Results tagged “safety” from Momtourage: Blogger Knows Best

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This hasn't happened since she was 3.......Lily ran in the street today....with out looking, with out even a moments hesitation.  A parents worst nightmare:  she just ran into the street.  Thank god there were no cars coming, no kidding god was really looking out for her today because we live in Brooklyn on a busy street.  Remind me to go to temple or church or whatever this weekend to thank her.

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Here's the latest in what I call extreme toys:  a scooter that creates sparks.  Here's the description of it from Amazon verbatim: "Adding a bit of spark to the original kick scooter, the Razor Spark has modified its A2 scooter with a foot controlled, detachable Spark Bar to light up your ride. The Spark Scooter's spark cartridge creates 20 percent more sparks than other brands on the market thanks to its 5 flint pads. A bonus spark cartridge is included."  Flint pads have been added to a child's toy??!!  Are these toy manufacturers insane??  Did this thing come from China?  Lead based toothpaste, Thalate in baby bottles....it's not a stretch to think China's trying to destroy us.  Maybe it was Al Qaeda?  Sounds like an old Saturday Night Live sketch doesn't it?:  "Here's a great toy for the kids.....Johnny Blow Torch....or how about a bag of broken glass!"  And I thought Pee And Poo Plush toys were ridiculous.  Whoever came up with this latest idea had their head firmly rooted up their a$$.  I smell a recall.  Reeecalllllaaaaa........think Ricola cough drops.

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Too many women are starting pregnancy carrying too many pounds and are gaining too much while they're pregnant, according to a new report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

To counter this trend, the IOM has changed its pregnancy weight gain guidelines, which advise obese women (who have a BMI over 30) to gain a minimum of 11 and no more than 20 pounds during pregnancy. Previously they were advised to gain 15 to 25 pounds.

The institute's recommendations, which are the gold standard used by OB/GYNs, remain unchanged for overweight, healthy and underweight women. Overweight women are classified as having a BMI of 25 to 30 and are allowed to gain 15 to 25 pounds. Women at a healthy weight are classified as having a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 and are allowed to gain 25 to 35 pounds. Underweight women are classified as having a BMI below 18.5, and should gain 28 to 40 pounds. (Weight categories are based on the World Health Organization's body mass index calculations.)

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As you may or may not know, my husband and I have been "trying" to have another child for some time now.  Our first pregnancy was a spontaneous one so we thought the next one would be as well.....wrong.  Ever since I gave birth to the uber baby six years ago (nine and a half pounds), I have been suffering with very painful periods.  The pain is so bad I thought I was pre-menopausal or something.   To which my sensitive G.P. told me, "You're not pre-menopausal you're just overweight."  Thanks.  After seeing many specialists (including Infertility Specialists) and having all sorts of humiliating tests done (now when I see a gloved hand I just disrobe....which made skiing somewhat awkward this year) finally I have the answer:  Endometriosis.   

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For many months, we've been waiting patiently--or not so patiently--for the Omnibus ruling on the autism/vaccine relationship cases. These were the cases of three families who claimed that vaccines caused their childrens' autism. When the ruling came--insufficient evidence to support a link between autism and vaccines--there was a collective groan and mass outrage. This was definitely a backwards step in the struggle to gain recognition of the fact that as vaccines are becoming more mandated, more frequent, and plain old 'more,' more children are being diagnosed with autism than ever before. The bright side though? The court didn't dispel the possibility either.

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My friend's new adopted dog bit her 6 year old daughter in the face two weeks ago: 6 stitches below the right eye and 6 above her lip. Thank god an excellent plastic surgeon was on hand to work his magic at the hospital as this could have been devastatingly disfiguring. Her daughter also could have lost her eye, had damage to it, on and on.....one can only imagine. Thank god, that was not the case. However, this really raises an issue for us. Every once in a while we hear some tale of a dog ravaging a small child (especially toddlers) and it's the main reason why I'd never get one. Besides cleaning up their poop, (even kids grow out of diapers) the fact that they're animals and can not be trusted his tantamount in my mind...and poop patrol is not my idea of a good time.

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When you think of salmonella contamination, you probably think of undercooked chicken, dirty cutting boards or raw eggs, right? Turns out that salmonella can lurk in some pretty unexpected places--including a jar of peanut butter.

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Firsthand smoke. You know what that is. Secondhand smoke? Got it. But thirdhand smoke?

You may not have heard the term until now--and it hardly existed until very recently--but so-called thirdhand smoke has made headlines this week, thanks to a new study that sheds light on a whole new set of dangers related to cigarette smoking. Thirdhand smoke refers to toxins that stick around on smokers' bodies--in their hair and on their clothes--even after the cigarette is extinguished. These toxins can also collect on furniture, floors and any other nearby surfaces--which means that the littlest members of the household come in direct contact with them.

Yikes. And... yuck.

Not like you needed reminding, but the researchers name a whole list of dangerous chemicals found in cigarette smoke, including things that you wouldn't feel safe putting in your car engine, never mind your (or your baby's) body. They include butane, ammonia, toluene (a chemical found in paint thinners), arsenic and lead. In short, cigarette smoke is toxic--no matter which hand you're talking about.

Learn more from MassGeneral Hospital for Children, whose researchers conducted the study. It appears in the January issue of Pediatrics.

Laura Motta
Producer, Momtourage

by Michellesamom

Perhaps one that says "advice needed"? Because I assure you Ms. General Q Public, I'm doing just fine without it. Why is it that when people encounter parents, many of them feel the need to offer their advice or opinion? Here's what happened to me today:

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What I did today:
1) Dropped Sam off at his classroom. Accidentally bumped the poor kid who sits nearest the door while I wrestled Hank around the    corner.  Apologized and vowed to try harder to avoid him the next time.
2) Walked/carried Hank to the 'big library.' Noticed that my backpack was getting all sweaty and smelly again. Resolved to wash it more often - maybe even next week.
3) Shouted (oops) at Hank to "Stop running in the library!" Then realized I was shouting and tried to look innocuous.
4) Read enough of Treasure Trouble so that I wouldn't feel bad turning on the TV for Hank while I
5) Removed the disgusting, mildewed, ancient caulking (and some of the grout - oops again) from the tub. This has been on my to-do list for (shamefully) nearly a year.
6) Gave Hank a snack (ice cream!) and rushed him off to pre-K as I had underestimated the amount of time necessary to remove old caulk. And to organize a healthier snack.
7) Skipped going to the gym to eat delicious guacamole and chips with a friend and her cute, cute baby.
8) Started caulking the tub after wasting 20 minutes looking in my 'home help' books for advice about caulking. Apparently this subject is too easy to go into detail about.
9) Wondered why it takes so much force to get the caulk out of the tube. My hands hurt.
10) Noticed that it was time to pick up both boys. Had to pause in the middle of a tube.
11) Rushed the boys back to the house. Put on a Pippi Longstocking dvd (conveniently procured from the library that morning) while I struggled to finish. Note: It looks terrible but I did my best.
12) At the same time started caramelizing some onions for dinner. Only I turned the burner up too high to hurry them along.
13) Thought about how an ambulance went by today while I was eating guacamole and that I didn't think about the ambulances and firetrucks on 9/11/01, didn't tear up and feel that wave of fear for the first time, the first year. It's the first year that's happened with me.
14) I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. I am thinking about it.

 

I'm including the latest photo of my healing second degree burns not to shock (nor disgust) you but to serve as a warning to all you moms out there:  beware of citric acid!  We went on holiday last week to Mexico.  We were all having a fabulous time and being very fair, I was very vigilant about sunscreen.  I'm a redhead and my daughter is blonde so as a rule, we wear SPF 50 and higher on a daily basis in the summer....but no one warned me about the limes.  I was prepared for the water, heck I was looking forward to losing another three to four pounds but the limes are another story indeed.

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We went to a great swimming pool/sprinkler/waterslide park in the burbs over the weekend. They had something there to keep children ages 6 months to 16 years happy. It was wonderful except for the kiddie/baby pool. I'm really not a fan of these. Now this little pool, no deeper than 12 inches, did have a fully functioning filtration system but the pool itself was loaded with babies in sagging swimmies. The water temperature was 88 degrees too as we've been experiencing record temps here in the northeast....great breeding conditions for e coli. It was disgusting. I think we're all just better off taking the babies in the big kids pool for short amounts of time.

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It wouldn't be summer in Brooklyn, or any other borough in New York City, without another sleazy street festival.  My favorites are the fatty, food-inspector-free sausage and peppers and safety-inspection-free rides.  I always look forward to seeing the callow, greasy, disinterested, often too-busy-texting teenagers they have operating the rides as well.  It's enough to make me pop a Zantac...and a Zoloft for that matter.  (Check out the sign for the slide it reads F Slid.  I rest my case.)  The best part is that they're usually run by church dioceses as well!  I guess they say a few prayers ahead of time and hope that will cover them.  I happen to be one of lesser faith....I believe in insurance.

Here are some pics from the one we just had in our neighborhood.  Thank god it's over.

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My friend's son is sooooo tan.  In fact, Angelina Jolie called....she wants to adopt him.  I'm teasing.  I'm jealous actually.  I'm so fair I get moon burns for god's sake.

I wear sunscreen all year long on my face and in the summer I wear SPF 50 every day just to be on the safe side.  Believe me, my friend puts sunscreen on her son he's just got the benefit of Melanin in his system.  He's the ultimate Coppertone Baby.  He even makes Lily look pale and I thought she had a nice color.  Check out his tan line.....left photo.  I love kids with tan lines and opposing white cheeks.  That is just the cutest.  Brian is definitely a handsome little munchkin.

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Any one who knows me knows that I'm for girls having all the same opportunities as boys.  I'm a comedian for gods sake!  Try breaking through the glass ceiling of that boys club.  I'm definitely for the whole, "You go girl" movement.  I loved the Spice Girls.  I always try to set a good example for my daughter and my niece too by demonstrating that women can do anything that men can do...albeit the physically obvious like peeing standing up (unless they're drag queens).

We went to our friend's son's wrestling tournament the other day.  Much to my surprise and delight girls were participating in every weight class of the match.  However, they didn't have a separate girls league yet because there isn't enough interest.  (Give it time I say, whenever we heard there was a girls league in any sport of any kind when we were growing up we participated and our father encouraged us to.) 

Seeing girls wrestle with boys was just wrong.  It looked like an attack or like we were interrupting something....... 

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OMG!  I was watching CNN this morning and they were going on about the dangers of bunk beds.  Give me a break already!  Enough with the scare tactics and the crappy reporting and looking for stories where there are none.  If you are stupid enough to not properly install a bunk bed and then your child gets hurt then you should put your helmet back on, hop on the short bus and go very very far away.  And if your child hits their head on the bottom of the top bunk believe it or not, he/she will survive.  The fun they have with bunk beds far outweighs the dangers.  I'm surprised that bunk beds don't come with built-in safety straps for our litigious, neurotic society.

Bunk beds are dangerous if they're not installed properly?!  No sh**!  Tell me something I don't know.  So are training wheels and baby gates and other child safety devices.  Beware the dangers of the high chair!  Take a pill please.  I'm surprised the media didn't link bunk beds to terrorism:  Al Qaeda is lurking on the top bunk! 

Many parents choose bunk beds as a way to save money and space, and kids often find them a fun place to play and hopefully catch zzz's.  While they may be a great way to deal with tight quarters, they may also be a trap for injuries if not installed and placed correctly.

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Finally, a bit of good news for American parents and their children! A new study being released today reports that the well-being of American children increased by almost 10 percent between 1994 and 2006. The study credits improved government programs as well as better parenting for the encouraging statistics. Mortality rates for children between the ages of one and four are down by a third, and homicide rates are down even more—they've decreased by 50 percent. Fewer mothers are smoking during their pregnancies and the number of sixth graders who fear being attacked or harmed at school has declined 36 percent. In addition, the report found that more parents are limiting the amount of television their children watch and are also reading to their kids more frequently. Even lead poisoning is on the decline; the number of children who tested positive for elevated levels of lead is down 84 percent.

Although the researchers behind the report acknowledge that some trends remain alarming, such as the increase in childhood obesity and low-birth-weight babies, they also agree that the new findings give families much to celebrate.

What do you think? Do you agree that the overall quality of life for children in this country has improved? Are you glad you're raising your kids now rather than 14 years ago? Share your thoughts!

--Victoria Loustalot, Real-Time Associate Producer 

We babysat our 4 month old god son, Andrew, on Sunday.  It's only been a few years since Lily required constant carrying but wow have baby slings come a long way!  Now Lily was an enormous baby.  She weighed 9.5 pounds at birth (born naturally by the way - hey drugs are natural - 17 stitches later thank you very much) and was 13 pounds by the end of her first month.  I remember one of my aunts gave me a sling at my baby shower.  She kept saying, "I first saw this in Guatemala, all the women down there use them."  To which I replied, "Great, I'll remember that when I'm picking coffee beans in Brooklyn."

I always thought they looked a bit dodgy.  The one my aunt gave me didn't look particularly strong enough to hold my little butter ball.  It was like a sheet with a clip on it and the whole 'one clip' thing didn't thrill me safety wise.  And quite honestly, our über baby was so heavy I couldn't imagine the positioning of her weight being beneficial to my back.  I also wasn't thrilled with the fact that slings looked like a lot of work.  One minute it's a sheet with a clip the next it's a bandanna.  I was never good at making beds I still can't get my corners to look like sails so how could I possibly handle the sheet thing every day.  I'm sure there are millions of women who use them and the benefits they get from them are innumerable.  Good, good for them.  As we say in Brooklyn, "I'm just saying." 

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