Entries For: July 2008

Summer is here. With the sun and heat comes throwing open the shades and opening a window to help cool off. Yet with all of the joy around summer, I was deeply sadden to read about Honor Cornell Callandert, a two-year-old who fell out of a seventh story window. Seeing Honor’s picture in the newspaper reminded me of Isaiah, my friend’s vibrant toddler; I know I do not want anything harmful to happen to him. Sadly leading up to Honor’s death the newspapers have reported that several other children fell out of windows. Some of the children received bumps and bruises; others had more serious injuries and did not survive.

According to Safe Kids USA, 80-percent of fall-related injuries to children under the age of four happen in the home. Male children have two-times more fall related injuries than females. Harborview Medical Center, a trauma center in Seattle, reported that they treat 40-60 fall related cases a year. Dr. Brian Johnston, chief pediatrician at Harborview, is quoted in the Seattle Times as saying most of the children were supervised at the time of the fall; the falls were not a result of neglect.
Caregivers need to remember that window screens do not offer security. Window screens are meant to keep bugs out and allow air in. Many window screens are purposefully designed to be easily punched out or removed in case of fire. This means that screens are not meant to hold the weight of a baby or toddler. 

Here are several ways to prevent children from falling out of windows:

• Lock all unopened windows.

• Keep chairs, high chairs, beds, furniture, boxes, etc. away from windows.
• Whenever possible open windows from the top not the bottom.
• Be aware of radiators and other built in fixtures that are near windows—teach children not to climb on them.
• Place window guards over windows.

Parents please take the time to child proof your house and windows. While it is easy to put this task off, you never know when an accident can happen. For those of you, who are apartment managers or residential landlords, consider these upgrades as necessary safety precautions. Any window fall is scary to all involved. Falls can be prevented, take the steps to do so today. If you need a reason to child proof your windows, think about two- year-old Honor, I know I will.

For more information on window safety:

Kids Can't Fly brochure by Boston Public Health Commission

Below are several article on window guards:

Window Guards & Stops - Keep Children Safe

Are Your Window Guards Installed Correctly?

A quick note of background:  my favorite (and only) sister, Gabrielle, is expecting her first baby in November.  I can’t wait to be an auntie!

My sister has the kind of focus that allows her to accomplish more in an hour than most people do in a day.  That being said, I leapt at the chance to join her Sunday afternoon at Babies “R” Us to register for baby goodies.  When I arrived, I was assigned the task of pointing and clicking the handheld scanner, while Gabrielle juggled not one but three lists of items her baby would need:

• small items like binkies and Boppies
• large items like a stroller and infant car seat
• items the store carried, but she wanted to try out before adding to her lists

As we methodically wove our way through the aisles, I started feeling overwhelmed by the sheer breadth of products.  This morning, a quick search of the word “diapers” on the Babies “R” Us web site yielded 806 possible matches.  Some of these were actual diapers (cloth and disposable), diaper bags, diaper creams, ointments, wipes, wipe warmers (I had no idea there was such a thing), diaper Genies…You get the picture.

While I scanned and clicked in an ever-growing daze, my sister meticulously flipped between her three lists, deciding between baby first aid kits by the American Red Cross or Johnson + Johnson with seeming ease.  Finally, professional curiosity got the better of me.

“How do you know which one you want?” I asked her.

“I’ve been researching baby stuff online for a couple of weeks,” she replied, sparing me a glance from her notebook as she ticked off another item on her list.

“Is there one web site where you can learn about all of this?”

“There might be, but I looked in a lot of places.”  She rattled off all of the sites she had researched – the American Academy of Pediatrics for infant car seats, the National Parenting Center for baby slings, Consumer Reports for strollers, ConsumerResearch.com for baby monitors. She also read reviews on web sites like Babies “R” Us, Target and Amazon.com to get parents’ real life analyses.  All the while, she exhaustively cross-checked products on multiple sites.

I had ulterior motives for asking about her research.  In the coming months, the Foundation will be rolling out the Early Learning Network, an online forum for parents and experts to interact and share information.  Not everyone has the time to cross-check every item their child needs, but with a web site like the Early Learning Network, parents will have a useful tool for wading through all of the information available on the internet.

Of course, no site or resource will be the final word on any product, every family is different and every child has different needs.  No fewer than three parents made recommendations while we were pondering infant bathtubs.