Safety at Home

By Heather

We are a big biking family. Our set of bikes comprises our “second car” and we like it that way.  In fact, I’ve written about bicycle and helmet safety a number of times on this site.

My son was hit by a car while riding his bike this weekend. On my watch.

“Hit by a car” sounds very dramatic.  True, but terrible.  “Run over by…” is, thankfully, not what happened, but perhaps the story is softened if I say “backed into by…” or “knocked over by…”.   In any case, a parked car started backing (from a dead stop) out of a driveway while my five year old son was riding on the sidewalk behind him.

I watched the whole thing from the position of one or two bike lengths behind him.  It was terrifying.

I screamed, “STOP!!” (at my son, at the car, at the world) and the world listened. Everyone stopped.

My son stood up, crying, and ran from the bike.  The driver and nearby friend stopped and sat with us to make sure we were all okay.  His helmet (and head!) never hit the ground or the car.  He suffered a scraped knee and a bruised shoulder but otherwise he and his bike checked out just fine.

These are some great tips on kids and bike safety from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. For our part, we were following all of them and our accident still happened.

Every time we bike past a driveway with a car in it, I tell my five year old to check for a driver.   In this instance, the driver was not visible to my son nor was my son visible to the driver.   Maybe we need to get him a flag?!

Do you have any special tips to share for a child new to two-wheelers?  Does your child under ten ride on the sidewalk?  Do you have a near-heart attack letting your over-ten-year-old ride in the street?

By Whitney

Keeping your clueless toddler away from hot, sharp, and electrically charged things is just part of the job. We start this process by saying “No!” in a stern voice, and reinforcing what that means by moving the dangerous item or moving the baby. “No” becomes such an easy access word, doesn’t it? Stored at the front part of your brain, it enables us to respond quickly with a straightforward command.

But it’s not really a command, is it? And it’s not an explanation. By the time a child is two years old, according to my pediatrician, she really can understand deeper explanations for why she must not touch things and should be introduced to the terms “safe” and “dangerous.”

A year or so ago, my mom was giving my son a bath, and he kept standing up. She tried to reason with him. She asked nicely. She was clearly trying to avoid threatening him with ending the bath (which I would have done easily, but I understand that Grandma doesn’t want to discipline during their precious short visits). Finally she blurted out, “It’s just not safe!” And he sat down.

Kids understand so much, even if they cannot use the words themselves. Moving from “No” to a more sophisticated discussion of “You could fall down and get an owie,” “Stroller buckles keep kids safe,” or “You need to wait for a grown-up to help you,” is the next step toward helping kids make good choices when it comes to safety.

By Whitney

During the trying-to-conceive and pregnancy phases of our lives, my husband and I deprived ourselves of hot tub use. With that all behind us, now we indulge in a hot tub whenever possible. We have been delighted to find so many hotels that offer Jacuzzi spas in the room or on the deck. And we haven’t worried too much about safety since we only reserve a schmancy spa room when we are traveling without our children.

At my friend Karen’s vacation house, not only is the hot tub UL certified, but the hot tub cover is also UL certified. I was pleased to see the UL mark on both of these pieces of equipment at her house, because we always have our kids with us when we are there, and the combination of kids and hot tubs is quite dangerous.

Why? Because kids, who really like to get in the hot tub because it feels like a pool sized just right for them, may not be good judges of their ability to sit or stand, especially if bubbles are obscuring the view of the tub’s bottom. They are more likely to have the “Who can stay underwater the longest?” contest, exposing them to great risk of getting trapped by a strong drain. Children are not physically strong and the suction may overpower them easily. In short, adult supervision is critical when it comes to hot tub use.

Three important hot tub guidelines to follow

1. Keep a secure lid on the hot tub whenever it’s not in use. The lid should be heavy enough that a curious child cannot move it aside to access the water.

2. A supervising adult must always be on duty and armed with knowledge of how to cut off the suction in an emergency.

3. If you are the owner of a hot tub, make sure to keep it maintained and inspected regularly, especially making sure that drain covers are not cracked or broken.

We are headed to a resort in Palm Springs this weekend for one last family vacation weekend before school starts. Unfortunately, in a hotel pool situation, there is typically no cover on the spa.

I’ve been lucky to have had my fill of hot tubs this summer. Therefore, I’m secretly hoping for a pool-only lounge area. I will be more relaxed with my two preschoolers if there’s simply no spa in sight. Wish me luck.