The Safety Mom Chronicles

An ATV Tragedy Close To Home

This weekend I was heartbroken to learn that a 14-year-old boy in my town died tragically in an all terrain vehicle (ATV) accident.  Unfortunately he had been riding with no helmet or safety gear and crashed into a tree.  The eight grader had just been sitting next to my friend's son at their graduation the day before. 

Sadly, it appears that ATV deaths and injuries are on the rise.   According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, at least 555 people — including more than 100 children — died in all-terrain vehicle accidents in 2006. Government safety officials expect the number to go much higher as they receive information from coroners and hospitals nationwide.

The majority of these accidents occurred when kids were riding adult-size ATVs, were riding recklessly and/or without the proper safety gear. 

ATVs don't require a license to drive, so many parents think they are a safe toy for kids. The reality is, however, that they are not a toy at all but a very powerful vehicle that most tweens and teens don't have the ability to control.  According to the ATV Safety Institute, more than 90 percent of child injuries are caused by improper driver behavior.

Here's what you can do to keep your kids safe on ATVs.

• Make sure they are riding the right size ATV.
  
• Have your child take a training course.
  
• Make sure they wear a helmet.
  
• They should wear protective gear - like boots, gloves and googles.
  
• And always supervise your children while they are riding.

Laws vary from state to state when it comes to riding on public land, but the ATV Safety Institute says, no one younger than 6 years old should be on an ATV.

Also, parents can buy ATVs that are smaller and made specifically for kids. Not only are they smaller in size, but they don't go as fast. Parents have the ability to change the speed, so if they don't want their kids going more than 5 miles per hour, they can make the ATV go no more than 5 miles an hour.

For information about ATV training courses in your area, contact the ATV Safety Institute at (800) 887-2887 or log on to www.atvsafety.org.

What You Need to Know About Dry Drowning

This week, the news was filled with a report of a 10-year-old boy in South Carolina who died from "dry drowning" - a little known phenomenon in which a person drowns without being in water.  There is a delayed effect - between one hour and twenty four hours - from the time the water reaches the person's lungs.  Every year, about 4,000 American's die from dry drowning. 1,400 of them being children.  It usually happens in people who are swimming for the first time or those who are not good swimmers.  People suffering from asthma are also more at risk. 

I never heard of this before this week and I tend to suspect most people haven't.  But it's important for parents to recognize the symptoms and take them seriously.  The most important signs are extreme fatigue, difficulty in breathing and changes in behavior.  All are the result of reduced oxygen flow to the brain.  If your child has any of these symptoms and he has recently been swimming you should immediately take him to the hospital. 

This is just one more example of the dangers of pools and swimming.  Remind every mom you know that it's critical to always keep an eye on kids when they're in the water. 

Latest MySpace Cyberbullying Victim

This week an 8th grade girl in Florida is missing her graduation.  She's too embarrassed to go because she's afraid she'll be teased about the sexual comments that have been posted on her My Space page.  The problem is, she isn't the one who has been posting these messages.  This little girl is the most recent victim of cyberbullying

Shameeka Mucklin made the unfortunate mistake of giving her MySpace password to some friends.  After a falling out, these ex-friends changed her e-mail information and password so that Shameeka no longer had access to her own MySpace page.  They then began posting sexually provocative comments under all of Shameeka's pictures.  Within hours, the 14 year-old began getting calls to her cell phone from adult men asking to meet her and wondering if "she'd do what she talked about on her MySpace page."

Shameeka's mother has contacted MySpace but has still not received a response.  The local police department is conducting an on-going investigation into this cyber-bullying case but for Shameeka the damage is done.  While MySpace says that it's sending out a list of safety guidelines, they're rather ineffective when dealing with devious teens. 

I'd be interested in hearing if your child has been the victim of cyberbullying or even if they've been a cyberbully.  How have you dealt with it?