Safety « Parental Wisdom® by Tina Nocera

Archive for the ‘Safety’ Category

Trust Me – You’re Doing a Great Job at Parenting

Wednesday, October 17th, 2007

There are days when you go to sleep at night questioning some of the decisions you made as a parent. You hope that the bad decisions won’t have a long term affect on your children.

The good news is since you care enough to worry about it; you’re probably on the right track, recently I found this page practicalparentsintraining.com, this parenting blog is a great resource for new tips on the journey of being a better parent.

Compare that to Michele Cossey, 46, was arrested last Friday on charges of illegally buying her home-schooled son, Dillon, a .22-caliber handgun, a .22-caliber rifle and a 9 mm semiautomatic rifle with a laser scope. Michele’s son Dillon was being bullied, and planning an attack at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School [PA]. Buying him the weapons was her way to help.

Dillon tried to recruit Lewis Bennett III, who went right to his parents who went to the police who searched the boy’s bedroom and found the 9 mm rifle, about 30 air-powered guns modeled to look like higher-powered weapons, swords, knives, a bomb-making book, videos of the 1999 Columbine attack in Colorado and violence-filled notebooks, Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor said.

Good police work, but great parenting. Naturally I mean the Bennett’s not the Cossey’s.

Rest assured when you have one of those days when you are questioning your parenting skills, you are probably doing just fine.

Posted in Parenting 101, Safety, Self Esteem | 15 Comments »

Another reason NOT to get a tattoo

Tuesday, September 18th, 2007

Other than the obvious concerns about looking silly in my old age and the effects of gravity, I didn’t really need another reason why it doesn’t make sense to get a tattoo, but here goes….

Doctors are pointing to a potential problem sticking a needle through a tattoo in the lower back for an epidural – the injection of painkilling medicine that can ease the discomfort of labor.

A study by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that nearly one-quarter of Americans ages 18 to 50 are tattooed. Among them, nearly 20% of the women have tattoos on their lower back, researchers reported. At the same time, the national epidural rate is nearly 65% of the nearly four million births each year in the U.S.

Moms, we have real amunition here….

Read the full article in the Wall St. Journal

Posted in Safety | No Comments »

Seeing the good news out of the bad news on toy recalls

Thursday, August 16th, 2007

Bob Eckert, Chairman & CEO of Mattel, Inc. presents a video explanation on the product recall that has many parents concerned. I am happy that Mattel is proactive in this approach but there is something good that can come from this bad news; less toys.

Too many toys

Take a moment to look around your child’s playroom. How many toys does your child have? Too many? Cleaning out toys has a similar effect to a power outage. We gain a new perspective on communicating and connecting with the people we love. For our children, they get to see old toys in a new light.

Licensing

The toys that were part of the recall were licensed products; Barbie, Elmo, Big Bird, Batman, Doggie Day Care, Cars. Licensed products give our children the whole story rather than allowing them to create original stories themselves. If a child shows the slightest interest in a character, parents plan theme birthday parties, furnish bedrooms and buy school supplies around the licensed character. The child quickly looses interest, but the parent is too far invested.

Made in America

Made in America will mean something again in the world of toys although there aren’t many that fit into this category. Little Tykes is a brand that is made in the USA, but they could do better in promoting that. You can also review a made in USA link.

Children will get outside and play. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing?

Posted in Media & Marketing, Money & Material Things, Play, Safety | 2 Comments »

What Would You Do?

Monday, July 16th, 2007

I received the following email.

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Today was a first for me… My daughter (5) and I pulled into a local store.

The spot I wanted to pull into was empty except for a woman who had her car door open and was loading groceries with her two small children still outside the car in the empty spot. Instead of hurrying the mom and scaring the children, I drove around to a spot further away.

My daughter thought I was parking and took her clasiq car seat belt off. I parked and took her out kissing and hugging her and went on my way. To my surprise, when I got back to my car there was a note from the young mother on my windshield with a paper from your website.

It said it was a stupid ticket and that she gave it to me for not having my daughter in a car restraining seat, and went further to say if I loved her I would keep her safe.

At first I was offended that she did not say it to me rather than leave it behind on my car. If she did she would know not only do I have car seats for my kids I made my older daughter who is now 10 and 5’2” sit in a booster seat until she was 9 to be safe. PA law is 8 years old or 4′ and although my daughter surpassed those marks she still sat in the seat. I also have been part of car seat safety checks two years in a row at a local dealership in my area.

My younger daughter took her belt off today because 1) she now can and
2) because I stopped to park. I did reiterate that she should not take her belt off until the car is off.

I don’t agree with the woman who did this. She mentioned she was a nurse and that she saw kids in terrible ways. I will give her the benefit of the doubt that maybe something shook her world and she is out there living with that.

I hope your website does not advocate people to be quick to judge, to run away with a hurtful note left behind.

– Mom from Pennsylvania

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I was really moved by this mom’s email and told her that at Parental Wisdom, we really try NOT to judge, and recognize there are misunderstandings (like this one) and mistakes because parents are often doing a number of things at once.

Yes, the Stupid Ticket is one of the Free Reports on the Parental Wisdom website. But stupidity is something that people do repeatedly and not ever learn a lesson. For that reason, we also have a Safety Ticket which is a reminder of the things you already know; and presents a much kinder, gentler approach.

Back to the parent that left the note – I do understand why she didn’t talk to the parent directly. Parents could be defensive at the very least, and violent at the worst. The dilemma – what should parents do if they see a situation that raises child safety concerns?

I reached out to Robert A. Brasky of the Lake Zurich Police Department in Illinois is an expert on Traffic Safety to learn what parents can do if a child is potentially in danger. The example I used was a time I spotted a three-year-old was left alone in a running car. His response, “Call the police and give them the information. Do not approach the parents.” Safe and sound advice.

Robert also shared the alarming statistic that approximately 95% of child car seats are improperly installed. To make sure you aren’t one of them, visit www.car-seat.org to learn what you can do, and www.nhtsa.gov to find locations where your child’s carseat can be checked for proper installation.

But let’s talk about you for a moment…

How would you respond to a situation where a child could be in danger?
How would you respond to someone correcting you about your own child’s safety?

Please leave a comment and let us know.

Posted in Daily Inspirational Call, Family Friendly America, Safety | 5 Comments »

Parents are actually bus drivers

Tuesday, June 26th, 2007

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.

-Albert Einstein, US (German-born) physicist (1879 – 1955)

Have you noticed how conscientious first time parents are? They research product safety better than Consumer Reports as they begin parenting by the Hippocratic Oath which says, ‘First, do no harm.’

When children are little, we understand our job is to keep them safe. But as they grow, we have to remember their safety is still our job. A toddler asking to wear stripes and polka-dots is negotiable, but being safely secured into a carseat is not.

As parents, we get numerous job descriptions but it can be summarized to one title – bus driver. We take our children on a journey from infancy to adulthood. Just like a bus there will be stops along the way in the form of outside influences such as family, friends, teachers, coaches, the media, our children’s friends, the list is endless. But the bus will go where the bus driver steers it.

Sometimes parents like to put the bus in cruise control and not think for themselves, or take the easy way out. Children are required by law to sit in carseats, later in booster seats, and that they wear helmets when riding bikes. There are laws that prohibit teens from drinking until they are 21, but parents take a lackadaisical attitude when they get push back from their kids; especially true regarding teenage drinking. “Well, they’re going to drink anyway.” If they did homework on the effects of teenage drinking they would have a totally different perspective.

Are these the same parents that got down on their hands and knees to look for exposed electrical outlets to protect their toddlers? What we know about teenage drinking is that 40% of the people that drink before age 15 go on to become alcoholics at some point in their lives. What we now know about the teenage brain is that the prefrontal cortex which is responsible for reasoning is the last part of the brain to develop. That is why it is hard for teenagers to distinguish the difference between going home after school to do homework, or going drinking with their friends. In fact that area of the brain isn’t fully developed until age 24. Interestingly, you have to be 25 to rent a car.

The best approach to trust and teens is the same theory that Ronald Regan used in foreign policy; trust but verify.

An awkward conversation between teen parents may involve one parent verifying with another that their teen is invited over, that an adult will be home and there will be no alcohol.

A far more awkward conversation begins with a knock on the door, and opens to find a police officer and member of the clergy on the other side.

Parents – please, drive your bus.

Adapted from Because Kids Don’t Come With Manuals by Tina Nocera

Posted in Daily Inspirational Call, Parenting 101, Safety, Teens, Toddlers | 10 Comments »

Parental Wisdom® by Tina Nocera

Archive for the ‘Safety’ Category