The Safety Mom Chronicles

When It Comes To Spring Sports Make Sure Your Kids Are Protected

April marks the start of many spring sports for kids from Little League to spring soccer.  While team sports are a great activity, it’s important that our children are sufficiently protected while they’re on the field.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, sports-related injuries are the leading cause of emergency room visits for 12 – 17 year olds. Unfortunately, according to a new survey, many parents don’t enforce the use of some inexpensive protective sports gear, such as mouth guards, in many kids’ sports.

 

April has been designated National Facial Protection Month.  To help educate parents, coaches and kids about this issue, The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) has teamed up with Jennifer Montana, wife of football great Joe Montana, to urge athletes to “play it safe” by wearing mouth guards and other appropriate protective gear when participating in many sports and activities. 

 

The AAO commissioned a survey to determine why many preventable face and mouth injuries are still so prevalent among young athletes.  Overall, the survey results showed the need for better education of parents and coaches about the risks and need for mouth guards and other protective measures in sports. 

 

·         The need for mouth guards is severely underestimated – 67% of parents surveyed said that their child does not wear a mouth guard yet 70% said that their greatest fear when their child plays organized sports is that they will get hurt.

 

·         Most coaches and leagues are not advising the use of mouth guards – Of the parents whose children do not wear a mouth guard during organized sports, including practice, 84% said it’s because the league or coach does not require it.

 

·         Many parents don’t realize that there are many sports in which it’s important to where a mouth guard – While there was a high recognition that mouth guards should be worn while playing football, ice hockey and wrestling, other sports were not considered.  Baseball, soccer, basketball and football account for about 80% of all sports-related emergency room visits for children between 5 and 14 years of age.  Mouth guards should be worn in all of these sports.

 

Mouth guards not only save teeth but they may protect jaws.  Additionally, face guards, devices made of plastic or metal that attach to baseball helmets, also help to prevent facial injuries. 

 

So how can kids play it safe?  Here are a few important tips:

 

·         Wear  mouth guards for contact sports – Mouth guards can help prevent jaw, mouth and teeth injuries and are less costly that repairing an injury

 

·         Wear a helmet – Helmets absorb the energy of an impact

 

·         Wear protective eyewear – Eyes are extremely vulnerable in contact sports

 

·         Wear a face shield to avoid scratched or bruised skin – Hockey pucks, basketballs, baseballs and racquetballs can do severe damage

 

To learn more sports safety tips and which mouth guard is appropriate for your child, visit www.braces.org.

If Adults Can Be Fooled By The Craigslist Killer, Imagine What Our Kids Face?

When you look at Philip Markoff, the 22-year old accused of being the "Craigslist killer," you could never imagine that he could be responsible for such crimes.  According to his fiancee, he's a nice, clean cut, intelligent med student.  But the police have painted a different picture - that of of a cold-blooded killer who went trolling for his victims online. 

I'm sure his postings looked innocent enough and, when accompanied by his photo, painted an image of an all-American guy just looking for a good time.  It's easy to see how his victims were duped.  And if it's that easy for an adult to be conned, just imagine what our teens are facing?  How easy is it for a 14- year old girl to assume she's chatting online with a guy from college who asks to meet her at the mall only to discover it's some 44-year old psycho? 

It's hard to keep up with what our kids are doing online but it's vital! We need to establish a level of trust with them so that they understand we're not trying to control their lives but merely protect them from crazies out there.  Top things to remind them of:

- Never give personal information to anyone they meet online - this includes cell phone number, address or school they attend.

- Let friends know about people they've connected with online.

- If they are going to meet someone in person that they met online they should only go with another friend and never alone.

Update on Swine Flu

My good friend Barb Dehn, a praticing Women's Health Nurse Pracitioner, has just posted a great blog with information on Swind Flu.  I'm reposting here but feel free to check out her blog with some great information - www.barbsdailydose.typedpad.com

FIRST DO NOT PANIC

This is what we know

There has been 20 cases confirmed in the US

US - NONE HAVE DIED, and only 2 were severe enough to be hospitalized

8     New York 
7     California
2     Kansas
2     Texas
1     case in Ohio

Why the CDC is concerned:

 

1. In New York, the 8 cases are all high school students from St. Francis Prep in Queens. Students from this school had traveled to Mexico city in the last 2 weeks.  It's not yet known if the students with Swine Flu are the same ones who went to Mexico City or if they were infected by a classmate who traveled there.  All of the students in New York are recovering.

2. The virus is the same as the one in Mexico, which is responsible for at least 16 confirmed deaths. You may have seen reports of 86 deaths, which was reported today by the Mexican Health Minister. The CDC has yet to confirm that all of those cases were conclusively caused by Swine Flu.

       

What can people do:

 

Watch for flu symptoms  and see you health care provider for

• Fever
• Cough
• Sore Throat
• Body Aches
• Headache
• Chills
• Fatigue
• Some people also have diarrhea and vomiting 

Most important:  

 

If you are sick, stay home, don't travel, don't go to work and don't send your kids to school, people may be contagious as long as 7 days after all symptoms have resolved (gone away).

Are there medications to treat?

 

Tamiflu & Relenza - these are effective, recommended by the CDC and help prevent the virus from worsening and causing more severe symptoms.  They can be taken as soon as symptoms start, or as soon as a person suspects exposure.

 

Prevention and Precautions:

• Good old fashioned hand washing with soap and water or an alcohol based cleaner
• Anti-bacterial wipes kill 99.99% of germs and cleans hands by removing dirt and grime.  Wet Ones® Antibacterial Wipes (www.wetones.com) is a great product to carry in your bag as well as throw in your kids school bag.
• Use a tissue for coughing and sneezing, and then throw them away
• Stay away from people who are sick

What about eating Pork?

 

Eating pork DOES NOT cause Swine flu.  As long as you cook it thoroughly, it's still safe to eat pork.  I'll provide regular updates.  Be well, and try not to panic.  The Swine Flu can be a very serious infection, but there are few cases in the US and all of the people infected have recovered or are recovering.  Stay safe by taking precautions.

Teaching my daughters self-reliance

For any of you who follow my blog I believe you know that I'm going through a divorce.  While I know that this is the right thing for me, it doesn't make it any easier and it's been one of the most challenging times in my life. 

While I'm still regarded as The Safety Mom, I have learned through this experience as well as dealing with my son's learning disabilities and my father's Alzheimers that "safety" encompasses much more than just the standard definition.  As a family it's about overall well being - staying healthy and strong in mind and body. 

Through the divorce, not only am I learning life lessons but I"m trying to pass them along to my kids.  This week we all went on vacation for the first time without daddy.  While I'm completely confident in my professional life, I'm having to deal with things in my personal life that I've never had to before.  It's the little things - like trying to figure out how to put the bike rack on the back of the car.  I found this completely intimidating.  I'm just not mechanically inclined.  Now I'm sure I could have gone to a bike shop or garage and had them put it on but I was determined to figure it out myself.  And you know what?  I did it!  And it gave me the most amazing sense of accomplishment.  Like I said, it's the little things. 

My kids watched me doing this and we all did a "high five" once Mommy figured it out.  More importantly than my own feelings was what my kids witnessed - that they can figure things out on their own and they don't have to rely on other people.  That there's nothing they can't do if they put their minds to it. 

I know this journey for me has only just begun and I'm determined to learn from my experiences and hopefully pass on these lessons to my kids.