Tag Archives: child safety

Preparedness for Baby Sitters

Whether you only intend to be gone for an hour or you plan to be gone for most of the day or evening, your baby sitter needs tools and information in order to provide the best care for your children. It’s also important to give the baby sitter a tour of your home to point out important things such as fire extinguishers, hazards, open windows that need to closed and locked after dark, or anything else you consider important. Make sure the sitter also knows how various appliances work and what to do if a circuit breaker is tripped (and … Continue reading →

More Quick Parenting Tips

I love great parenting advice and sometimes I find little quick tips and advice sprinkled throughout parenting magazines that I read. In the February 2005 issue of babytalk, for instance, I found these great little gems: (1) Putting oil on cradle cap does not cure it. Doing so only hides the scales. Instead, wash the scalp with baby shampoo and rinse, then apply a selenium-based dandruff shampoo and leave it on for five minutes. Then rinse, dry and brush away the flakes. (2) What’s the best way to burp your baby? According to moms, these methods have worked for them: … Continue reading →

The Safest States To Raise Kids- Part Two

Here is rest of the top 10 along with a listing of how the rest of the states ranked. #(7) Maine Has the second lowest violent crime rate in the US, has one of the strongest booster seat laws in the country. #(8) Pennsylvania Has excellent emergency care for kids, the highest number of state troopers allowed by law, has the fewest registered sex offenders per capita of any state, makes it illegal to leave a child under the age of six alone for even a few minutes. #(9) New Hampshire Has a special unit that addresses child abuse, has … Continue reading →

Safest States To Raise Kids

If you have kids and are considering making a move but don’t know where you want to settle down, you might want to consider one of the top 10 safest places to raise kids. In the November 2006 issue of Child, a special report outlines the top ten states, along with some of the reasons why they are considered safe for kids. Here’s some highlights from the report. #(1) Rhode Island Improved the safety of playgrounds, minimized transportation-related deaths for children under the age of 18, first state to require kids wear helmets when riding scooters. #(2) Connecticut Each school … Continue reading →

The Jewelry That Gives Peace of Mind

Have you ever considered what might happen if your child had a medical emergency and you weren’t around? And if your child couldn’t speak due to a disability or because he was unconscious, how could he get help? William Y. Rial, Former President of the American Medical Association has said, “Even if your children are old enough to understand the seriousness of their condition, why gamble on the ability to communicate in a situation in which they may be unconscious or too ill to speak? If your children suffer from any condition that could endanger them or complicate treatment in … Continue reading →

What is Age Appropriate Sexual Development in Early Childhood? The Five to Eight Year Olds.

This is the third article in the series. Click on the links to view the introduction, or, three to five-year-old articles. The five to eight-years olds are the ones who really seem to get into trouble the most, for simply enacting a normal part of their development. This is the stage where therapists are sent these children to “fix” them. So, is there increased abnormal sexual behavior in this age group? I think not. This age group is highly sociable, have started school, and have many more sets of authoritarian eyes watching their every move. The children are learning the … Continue reading →

What is Age Appropriate Sexual Development in Early Childhood? The Three to Five-Year-Olds.

The introduction to Age Appropriate Sexual Development can be viewed here. The pre-school child now has increased vocabulary and contact with a larger number of people. The children remain curious about their own bodies and the bodies of others. They are becoming acutely aware, and interested, of the difference between a boy body and a girl body and will typically start asking questions like, “Why does Daddy have a penis?” Their increased social contacts may bring them into contact with other Moms who are pregnant, or indeed, there may even be pregnancy in their own home. The questions continue: “Where … Continue reading →

What is Age Appropriate Sexual Development in Early Childhood? Introduction.

A child of four inserts a pair of scissors into her bottom. A child of eight attempts to put his penis into his little sister’s vagina. Is this acceptable behavior? No. Is it developmentally normal? No. These are indicators of something being wrong and worthy of concern. What is developmentally normal though? It can be so confusing and scary when a parent catches their children engaged in sex play. Usually the parents first reaction is shock, followed quickly by anger, and then concern, both for their own perception of perhaps being a bad parent and then for their child: “Am … Continue reading →

A Glass of Water May Make the Burden of Child Sexual Assault Too Heavy.

The same student that sent the Donkey Story also sent me this poignant story about stress management: A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, “How heavy is this glass of water?” Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll … Continue reading →

How Do I know if a Child is Being Abused?

Every parent’s fear is that their child will be abused. There are four different types of abuse: Neglect, Emotional, Physical and Sexual. There are common physical and behavioral signs that may indicate any of these types of abuse. The presence of one of these signs does not necessarily mean abuse or neglect. When I am assessing for likelihood of abuse, I look for clusters of the signs. If I see many of the signs together, I begin to suspect abuse and I report to a Government body (Police or Welfare) who can investigate and protect the child. Although every family’s … Continue reading →