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9/10/21 blog post

fact vs fiction of childhood safety for grandparents

Here at Dayton Children’s Hospital, we want to help celebrate all our grandparents not only on Grandparents Day but every day! We know that being a grandparent comes with a lot of rewards, but also a lot of responsibility. Like any parent or caregiver, grandparents want to keep their grandchildren safe, especially while under their watch. We also know that as the world is changing, so is preventative care for our kids and grandkids. As these safety practices change, it is hard to keep up with the newest safety trends.

Dayton Children’s injury prevention team met with the hospital’s kinship navigators to learn more about what grandparents, especially those raising their grandchildren, know when it comes to child safety.  The injury prevention team came up with the following fact versus fiction tips for grandparents:  

fact vs fiction of childhood safety for grandparents

Fiction: If you lay a baby on their back they’ll choke on their spit-up.

Fact: Babies are at an increased risk of choking while lying on their stomachs due to the location of their esophagus and trachea. Babies should always sleep alone, on their back, and in a crib.

  • Tip: For more safe sleep information visit the Ohio Department of Health website here.

Fiction: My children didn’t ride in a car seat and they’re okay, my grandchild should be okay too right?

Fact: Car seats reduce the risk of serious injury in children under 4 years old during motor vehicle crashes by 71-82% when compared with seatbelts alone, and booster seats reduce this risk by 45%.

  • Tip: Schedule to get your car seat checked or have your car seat questions answered by a certified child passenger safety technician. Check out Dayton Children’s child passenger safety program here.

Fiction: My grandchild can’t reach my medicine; they don’t know where it is.

Fact: Kids are active and curious and don’t understand that medicine can be hazardous to them. Although we as adults know the difference between a tum and a sweet tart, to children they both look like candy. Always keep medicine up, away, and out of sight every time.

  • Tip: Check out Safe Kids Worldwide for more information on how to store your medication safely here.

Fiction: Companies can’t sell toys that aren’t safe right?

Fact: Hundreds of toys are recalled each year due to safety hazards resulting in injury or even death of children.

  • Tip: Do research on your toy before buying it for your grandchild. Check out the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission website here for up-to-date product recalls.

Fiction: My grandchild is just barely crawling, there’s no way they can get into our cabinets.

Fact: Once children are mobile at any stage, they are at risk of anything and everything within the home.

  • Tip: Make sure to childproof your home before they come and stay. Check out the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission website for 12 home safety devices to protect your grandchildren here.

Are you or someone you know raising grandchildren?  Did you know Dayton Children’s has a Kinship Navigator Program to help support you if you need help? You can call a kinship navigator at 937-641-5090 if you need support raising your grandchildren.