Growing Together - Summer 2006

Summer 2006
Vol. 30, No. 3

Acrobat PDF version of Growing Together also available

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terly for parents
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Dayton, Ohio
45404-1815.

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Growing
Together is published quarterly for parents and families in the Miami Valley
area by The Children’s Medical Center of Dayton. The purpose of Growing
Together is to show how
Dayton
Children’s
and families
are working together to
keep all
children healthy and safe.

Additional
copies of
Growing
Together are available by writing to
Dayton Children’s,
c/o Marketing Communica-
tions, One Children’s
Plaza, Dayton, Ohio,
45404-1815
or by calling
937-641-3666.

Your
suggestions
and comments are also appreciated

David Kinsaul, FACHE President and Chief Executive Officer

Vicki Giambrone
Vice President, Marketing and Development

Susan A. Brockman
Editor

Arundi
Venkayya-Cox
Contributing Writer

Photography:

AGI Commercial Photography

Tom Suttman Dayton Children's Staff Photographer

HealthBeat

Are you ready to hit the road?

Travel is a great opportunity
to learn about the world and
to have some relaxing family time. And, while vacation is a great time to take a break from life’s daily obligations, child safety is not one of them.

The pediatric experts at Dayton Children’s offer the following tips:

Travel safety

Hotels, motels and relatives’ homes may not be prepared for children. Be especially careful about:

Beds and cribs. Avoid old cribs. Gaps between crib bars should be no wider than 2-3/8 inches (about the width of a soda can); otherwise, a child could get his or her head caught. Try to travel with your own portable playpen or crib.
Stairs. Consider bringing a portable gate to block stairways, especially if your child is not used to stairs. Do not let your child play in or near hotel stairwells.
Outlets. Bring your own outlet covers to protect little ones from nasty shocks.
Water and swimming.
- Make sure tap water is not too hot. Particularly in hotels and motels, water may fluctuate suddenly between cool and hot.
- At many vacation spots – including hotels and motels – there are no lifeguards on duty at swimming pools. Do not allow children to swim without adult supervision. Also, be sure doors to swimming pools cannot be easily opened by children. In some facilities, these doors are next to the breakfast area or lobby.
Baby-sitting. Be careful about leaving your children with people you do not know well. Some hotel child care programs are not licensed. If you think you will be using hotel child care, call ahead and ask questions. Child Care Aware is a website that can provide child care referral information in different areas. Go to www.childcareaware.org .
Never allow children to wander around hotels, motels, or resort areas unattended. Use the same vigilance you would at home. Teach them to avoid stairwells and to not board elevators if they are uncomfortable with the person riding or boarding.

Before you leave home

Get your child’s car seat checked. Over 90 percent of car seats checked locally are installed incorrectly. Call Dayton Children’s Family Resource Center – 937-641-3700 – or visit our website for the latest schedule of FREE car seat checks and more car seat information.
Make sure your child is secured appropriately. Children under 13 years of age or small children should always ride in the backseat. All children under 40 pounds and less than 4 years of age should be in a safely secured car seat. Children shorter than 4'9" and less than 80 pounds should ride in a booster seat. Make sure all passengers are buckled up and loose items secured. Toys, cell phones, books and the like can become deadly missiles in a car crash.
Put together or purchase a small first-aid kit to take along. A basic kit should include: chemical ice packs, antiseptic ointment and wipes, gauze pads, sterile cotton, scissors, adhesive tape, adhesive bandages and acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
If your child has specific medical needs, put together a “go bag” containing all his or her supplies. Talk to your child’s doctor if you are not sure what this bag should include.
Remember your health insurance card and any medical information that would be helpful in an emergency.

Lawn mowing: Not for kids

A familiar summertime chore for kids is mowing the lawn. Whether mowing the family yard or earning extra income in the neighborhood, children and lawn mowers are a common sight during the summer months.

Unfortunately, lawn mower injuries can often be severe and disfiguring. For that reason, the pediatric experts in Dayton Children’s regional pediatric trauma and emergency center join the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in alerting you to the dangers involved in lawn mowing.

Children should be at least 12 years old before they operate any lawn mower and at least 16 years old for a ride-on mower.
Children should never be passengers on a ride-on mower.
Make sure children are not playing in the yard when the lawn is being mowed.
Children mowing the lawn should wear sturdy shoes as well as eye and hearing protection.
Never pull backward or mow in reverse. If necessary to do this, check behind you.
Wait for blades to stop completely before removing the grass catcher or clearing the discharge chute. Blade settings should be set by adults only.
Pick up stones, sticks and other debris in the yard before mowing.
Use a mower with a control that stops the mower from moving when the handle is released.