YCPO - July 2017

EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT/

YOUNG CHILDREN PRIORITY ONE NEWSLETTER

AVA ADAMS, DISTRICT CHAIR

NEW ENGLAND AND BERMUDA DISTRICT

July 2017

Good Morning fellow Kiwanians! 

Fact: Every year 60% of drownings occur in rural lakes, ponds and gravel pits.

Fact: Preventable injury is the number one killer of children in most developed countries.

Fact: In a single year more than 14 million children in the U.S. are injured seriously enough to require medical treatment.

Fact: Heat is much more dangerous to children than it is to adults. When left in a hot vehicle, a young child’s core body temperature can increase three to five times faster than that of an adult, which can cause permanent injury or even death. (“Children In And Around Cars” www.safekids.org)

SAFETY AND PEDIATRIC TRAUMA

It only takes one accident to permanently injure or kill a child. That is why parents and children need safety education. In the United States alone, several thousand children age 4 and under die each year because of accidental injuries. Forty-five times that number are hospitalized. The leading causes of death for children 1 to 4 years old are motor vehicles, fires/ burns, drowning, choking, poisonings and falls. When a serious accident does occur, special expertise and equipment may be needed to save the child’s life. That is why a pediatric trauma center should be linked to every community.

HOME SAFETY CHECKLIST***

The Home Safety Checklist Brochure is designed to help protect family members from unintentional injuries. It is designed to be an easy room-to-room survey that will quickly point out dangers that need to be changed immediately. It covers the kitchen, basement and garages, outdoor play areas, bathroom, child's bedroom, play areas, windows, stairs and railings, electrical outlets, and fixtures, and general living areas.

 WHAT CAN KIWANIS CLUBS DO?

Distribute this brochure to Pediatricians, Clinics, Day Care Center,

Health Fairs, Pre-school Programs, Health Department, Hospitals that offer Prenatal Classes or New Mom Classes.

OPEN WATER SAFETY***

This brochure covers tips for open water safety: never swim in drainage ditches, what to do in an emergency situation if a child is struggling in the water or if a child is unconscious in the water etc.

Distribute this brochure to schools, day care centers, Fire/Police Departments, Fishing Derby, any organized family day sponsored by Kiwanis, pool supply stores, public beach concession stands.

OTHER PROJECT IDEAS

Set up a car seat program***

Kiwanis clubs can make sure that safety seats are available to everyone in the community by setting up a car seat loan program. This involves purchasing or securing donations of new car seats, establishing a location (car dealership, hospital, police station) from which the seats will be loaned or given, establishing the criteria for providing a seat to a family and making sure the people handing out the car seats have the training to install them properly.

Educate the community about scald burns***  

Smoke Alarm Safety

One-third of the smoke detectors installed in houses don’t work. If a fire occurs, they won’t make a sound, because most smoke alarms still contain their original batteries. A simple project can solve this problem: an annual campaign for everyone to check the batteries in their smoke detectors. This can involve ads in the local paper or distribution of fliers. This campaign can be expanded to include distribution of batteries and smoke detectors in neighborhoods.

Distribute Choke-Test Tubes

An adult learns about an object by looking at it. A young child learns about it by putting it in his mouth. Telling a toddler to stop putting objects in his mouth has little or no effect. The proper safety precaution is to make sure the child doesn’t play with toys on which he could choke, and there is a device—called a choke- test tube—that helps parents determine this. If a toy or the

smallest piece of a toy fit inside the tube, it is unsafe for children age 3 and under. The federal government has established a size for safe toys for kids under 3: A small part should be at least 1.25 inch diameter and 2.25 inch long. Any part smaller than this is a potential choking hazard. When parents shop for a toy, they need to make sure it has no parts smaller than these dimensions. Inexpensive,

clear plastic tubes that parents can use to test small parts are available from stores specializing in children’s toys and furnishings. A toilet paper roll or other empty cardboard tube would also work to test toys if a choke-test tube is unavailable. Distributing the tubes and educating parents could be a project by itself, or it could be part of a parenting fair or seminar.

Educate the Community About Poisons

The same impulse that leads a child to swallow a toy may impel him to drink or eat a poisonous substance. Clubs can help parents through an awareness campaign that reminds them to keep paints, cleaning compounds, beauty aids and even house plants out of the reach of young children. “Mr. Yuck” stickers can be distributed, so that parents can label poisonous substances with a consistent warning that they discuss with their children. Contact the local hospital or poison control center to get the stickers. Finally, a club could print and distribute copies of a chart that tells parents what to do if their children consume a poisonous substance. Educational pamphlets on poisons, designed for distribution in the community, are available from the National Safety Council at 800-621- 7619, and the American Academy of Pediatrics at 800-433-9016.

Lead Poisoning Awareness

National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week: October 22-28, 2017

During  this year’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Week the National Center  for Healthy Housing  raises awareness about lead poisoning. For more information : www.nchh.org

Support A Pediatric Trauma Program

****KIWANIS PEDIATRIC TRAUMA CENTER (KPTI) is supported by the Kiwanis Foundation of New England and other sponsors. Materials are available from KPTI which deal with prevention. ***materials available from KPTI

Support The Children's Miracle Network Hospitals in Your Areas

A club might consider starting any number of Young Children: Priority One projects at an area children’s hospital, and donate the funds raised for it through CMN. (Be sure that the hospital is a member of the Children’s Miracle Network.) Club members should discuss with the hospital’s CMN coordinator the possibility of setting up a special Kiwanis Young Children: Priority One fund, so that the club can have a better idea of how its funds are affecting the well-being of young children.

Car Safety In And Around Cars

Nearly 10% of motor vehicle related deaths DO NOT occur on public highways or in vehicular accidents or traffic, but happen in parking lots, driveways or when children are left unattended in vehicles. This is a serious public health issue and these deaths are totally preventable.

NEVER LEAVE A CHILD ALONE IN OR NEAR A CAR

From 1998 to 2010, more than 494 children – most of them 2 years old and younger – died from heat stroke after being left or becoming trapped in a car.

These deaths fall into three main categories: children who were trapped while playing in a vehicle without supervision; children who were accidentally left behind; and children who were intentionally left alone in a car.

Leaving a child in a vehicle for a “quick” errand is a huge mistake. A delay of just a few minutes on a warm day can lead to tragedy.

SPOT THE TOT

Each year almost 2,500 children ages 1 to 14 go to emergency rooms with injuries sustained from a vehicle backing up. On average, another 230 kids in that same age group die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Danger can come from any direction, and children should never play in driveways, in parking lots or on sidewalks when vehicles are present.

PREVENTING TRUNK ENTRAPMENT

For many kids, a car trunk looks like a fun place to play or hide. Tragically, many families have discovered that kids can get in but they can’t always get out. A trunk can be deadly for an unattended child.

Children can access trunks in several ways, even without having the vehicle’s keys. Most cars have a lever or button located near the driver’s seat that pops the trunk open, while other cars also have fold-down seats or a “pass through” that enables children to climb into the trunk from the back seat. Always lock all vehicle doors. For more information, a brochure and checklist for parents, go to www.safekids.org

Kiwanis Clubs can help by increasing public awareness of this problem – distribute information at grocery stores, to childcare centers, pediatrician’s offices etc.

I hope there is at least one project that motivates you to do more for our children to promote safety in our communities. Imagine the lives and money we could save by promoting prevention education to parents and families. With the high cost of hospitalization, insurance and emergency room care today in the U.S. we could all do

our part to educate parents to keep their children safe and possibly lower rising health care costs.

Please remember that without the support of the Kiwanis Foundation of New England the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Center Programs could not function.

So I hope your Club will consider making a donation to the KFNE, and if you wish the money to go to KPTI you can indicate “KPTI” on the memo line of your check. Kiwanis Clubs need to support these programs if we wish them to con

Sincerely,

Ava Adams

Young Children Priority One, District Chair

New England and Bermuda District

email: faithava2008@yahoo.com