Tag Archives: Child

Children and Carseats-The 5-Step Test

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Carseat safety is really a no -brainer…carseats for infants and children are mandatory and they save lives.

For the newborn, infant, toddler and pre-schooler it seems fairly simple to buy a carseat and have it installed or install it yourself. But as your child gets older things start to become somewhat muddy…like when do you transfer your older child to a booster seat and then to the seatbelt system in the car?

If you have a child not leave this post without linking to the carseat blog for actual visuals of the 5-Step Test and how to do it.

What is the 5-Step Test?

It is actually the only way to make sure that your child is protected by a car’s lap/shoulder seatbelt system and therefore may not nee a booster seat or child restraint system. Weight and age are actually meaningless factors for determining if a seatbelt fits a child correctly.

Here are the five questions:

Taking the 5-Step Test is quick and simple. Have the child buckle up in the vehicle and then answer these 5 questions:

1. Does the child sit all the way back on the vehicle seat?

2. Are knees bent comfortably at the edge of the vehicle seat?

3. Does seatbelt cross the shoulder properly? (it should be centered over the collar bone)

4. Is the lap portion of the seatbelt low – touching the thighs?

5. Can the child stay seated this way for the entire ride, every ride (awake and asleep)?

Bonus step – feet planted firmly on floor

via The 5-Step Test.

http://carseatblog.com/3966/the-5-step-test/

http://www.carseat.org/Boosters/630.htm

Pediatricians refuse unvaccinated kids

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Today I heard a disturbing piece of news regarding children and vaccinations.

Apparently, an infant who was not old enough to receive the pertussis vaccine was exposed to pertussis in a pediatrician’s office. This baby wound up extremely sick and hospitalized due to his exposure to pertussis, a potentially fatal, contagious disease.

This situation poses a dilemma.

Some pediatricians are now refusing patients whose parents are not allowing them to be immunized .

Where is the balance here??? I am not quite sure.

Personally, I would not want my child exposed to these diseases because as a pediatric nurse I have seen how they can ravage a healthy child and in some cases steal their life.

I am also aware of  and empathize with the parental fears that surround childhood vaccinations. These vaccinations have been associated with autism. Even though the evidence that at first supported these fears has been sited as flawed, the fear is still there.

So, how do we work with the parents and children who are not vaccinated against these childhood diseases and at the same time protect infants who are not yet vaccinated?

Is refusing to treat the unvaccinated the ethical way to approach this? I don’t think so.

Perhaps, there is a way to separate those who refuse to be vaccinated by making specific office hours when these children can be seen by the pediatrician…this would be expensive but could be an option.

What do you think as a parent…and how does this problem affect you?

Related links: No shot, no doc: Pediatricians refuse unvaccinated kids – TODAY Health – TODAY.com. http://parentingintheloop.wordpress.com/2011/01/08/more-on-vaccines-and-autism-from-march-of-dimes/   http://parentingintheloop.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/a-century-of-vaccine-scares-nytimes-com/

Kids and Allergies…

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NOTEWORTY WEDNESDAY!

KIDS AND ALLERGIES

Allergies are serious and especially so in children.

The vast majority of allergic reactions to foods affect the skin in one way or another. The severity of symptoms can change quickly and there is always potential for a severe, possibly life-threatening reaction.

This week I had a crash course in allergies and children. The fact that ingesting a food such as a peanut could be life threatening is truly  a scary situation.

There are ways to minimize the potential risk and prevent accidental exposure to the foods that cause an allergic reaction.

Here are some of the family’s responsibilities when they have a child with a food allergy:

  • Notify the school of the child’s allergies
  • Work with the school team to develop a plan that accommodates the child’s needs throughout the school including in the classroom, in the cafeteria, in after-care programs during school sponsored activities and on the school bus as well as a Food Allergy Action Plan.
  • Provide written medical documentation, instructions, ad medications as directed by a physician using the Food Allergy Action Plan as a guide. Include a photo of the child on written form.
  • Provide properly labeled medications and replace medications after use or upon expiration.
  • Educate the child in the self-management of their food allergy including:
  1. safe and unsafe foods
  2. strategies for avoiding exposure to unsafe foods
  3. symptoms of allergic reaction
  4. how and when to tell an adult they may be having an allergy-related problem
  5. how to read food labels (age appropriate)

– Review policies/procedures with the school staff, the child’s physician, and the child (if age appropriate) after a reaction has occurred.

– Provide emergency contact information.

excerpts: from DuPage Medical Group – Asthma & Allergy Center

NEXT:  School’s responsibility

Related Posts: http://parentingintheloop.wordpress.com/2010/12/07/food-allergies-new-guidelines/