The Safety Mom Chronicles

Child Safety Tips for Halloween

Before your little ghosts and goblins set out for a scary night of trick-or-treating, be sure their prepared to be safe as well as scary.  Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you’re planning their evening:

There’s safety in numbers: If your child’s old enough to go out without an adult, make sure they will be trick-or-treating with several friends that you know.  Establish a route they will take and set a curfew for when they need to be home.  If your child doesn’t have a cell phone, let them use yours for the evening

Keep it light: If possible, try to create or select a costume in a lighter color which is easier to see in the dark.  Place a piece of reflective tape on both the front and back of the costume and also purchase a few glow bracelets or necklaces for your child to wear.

No strings attached: For younger children be sure there are no long strings near the collar of the costume which could pose a strangulation hazard.  Also, make sure the costume is not too long which could cause your child to trip (one of the leading causes of accidents at Halloween are falls). Rather than wearing a mask, which might cause limited vision, try non-toxic paint and make-up to create a scary face. 

Know the neighborhood: If possible, trick-or-treat in a community where the homes are close together and well lit or, in a city, choose one or two apartment buildings in which you have friends.  Remind your child to never enter a house, always stay outside the door!

Save the treats for home! Remind your child to not eat anything that they receive until they return home and it can be checked.  Anything that is not in an original wrapper should be thrown out.  Be careful that candy is not shared with younger siblings – items with nuts, caramel and raisins as well as hard candy and popcorn are all choking hazards for children under the age of five.

And most importantly, remind your child never to get into a car with someone they don’t know.  If someone approaches them, and they feel at all uncomfortable, explain to them that they should go to the nearest lit home and ring the door.

While these tips won’t help prevent the sugar over-load that will inevitably occur, it will help to ensure they arrive home safe and sound.

The Cold Medicine Confusion - What's a Mom To Do?

On Friday, A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended a ban on over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for children younger than 6.    Many reports showed that the medicines were nothing more than a placebo and recommended the drugs be tested to see if they are in any way effective.  The recommendations apply to medicines containing at least one of the following ingredients: decongestants, expectorants, antihistamines and antitussives, the AP reported.

So today, as we read the reports that the medicine we've been giving our children for years is not only ineffective but might not be safe, how will moms respond?  For the past few days, as initial reports having been coming through,  my e-mail box has been jammed with questions and concerns from moms on what this really means.  Most will be scouring their medicine cabinet and probably filling at least a bag full with medicines they will be discarding. 

Between this news and the spate of toy recalls, it leaves all of us anxious.  How do we best care for our children and keep them safe?  Is this a call for "back to basics?"  Most pediatricians will advise parents that the best remedies for babies when they have colds is saline drops and cool mist vaporizers.   As moms, we took comfort in the fact that, when we saw our little ones miserable from a cold or flu, we could give them something to make them feel better.   Now, we're waking up to the fact that there's no magic bullet.  Our children's illness needs to run its course and we're in for some cranky days and sleepless nights.    But in the end, we're willing to put up with this if we know that it is the safer alternative to the chemicals we've been giving our babies that could potentially harm them rather than cure them. 

Eating Locally - Tastes Good and Feels Good!

This time of year it's always such fun to go apple picking and pumpkin picking.  I'm not a great baker but it's become a ritual to make loaves of apple bread and pumpkin bread and, of course, roasted pumpkin seeds.  It's not just the experience of picking the apples that makes them taste better - locally grown produce that's allowed to ripen naturally does taste better.

Your local produce doesn't have to be curtailed to  apples and pumpkins.  Exploring farmer's markets on Saturday mornings with the kids is an opportunity to get them interested in a variety of fruits and vegetables and, at the same time, reducing the amount of harmful pesticides that are entering their bodies.

It's true that we are what we eat and our bodies are screaming out against the harmful toxins that are being ingested.   Many moms I speak with, who have children with neurological issues, question the role artificial growth hormones, pesticides and other chemicals play in their child's disease.   Unfortunately, the government seems to be deaf to our concerns.  Earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the use of the pesticide methyl iodide,  mainly for use in strawberry fields.  Methyl iodide is a new, highly toxic fumigant, a neurotoxin and carcinogen that has been linked to thyroid cancers, neurological damage and miscarriages in lab animals.  On the EPA's site, they state that "In humans, acute (short-term) exposure to methyl iodide by inhalation may depress the central nervous system (CNS), irritate the lungs and skin, and affect the kidneys. "

Farmers markets are a great way to find locally grown produce but certainly not the only way.  Locally owned grocery and natural foods stores and coops are much more likely than supermarkets to stock local foods. The Local Harvest website (www.localharvest.com) provides a comprehensive national directory of farmers’ markets, farm stands and other sources of locally grown food.   So this weekend, take your kids out and let them experience the amazing flavors of locally grown produce.

Calling Dr. Mom

I recently made a bet with my babysitter that within two weeks of the kids starting school at least one of them would have the flu, a stomach bug or just a bad cold.  I was wrong -- it actually took three weeks.   With three kids in the house it's inevitable that we have our share of colds throughout the season.  But with little ones, there's always the nagging question in the back of your mind - is it really just a cold or flu or is it something worse?   As moms, especially when it comes to our babies,  we analyze and agonize over every symptom.  And usually the first place we turn to find answers is the Internet.   At times, this can be extremely helpful in giving us some peace of mind and making us better informed parents...and eliminating a second or third trip to the pediatrician in a matter of a month.   But there's also the very real danger of misdiagnosing what could be a serious underlying condition.   While there are many credible sites for researching illnesses, there's a good likelihood that you will stumble upon a site or article that contains inaccurate information.  An informed parent is a strong advocate for their child but I always tell moms that the bottom line is -- check with your pediatrician.  And now, with infant and toddler's cold medicine being pulled off the shelf, it's vital that parents speak with their pediatrician and understand the appropriate treatment for their child's specific illness.