Safe Sizer Choking Prevention Plate – Our Story and Giveaway

I’m David Zak, the inventor of the Safe Sizer™ choking prevention plate and the dad of 3 beautiful kids aged 2 to 8. Now, I don’t consider myself an overprotective parent. When my kids are playing I don’t rush to them every time they fall down. But I do worry about the big things. Those potentially fatal but very preventable “accidents” that can happen so easily if you’re not careful. Choking on food is one of those things.

When my oldest was beginning to eat solid foods, I knew I was supposed to cut it up into really small pieces to reduce his risk of choking. But I was always asking myself “How small is small?” I should also mention that I’m a former engineer, and I simply needed a little more precision than “small”.

So, I did some research. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 75 children under the age of 14 die in the US every year from choking on food and about 7,500 are treated in emergency rooms. These are senseless and preventable tragedies. Additionally, the CDC data shows children under 2 years have the highest rates of choking deaths in this group, but children up to 4 years are still particularly vulnerable because they lack a full set of teeth.

I also found a recommendation regarding food size to reduce the risk of choking. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children younger than 4 years old not be fed any round, firm food unless it is cut into pieces no larger than one-half inch in any direction.

You think you know how small one-half inch is until you start trying to cut up pieces of food to that size. It’s smaller than you think. At least, it’s smaller than we thought. And, my wife Susie and I thought, maybe this is smaller than most people would expect. If most people have even heard of this guideline…and it’s pretty important. Nobody we knew had, and we thought they should.

As I thought about how to get this information out to more people, I kept coming back to the small objects test cylinder developed by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). The cylinder’s purpose is to show parents what objects are too small to give a child under 3 because it could block the child’s windpipe. If a toy fits in the cylinder than it fails. As a matter of fact, if a toy fails this test it is required to have a label on its packaging stating it is a potential choking hazard. So why not a test cylinder for food?

But food is a little different. You want it to be swallowed, so here smaller is better. But there is one big advantage with food that I thought would make a test cylinder idea work even better than it does for toys. Food is typically served in pretty standard ways. There’s usually either a plate or a placemat or a tray or some other type of tableware. So a food test cylinder could always be right in front of you if it was built into the tableware itself.

So I invented the Safe Sizer™ .  It is a ½ inch diameter ring that could potentially be put anywhere and on anything on which children can be served food, in order to:

1. inform those who don’t know about the one-half inch size recommendation
2. remind those who do to follow it at the exact place and time when they need the reminder
3. provide a test gauge to accurately measure bite sizes to one-half inch or less

After striking out multiple times trying to convince some large manufacturers of children’s tableware that the Safe Sizer™  was a good idea, Susie and I decided we would just do it ourselves. We formed a company and called it Midwest Monkeys® after our 3 monkeys who were all born in the Midwest. We live in Albuquerque now so it was also a way of bringing a piece of our personal history with us.

Over the next year and a half we joined the major industry group, the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA), met a great product designer, developed, tested, and finally produced our first product that incorporated the Safe Sizer™ feature. We designed a set of three colorful melamine plastic plates with a 3-dimensional raised ring version of the Safe Sizer™  built right into the plate. To use the 3-dimensional Safe Sizer™  feature on the plates, the parent or grandparent or babysitter or any caregiver serving a child a meal simply places a piece of cut up food inside the raised ring, turns it to ensure the piece fits in every direction without going over the sides, and then hands over the plate to the child..

While we could have put the Safe Sizer™  feature on any number of different tableware, the plastic plate made the most sense. It is probably the most commonly used serving dish for kids and plastic allowed us to mold the feature right into plate making it permanent. By using melamine plastic, we also got a very durable, dishwasher safe, and food safe plastic. Lastly, we tested at the CPSIA accredited Intertek Labs to ensure that the Safe Sizer™  plates were fully compliant with the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008). They  meet or exceed all standards for lead, phthalates, and melamine plastics.

The Safe Sizer™  choking prevention plates have been available since January 2009 and the response has been wonderful. We’ve gotten a lot of feedback from parents about how their kids don’t want to use any other plate and how they love putting food in the Safe Sizer™ to show their parents that the food is the right size! We’ve been mentioned in numerous articles, on TV, and in mom blogs. We’re particularly proud of the awards we’ve won including iParenting Media, The National Parenting Center, PTPA (Parent Tested, Parent Approved), and Creative Child Magazine. But what we’re most proud of is that maybe we’ll help prevent one of those 75 kids and their parents from suffering a senseless tragedy.

HEALTHFUL HINTS

Choking Prevention Guidelines

Here are some great guidelines on food choking prevention from the American Academy of Pediatrics. I would encourage all parents and caregivers to look at their site (Parenting Corner Q&A: Choking Prevention) for more information.

1. Always supervise your children while eating
2. Insist that kids are sitting while eating. No walking, running, playing, or lying down.
3. Avoid the foods that kids most commonly choke on: hot dogs, nuts & seeds, chunks of meat & cheese, whole grapes, hard or gooey or sticky candy, popcorn, chunks of peanut butter, raw vegetables, raisins, and chewing gum.
4. Cut food for infants and young children into pieces no larger than one-half inch, and teach them to chew their food well

***Introducing our: ”SAFE SIZER PLATES FOR FEWER CHOKING KIDS” Giveaway!***

The Prize:  

For  3 winners: you may each choose your favorite 2 plates  *PLUS*  a wildcard (1 extra winner) – see below for details

And here’s how it works:

Below you will find a PEDIATRIC SAFETY CONTEST ENTRY FORM. It includes 2 MANDATORY entries for the contest as well as the opportunity for you to enter BONUS entries…

For simplicity (and so that you can tweet multiple times) you can use this form for each entry, however you must fill out a separate form for each entry for it to count!

How to enter:

For your Mandatory Entry: You MUST do these 2 things FIRST or no other entries will count!

1. We at Midwest Monkeys need your help. We’re trying to make some improvements to our website but we’re not really sure where to start. So please go to our site, come back here and tell us on the form below what you’d suggest we do to make the site better. We’re looking for real suggestions that show us you’ve actually gone to the site….plus…we have a surprise for you…the BEST suggestion will win our “wildcard prize”…a single plate of your choice in addition to the ones we already mentioned – and we’re choosing this winner! (1 entry)
2. Tell us which 2 plates you like best so we know which ones to send when YOU WIN (1 entry)

For your Bonus entries:

1. Follow @pediatricsafety on twitter and tweet the following: “I just entered a SafeSizer Choking Prevention Plate Giveaway @PediatricSafety http://bit.ly/mcrTp 3 winners! Safer kids! Great Idea!” 

OR “Toddlers need to eat food in pieces <1/2″. SafeSizer plates make that easy! http://bit.ly/mcrTp Giveaway w/ 3+ winners RT @PediatricSafety” (you may tweet both: 1 entry for each per day)

2. Blog about our story and giveaway on your own site and link to this post http://bit.ly/mcrTp. (2 entries – please submit 2 forms)
3. Join the Pediatric Safety community using the “Join our Community” button.  (4 entries – please submit 4 forms)

**CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 4 WINNERS **

Our 3 Main Contest Winners – Win 2 Plates Each:

1. Traci Fritz #62 – with a Bonus Entry:  joined the Pediatric Safety site
2. Stephanie Clark #77 – with a Mandatory Entry #1: website suggestion
3. Katrina Brandenburg #31 – with a Mandatory Entry #2: which 2 plates she wanted if she won

Our Wildcard Winners – Wins Their Choice of Plate for the Most Helpful Website Suggestion

• Kristen Chumley – I think the theme should be circles. Maybe you could make the navbar circles instead of a single rectangle. Show the 3 styles of plates and when you scroll over them, there could be a zoom feature for users to check out the safe sizer. Another idea would be to have a video demonstation so people could see how useful it is to get a visual guide of 1/2″.

Contest Rules:

Giveaway is open to USA and Canada readers only. Giveaway ends at noon EST Friday Sept 11, 2009. Please fill out a separate form for each entry with your name and a valid email address so we can make sure each entry gets counted. You will have 48 hours to email pediatricsafety.net if you win. 3 winners chosen using random.org for the main prizes; 1 winner chosen by Midwest Monkeys for the wildcard prize. Good Luck to all entrants!

Carnival Cruise Lines Contest Looking For a Child Ages 7 to 12

Cruises are becoming more and more popular with families and as a great way to reconnect with family members that may be scattered across the country with inter-generational vacations. Of course this includes families that include special needs kids. Carnival Cruise Lines is fully equipped to make guests with special requirements and disabilities relaxing and enjoyable. Carnival Corporation was recently awarded the “Access Freedom” award, which is presented by the Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality and is given to individuals and organizations that have made the greatest strides in advancing opportunities for persons with disabilities.

Now Carnival Cruise Lines is gearing up to debut a brand new ship, The Carnival Dream. The new ship comes complete with an outdoor theater, a 24-hour pizza place and its own on-board water park.

To christen the ship on its maiden voyage, Carnival is going to choose a godchild for the water park, WaterWorks, in the Book of Dreams Contest. The lucky child and family will get a trip to New York to embark on a 3-night voyage. Plus, for every entry into the contest Carnival will donate $2 to St Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Carnival will also donate $1 for every vote in the contest. Entry details are here

For more info: Carnival Dream Fact Sheet

Carnival Special Requirements Info Sheet

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Pediatric Safety Addition:

Rules of Contest from Carnival Cruise Website are located here. 

Of key importance – entry must be submitted between August 18, 2009 12:00:01 a.m. EST and no later than September 18, 2009, 11:59:59 p.m. EST on the Sponsor’s website located at www.bigbookofdreams.com, to be entered into the Virtual Book of Dreams Contest. 

Miley Cyrus & Pediatric Safety: A winning ticket!

We finally did it!

 After countless hours of planning and testing and developing – we finally think we’ve put together a site where everyone who cares about children’s health and safety – (parents and doctors and nurses and emergency responders and teachers…to name a few) – can get together to stay informed on the child health safety topics that have the potential to affect us and the children in our care.

A place where we can show each other some of the ideas that we as caregivers had, and then later turned into products and services that help keep kids healthier and safer; and a forum where we’ve been fortunate to have some experts (pediatricians, pediatric nurses, an EMS safety expert, and a specialist in keeping home & kids toxic chemical-free) who have kindly volunteered time to help out with an open exchange of questions and ideas.

It’s a place where hopefully each of you can find answers and in turn give answers to others who need them. It’s a community where people can support each other… and it’s yours.   

So where does this contest thing come in???   Well how do you get to know a new place unless you explore??? And we WANT you to get to know this one – and tell others about it. …And THAT’s where this contest thing comes in   :)

Introducing:  Miley Cyrus & Pediatric Safety: A winning ticket!

**contest extended two more weeks**:

The prize: as a way of thanking our new friends…

• For one lucky winner:   Two (2) tickets to see Miley Cyrus in concert on November 18th at Nassau Coliseum in New York        

• For another lucky winner:  Two (2) tickets to see Miley Cyrus in concert on November 29th at Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA

And here’s how it works:

Below you will find our CONTEST ENTRY FORM. It includes our MANDATORY entry for the contest as well as the opportunity for you to enter a BONUS entry…

For simplicity (and so that you can tweet multiple times) you can use this form for each bonus entry, however if this is an additional entry, please check the box saying this an additional entry so we know you have already completed your mandatory entry requirement. Please note: you must fill out a separate form for the mandatory entry as well as for each bonus entry so we can make sure each entry gets counted.

Starting next Friday, and for each Friday after that we will post opportunities for you to earn additional BONUS entries. Each bonus entry will be listed for that 1 week and will only be good for that week. So be sure to check back each week for the bonus entries …and have fun!

For your MANDATORY ENTRY – YOU MUST DO THIS TO ENTER THE CONTEST:

For your BONUS ENTRIES FOR WEEKS 5 & 6:

1.  Tweet the following “Hannah Montana / @MileyCyrus Concert tix Giveaway! Visit http://ow.ly/jS82 for details & plz RT @pediatricsafety #pedsafe” (You may tweet once daily = 1 entry)
2. Share this contest on your favorite social networking site ” Click share at the bottom of the post and provide the URL where you shared it on the form (Each share = 1 entry)
3.  Name and describe one post from the home page of the site Answer on the form below (Answer = 2 entries, so remember to submit 2 forms)
4. Blog about this contest – including a request for your readers to tweet or blog about it. ” Include the blog URL on the form (Blogging = 2 entries, so remember to submit 2 forms)
5. Join the ANSR for Kids (Ambulances Need Safety Regulations) cause on Facebook and send invites to your friends – help us spread the word that things have got to change http://apps.facebook.com/causes/299331?m=3f1cca43 (Join the cause = 3 entries, so remember to submit 3 forms)
6. Sign the ANSR for Kids petition and leave a comment - help us tell Congress that Ambulances Need Safety Regulations for Kids http://www.rallycongress.com/pediatric-safety/2168/ansr-kids-ambulances-need-safety-regulations/ (Signing the petition = 3 entries, so remember to submit 3 forms)

Please note: Each contest (Atlanta and New York) requires a minimum of 20 valid participants for tickets to be awarded - see details in contest rules below

**CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2 WINNERS **

Our Atlanta Winner: for Miley Cyrus tickets at Philips Arena - Kimberly Sloane #16 – with a Mandatory Entry 

 Our NY Winner: for a $50 gift certificate to Amazon.com – Dora Gouli - #152 – with an Additional Entry: Signed the Petition (Child safety should be taken very seriously and hopefully this petition on more secure transportation features for ambulances does not get ignored)

Finally…Contest Rules:

Welcome to the summer of Miley, the summer of kids and the summer of Pediatric Safety. 
We hope you find a home at our new community, and that you believe like we do: we’re in this together…and where kids health and safety are concerned… ONE OUCH IS DEFINITELY TOO MANY!!

Thank you, Texas! Little Kids Need to Travel Safely

Having been one of the last 6 remaining states without a child safety seat requirement, Texas passed a law, effective September 1, 2009 requiring children under the age of 8 and/or 4 feet 9 inches in height to be restrained in a child safety seat system. This includes a traditional child safety seat with a harness or a booster seat which will raise the child up enough to allow the car’s seat belt and shoulder harness to protect the child in the appropriate places and not do more harm.

 http://www.corsicanadailysun.com/local/local_story_178185644.html

The necessity for protecting the youngest in our society is an adult responsibility, long overdue. So if we protect them from accidental injury while a passenger in a car, shouldn’t we be providing that same protection when they are sick and/or hurt and traveling at high speeds in an ambulance?  

Something to think about . . . and maybe do something about?    Isn’t every child’s life worth it???  

If you agree, then there is something  we can all do to help make a difference right this very minute…

A lot of folks don’t know that we’re not transporting kids safely in ambulances – including those folks in Washington who could pass some laws to do something about this.  So let’s make sure enough people know about this that it can’t be passed over. (…and hey, when you’re all done entering the contest, please leave a comment and let other people know what you think about safe ambulance transport for kids)

Introducing: Thank you, Texas!  Little Kids Need to Travel Safely Contest

The Prize :

To two first place winners to thank you for helping us make a difference: one month of Starbucks Frappuccinos (or $25 worth on a Starbucks card)

And Here’s How it Works:  

 Below you will find our CONTEST ENTRY FORM.  It  includes our MANDATORY entry for the contest as well as the opportunity for you to enter a BONUS entry…
For simplicity (and so that you can tweet multiple times) you can use this form for each bonus entry, however, if this is an additional entry, please check the box saying this an additional entry so we know you have already completed your mandatory entry requirement

For your MANDATORY ENTRY:

Tweet the following on Twitter ” New Starbucks Giveaway! We need ANSRs for Kids (Ambulances Need Safety Regulations) Every child’s life matters! http://ow.ly/hutQ Plz RT! “ 

For your BONUS ENTRIES:

1.  Retweet the following   ”New Starbucks Giveaway! We need ANSRs for Kids (Ambulances Need Safety Regulations) Every child’s life matters! http://ow.ly/hutQ Plz RT!” (you may tweet once daily = 1 entry)
2. Click on the “Share This” at the bottom of this post & submit this to your favorite social network (= 1 entry)
3. Join our community (note:  An email will be sent asking you to verify your membership – you must login to your email & verify membership ) http://pediatricsafety.net/wp-login.php?action=register  ( = 2 entries)
4. Blog about this giveaway and link to this post http://ow.ly/hutQ (=2 entries)
5. Join the cause on Facebook and send invites to your friends – help us spread the word that things have got to change http://apps.facebook.com/causes/299331?m=3f1cca43 (=3 entries)
6. Sign the petition – help us tell Congress that we need ANSR’s for Kids http://www.rallycongress.com/pediatric-safety/2168/ansr-kids-ambulances-need-safety-regulations/ (=3 entries)

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2 WINNERS

Shirley Brondum – #51 – with a Mandatory Tweet

Carol Dziuba #33 – with an Additional Entry – Signed the Petition (You’ve signed! Next, send your comments as a letter to your elected officials. entry 1)

Contest Rules:

Giveaway is open to USA and Canada readers only. Giveaway starts Friday July 17, 2009 and ends at noon EST Friday July 31, 2009.  Please fill out a separate form for the mandatory entry and each bonus entry so we can make sure each entry gets counted. (…that means if you completed a bonus that has 3 entries, please submit 3 forms). Please make sure each form has your name and a valid email address.  You will have 48 hours to email me if you win. Winner chosen using random.org. Good Luck to all entrants!

 

CONTEST #1: What’s Wrong With This Picture???

For the past decade ER and Grey’s Anatomy have been two of the most popular US hospital dramas. Medical consultants are a given at this level. Take a look at the following clips from both of these shows…both show an ambulance arriving at the ER with a young child.

Two questions: What’s right with these pictures? …and more important what’s wrong?

(scenes © ER and Grey’s Anatomy, all rights reserved. A special thanks to Young Estate Studios for creating these clips and making this possible)

• You are seeing a totally accurate picture of what happens today. Clearly someone was holding the child during transport – whether the parent strapped to a stretcher or the EMT or paramedic who is getting off the ambulance holding the child. Regardless, they did not unstrap the child and pick them up to hop out of the ambulance. The consultant got it right.

What’s wrong?

• The consultant got it right – someone was holding that child on the ambulance while transporting them to the hospital. Noone has strapped that child in and currently there’s no law – at least in the US as well as in a number of other countries – requiring them to do so. It is not the medic’s fault, for very little is available in terms of equipment to safely secure young children on ambulances. But what if that child needed CPR? Or even more important, what happens to that child if the unimaginable were to happen and that ambulance were to be hit?

Maybe they’re safer in an ambulance than a car? If we consider that we are highly likely to be going above the speed limit around curves and passing through intersections against the flow of traffic, I’m not sure I believe that. Also I can say without a doubt there is at least 1 child I know of that will never attend public school because we did not keep her secure in the back of an ambulance. So clearly what we’re doing is not working, but until we’re ready to say “this is unacceptable” nothing will change.