“Safety First? for Your Aging Parents
Glady Reign is a 32 year old is a consultant for an automotive firm based in Detroit, Mi. She is a native of the motor city and grew up around cars hence her expertise in the automotive field.
Posts Tagged ‘Safety’
Aaa and Minnesota Safety Council Promote Child Passenger Safety Week
by bobcrabtree1 Posted: Thursday, 12/24/2009February 11 to 17 is being observed as the Child Passenger Safety Week and in connection with this, the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the Minnesota Safety Council has teamed up to promote the importance of safely securing child passengers on their seats.
Their effort to educate parents on how to properly secure their most precious cargo is due to the fact that a large number of child passengers are not properly secured. This fact is one of the foremost reasons why automobile accidents are still the number one cause of death for children ages four to fourteen. In contrast to that however, for the past twenty years, 7,500 lives have been saved by properly installed child car seats.
In 2005 alone, an average of five children below 14 years old were killed in automobile accidents every day. Aside from that, 640 children were injured every day for that year. The figure is so alarming that the AAA Minnesota/Iowa will be working hard to educate parents and caregivers as well on how important is properly restraining a child to the toddler?s safety.
Gail Weinholzer, the director of public affairs for the AAA Minnesota/Iowa, stated that they will not only work hard during the Child Passenger Safety Week but throughout the year as well. The automobile lobby group has also teamed up with the Minnesota Safety Council to promote the new web site developed in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
The main concern of the coalition is to increase the awareness of parents with children aged four through seven. This is due to the fact that of all the toddlers in the US only ten to twenty percent are not properly secured to their car seats or may not be using booster seats at all. The AAA and the Minnesota Safety Council would like to point out to parents that children aged four to eight who are properly secured to their booster seats are more likely to avoid severe injuries or even death in the event of a crash.
The Children?s Hospital of Philadelphia has quoted a figure of 59 percent survivability of children properly restrained on their booster seats over those who are only protected by the a seat belt.
To help parents protect their children in the event of a crash, the AAA came up with simple tips for them to follow. The tips are easy to follow just like it is easy to read a Volvo repair manual. One of which is to place infants on rear facing child safety seats in the backseat for as long as the seat can accommodate the child. They advised to use rear facing child safety seats until the child is at least a year old or weighs a minimum of 20 pounds. When they outgrow their rear facing seats, children should be secured to a forward facing child safety seat but should still ride on the backseat. Children must use this seat until they are approximately four years old or weighs at least 40 pounds.
When the child has outgrown their forward facing child safety seats, parents are advised to provide booster seats for them. They must still ride in the backseat though until they are old enough to be restrained properly by the vehicle safety belt. Usually at the age of 8, when they have reached a height of four feet and nine inches tall, they can now use ride on the grown-up seat at the back. Proper installation of the seatbelts should also be checked by parents. They may also opt for safety devices that will prevent the child from accidentally or intentionally unbuckling the seat belt.
It is important to ensure that all nursery equipment that you select meets current safety standards and codes. Though many people feel that there is something special regarding handing down the nursery equipment or furniture that your grandparents used, often times the reality is that these products simply aren?t safe. When it comes to choosing safe nursery equipment, it is always best to buy new. This way you know who the manufacturer of the product is and have easy access to verify the safety of the products. When you use items that are second hand or have been passed down from generation to generation, there is no way of knowing whether or not those items meet current safety standards. Often times, the manufacturers are no longer in business and safety regulations have not been met.
Nursery equipment makes the lives of caregivers simpler and provides children with a greater sense of independence. However, at no time should the benefits of convenience and freedom outweigh a child?s safety. Current manufacturers are held to strict standards regarding the design and function of nursery equipment, choosing these products ensures that your child spends his or her time in equipment and furniture that has been tested and meets rigorous demands.
Choosing nursery equipment that has met all current safety regulations isn?t enough to ensure your child?s safety. All parents and caregivers must thoroughly read through the documentation and instructions that come with their nursery equipment and furniture. This is the only way to determine that you are setting up, operating, and using the equipment in the safest manner possible. This is another advantage that parents and caregivers have when they select new nursery equipment as opposed to second hand items. With second hand items you do not receive the literature or documentation that came with the original item. Without that information, you simply do not know if you are using the equipment or products in the correct manner.
Baby walkers are an excellent way for moms and caregivers to place their child in an environment that is safe and interactive. Not only can children who are not at the walking stage move, but also the modern walkers are equipped with wonderful learning toys that stimulate the child?s developing mind and help reinforce important learning skills with various activities. The newer modern baby walkers are designed with special reinforcements that prevent the underside of the walker from tipping over. The older models do not have these types of current reinforcements. It?s also important to choose nursery equipment, such as baby walkers, that have easy to clean or removable features. High chairs, baby swings, and baby walkers should be easy to clean and keep sanitized.
Items such as baby swings, carriers, high chairs, cradles, bouncing chairs, and baby carriers must be manufactured and operated properly. If they aren?t they pose a serious health and safety risk for your child. However, when these items are used properly, they become an integral part of your child?s learning environment and encourage your child?s independence as well as make life a little bit easier for caregivers.
Many family members feel that a deadbolt on the front door of their parent’s home will take care of any elder care safety issues that might harm them. There are other safety issues that family members never stop to consider and those considerations include what their parent’s state of mind is, the structural soundness of the building that they are living in, and the quality of the company that they keep.
The children of the elderly naturally assume that their parent’s are quite capable of making sound decisions and can take care of themselves. They may not realize that their parents have reached the age of regression and that they are now in need of someone to take care of their needs for a while. They might not be conscious about structural changes in the building where they live and may need someone to call a repairman before an accident occurs.
These are just elder care safety issues and are not meant to be confused with elder care inefficiencies that say they are incapable of living on their own. If the children of elderly parents would simply take the viewpoint of being a second set of eyes for someone whose eyesight has dimmed a bit, then there should be no elder care safety issues that slip by unnoticed.
Many elderly people feel that they have been able to make their own decisions for a long time, and just because they have aged a bit over the years, it does not mean that they can not make the right decisions. They made bad judgments on people when they were young and vibrant and will most likely make some bad decisions in their elder years too. The elder care safety issues on trusting others should not go unobserved by children and they should feel comfortable in expressing concerns.
Some elder care safety issues surface when elderly people continue to drive automobiles when they have reduced vision or need a hearing aid. These are some of the bad decisions that the elderly might make and are ones that could cost them their lives in a very painful fashion. The children of the elderly should routinely ask their parents to drive them somewhere so that they can judge how well their driving skills still are without giving the elderly any cause to be concerned.
There are definitely elder care safety issues to be addressed if a family member is confined to a nursing home or assisted care facility. There are many opportunities for the elderly to be abused and when children make regular visits to check on the health and safety status of their loved one, it will be far easier to recognize the tell-tale signs that their parent has been abused since the last visit.
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