dad was. This young man’s name was Brian. He had passed me about ten minutes earlier and was alone- no one else was with him.
Brian did not know whether to go North or South or which direction he had just come from. On his own he did not know what to do. He did know his Dad’s cell number. Brian did not have a phone but I never go anywhere without mine so we called his Dad. Of course we got voice mail but Brian left a message. We walked/rode to my car and we all had some water. Within about 10 minutes, Dad called back, very worried. Dad did not know the area very well and another hiker and I were able to eventually talk him to where we were. Brian had actually made it quite far- several miles at least.
When Dad along with Mom showed up one of Mom’s questions was to ask whether or not Brian had asked for help-whether or not he recognized he was in trouble on his own and asked for help. My answer to Mom that he did not- visibly upset her. Even though this was a minor event that turned out well- I’ve given it quite a lot of thought.
- When does a child know they are in trouble?
- When do they know it is time to ask for help?
- When is a child too young to go off riding on their own or walking to a neighbor?
- A recent article here on PediatricSafety reminded parents to teach the 911 number to their young children. Along with 911 do our kids know our phone numbers?
- What is the right age to consider a cell for our kids for emergencies if for no other reason?
- Do our kids know our real names are not Mom and Dad?
- Do they know their address?
- If we are separated from our kids do they know what to do? Do we?
I like to think that I’m a pretty decent guy and I tend to think most people are too. Most- not all as the headlines remind us. It only takes seconds or minutes for something bad to happen. I realize this asks more questions that it provides answers. I hope others chime in and offer sound advice.
