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Child Safety In The Home . . .
Beyond October's
Child Safety Month
October. I'm going to call it "child safety in the home" month! Every day we see it on tv, we read about it in the newspapers, and there are always special flyers circulating the neighborhoods and community centers. And don't forget the buzz of the cell phone with calls, text messages and emails talking about what happened to "the Jones baby". There is one common denominator! The issue, you ask? It is kids safety. Anywhere. Any time. Any conditions. None of us are exempt! And none of us are exceptional. After all, we are all human!
We hear about child safety seat laws, fire safety for kids, child safety locks, child safety harness, child safety pool fence, water safety for kids, a child safety vest, child safety rules, and child safety tips. Yet when a child dies accidentally from something we thought was safe, it becomes a tragedy of huge proportions; and it envelopes and unites us all by tugging massively at our heart strings! And then some of us get really mad! These are our kids! We pride ourselves to teach kids safety. In our schools we practice child safety activities. But how extensive are they? How passive are we in believing that the 'right thing is being done' instead of taking a proactive stance and finding out for ourselves?
Speaking of being proactive with child safety . . . a good place to start is with our preschool and daycare centers. If you happen to be in the Salt Lake City, Utah area, you can find a wonderful daycare center and safe environment for child development. Utah Preschool Daycare is a certified and established childcare provider, preschool child daycare service provider, and child development learning center. Visit them now online at Daycare Center.
I remember traveling in Mexico for a time, and there is a common law that you learn immediately there. "You mess with my children, you mess with me; and that can't be good for you in any respect"! They have their own set of child safety rules. Yet we are passive in our approach, preoccupied with other things, too busy to do anything about it, and too selfish to give this much of time and ourselves; until tragedy occurs. Then we get angry, and even then only a few do something about it! How can we shake off that tragic pain so easily? Are we so insensitive, naive, numb and unrealistic enough to think it "won't happen to me"? If you are in this mind-set, then you need to take a visit to the National Child Safety Council's website (listed below), or at least keep reading here and learn more about child safety in the home.
Child safety in the home is an ongoing task. It only takes seconds for a kid to be hurt, and sometimes seriously and life threatening, even death. Unfortunately recall notices never make it to the home of some affected consumers. The Consumer Product Safety Commission and the child safety council reports that only about 30% respond to them anyway. And, even worse, some toy recalls that make national news only get about a 10% response. Isn't that sad? There is something seriously wrong with that picture, isn't there?
Window coverings have recently been reported to cause strangulation in children in many, many reports across the nation; and hundreds of children have died. Yet some of us scoff and say, "that is just old news; I have secured my cords from dangling". Wake up call, folks! It's not from the dangling cord pulls that is hampering our kids safety, it's from inner cords that run between the slats to connect them that still form loops when pulled. Child safety in the home is being overlooked and in some instances, just flat out ignored!
There's been recalls of faulty blinds, paint-tainted toys, unsafe food and treats for children and pets, car safety for kids, school bus safety for kids, and even cyber safety for kids; but much of it has fallen on deaf ears. Our most precious possessions are at risk and we need to work hard at learning about child safety in the home and child safety devices, what they are, how they work and how they can make your world safer for your children now and for generations to come.
Take a look at a short video made by Linda Kaiser from Elgin, Illinois whose daughter Cheyenne's accidental death seven years ago by a cord she grabbed on a blind. Linda is on a mission to educate the public by showing how it can happen to you, too, and things you should know about child safety in the home. As a result, Linda Kaiser founded Parents for Window Blind Safety. (There was a video and article that is no longer available from my source, I'm sure it is archived somewhere; and I will try to find it and put the link back here. Sorry for any confusion). But our hearts go out to Linda Kaiser and Tiara and Orlandus Robinson and we silently mourn their losses, and others like them, ordinary people leading ordinary lives in an ordinary way. Just like you and I. Then it happened. The worse nightmare anyone could ever imagine. In just precious seconds. Child safety in the home is in our face every day in one way or another. We must make everyone we know more aware.
 
And the killer is still dangling in most American homes. Those blinds should be replaced with cordless shades or motorized remote control shades. This is not just horizontal blinds issues, and it's not just cheap window coverings issues. Some of the top name manufacturers in the world are recalling. Corded shades and draperies manufactured before 2001 should be replaced with today's safer products and learn about kids safety, especially if there are young children either residing or visiting your home.
Just having the cord secured to the wall, window, or door; or raised out of the hands of kids is not enough! If this just isn't possible financially, consumers who have blinds with cords in their window coverings should call the Window Covering Safety Council toll-free (800) 506-4636 to receive a FREE repair kit for each set of blinds to make kids safety features updated and in compliance.
The repair kit includes a small plastic attachment that prevents the inner cords from being pulled loose to form a loop. Linda shows you all about this in her video, and there are charts to show you exactly step by step how to fix it, and how it can happen to you even so innocently.
Take the time to visit websites like
Safe Kids Organization
Us Consumer Product Safety Commission,
Parents
The National Organization of Child Care professionals
Window Coverings Safety Council to learn more about how you can participate in this ongoing campaign of child safety tips. Our kids safety is our life blood, or at least it should be. There is an industry wide slogan that we can all adopt. It is
"Make the Right Choice, KIDS ... CORDS ... CAUTION".
 
All the information I have given you with websites and phone numbers about child safety in the home is FREE information. Take advantage of it. Get proactive and copy it, distribute it, discuss it, digest it, absorb it, and teach it to anyone who will listen. If they won't listen, give them a swift kick in the seat of the pants and force them to become proactive, too! Kids safety is serious business, and we all have a few minutes to devote to it.
Let's face it, our children and grandchildren are energetic and curious. It's our duty to provide child safety in the home. And it's our moral duty to support those who have lost children to this tragic end. We are the caregivers, we are responsible, and we are supposed to care above and beyond reproach. So let's make a promise to ourselves and to each other:
To put down our cell phones for one hour every day and spend time learning how we can make child safety in the home and around the community a high priority group venture that will benefit us all! What do you say? Let's make a difference, one person at a time.
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