Shelby's Not Breathing

A powerful reminder about safe sleep practices.

Having a Safe and Fun Halloween

Here are a few safety tips from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to protect children who plan to go trick-or-treating this Halloween.

Treats: Warn children not to eat any treats before an adult has carefully examined them for evidence of tampering.

Flame Resistant Costumes: When purchasing a costume, masks, beards, and wigs, look for the label Flame Resistant. Although this label does not mean these items won't catch fire, it does indicate the items will resist burning and should extinguish quickly once removed from the ignition source. To minimize the risk of contact with candles or other sources of ignition, avoid costumes made with flimsy materials and outfits with big, baggy sleeves or billowing skirts.

Costume Designs: Purchase or make costumes that are light and bright enough to be clearly visible to motorists. For greater visibility during dusk and darkness, decorate or trim costumes with reflective tape that will glow in the beam of a car's headlights. Bags or sacks should also be light colored or decorated with reflective tape. Reflective tape is usually available in hardware, bicycle, and sporting goods stores.

To easily see and be seen, children should also carry flashlights.

Costumes should be short enough to prevent children from tripping and falling.

Children should wear well-fitting, sturdy shoes. Mother's high heels are not a good idea for safe walking.

Hats and scarves should be tied securely to prevent them from slipping over children's eyes.

Apply a natural mask of cosmetics rather than have a child wear a loose-fitting mask that might restrict breathing or obscure vision. If a mask is used, however, make sure it fits securely and has eyeholes large enough to allow full vision.

Swords, knives, and similar costume accessories should be of soft and flexible material.

Pedestrian Safety: Young children should always be accompanied by an adult or an older, responsible child. All children should WALK, not run from house to house and use the sidewalk if available, rather than walk in the street. Children should be cautioned against running out from between parked cars, or across lawns and yards where ornaments, furniture, or clotheslines present dangers.

Choosing Safe Houses: Children should go only to homes where the residents are known and have outside lights on as a sign of welcome.

Children should not enter homes or apartments unless they are accompanied by an adult.

People expecting trick-or-treaters should remove anything that could be an obstacle from lawns, steps and porches. Candlelit jack-o'-lanterns should be kept away from landings and doorsteps where costumes could brush against the flame. Indoor jack-o'-lanterns should be kept away from curtains, decorations, and other furnishings that could be ignited.

From the Consumer Product Safety Commission

School Bus Safety

BUS STOP: Your child’s bus stop should be in an area that is well lit, easily accessible, and away from traffic. If you live in an area where there is heavy snowfall, make sure that the stop is sufficiently free of snow, ice and related debris.

CLOTHING: Children should be wearing bright colored clothing, especially if waiting for the bus before sunrise or getting home after dark. Place removable reflective tape on their outer garments including on their hats and coats.

Boarding: Teach your children to stand back away from the curb and to remain there until the bus has completely stopped and the driver opens the door to board. Teach them to board the bus in an orderly manner, without pushing or shoving and be seated immediately.

SEATING: Virtually all school buses DO NOT come equipped with seatbelts, nor are seats strong enough to resist impact in the event of a crash. Teach your children to be seated at all times. Face the front of the bus and keep their feet in front of them rather than out in the aisles. Staying directly behind the seat in front of you protects you in case of an accident.

IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT: Teach your children various brace positions to prepare for the possibility of an accident. Learn optional exit strategies including using the emergency door or windows.

AWARENESS OF WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND THEM: Teach your children to be aware of the traffic in the area; to be constantly looking both ways as they cross streets; and to never walk behind the school bus. Teach them the DANGER ZONES: Behind the bus, where the driver cannot see them or in front of the bus where the driver cannot see them unless they are ten feet or three giant steps in front. The driver should be able to see them and they should see the driver.

A bus driver needs to be able to hear emergency vehicles, trains at railroad crossings, and other emergencies that might arise during the bus route. Children need to understand the importance of obeying the school bus rules and the consequences that could result.

You can keep your children safe by raising their awareness of potential hazards while the rest of us can make school bus safety a priority by obeying the rules of the road. Let’s make the rest of this school year a safe one.

What's the 411 About 211?

Prevent Child Abuse Indiana has sponsored a telephone information line since the mid 1990s. Initially 1-800-CHILDREN (1-800-244-5373) was answered by PCA Indiana staff. Unfortunately, that limited the times we could answer the line to “office hours.” It became clear that people need assistance at all hours of the day and night, and are often uncomfortable leaving a voice mail message.

Last year PCA Indiana worked out an agreement with the Central Indiana 211 Center, also known as Connect2Help. Anytime you call 1-800-CHILDREN now, the line will be answered by Connect2Help staff.

Their highly trained specialists answer the 1-800-CHILDREN line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Connect2Help always has Spanish-speaking staff available, and uses a translation service for callers who need assistance in other languages.

Connect2Help has a database of over 60,000 programs and services and can assist callers in finding the resources they need.

The resource database is also posted online, and is available to the general public at www.connect2help.org. Click on the link to the left labeled “Search our Database.” You will find a wealth of information about agencies, programs and services to meet a variety of needs.

Staying Healthy

Families all have a goal to be healthy! Health is something we all may take for granted, but it takes effort to assure everyone in the family is staying as healthy as they can.

Some basic steps toward preventative measures are so important, such as: 8 hours of sleep, plus naps, laughter, vitamins, handwashing, and eating plenty of fruits and veggies. Brushing teeth 2 times a day, flossing once and visiting the dentist 2 times a year are all basic requirements.

Taking care of our mental health is just as important as taking care of our physical needs. Just getting the basics done is a feat worth celebrating!

Other more controversial topics may also be requirements for your family. Immunizations and flu shots may be discussed with your doctor.

Paying for all these services is a whole other topic, isn’t it? Many states are offering health coverage for children of all ages. Please check with your state to see what services are being offered!

*Remember caregivers, you need to take care of YOU too! Regularly scheduled “fun breaks” need to be in place for you, as well as taking care of your physical and mental health.

How can one person make a difference?

Child maltreatment is a widespread problem. Nearly five children in the United States die every day as a result of abuse or neglect. More than 75% are under the age of four.

Both the statistics and the stories are horrifying. When we’re confronted with such a massive problem, it’s natural to feel hopeless. It’s natural to say, “How can one person possibly make a difference?”

The truth is this is the only way we can make a difference—one person at a time. And then one more. And then another. And another.

Confucius said, “To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.”

Some people think that preventing child abuse means calling the police or Child Protective Services when you see something happening. While it’s the right thing to do at that point, reporting isn’t the same thing as prevention-- anymore than chemotherapy is cancer prevention.

So, you may ask, how can child maltreatment be prevented? Here are a few ideas:

1. Support programs in your community that are effective in helping families. If you don’t know about such programs, check with your local Department of Child Services office or United Way.


2. Child maltreatment happens in all kinds of families, all income levels, in every neighborhood. Reach out to families you know. Offer to take the kids for a few hours to give harried parents a much-needed break.


3. Remember that families become strong when they are supported by a strong community.


4. Find out if there is a Child Abuse Prevention Council in your county by checking our web site: http://www.pcain.org/council_map.asp. If there is a Council, contact them to see how you can help. If there isn’t a Council in your county, contact Mary Armstrong-Smith (msmith.pcain@villages.org) to learn how to get one started.


5. Understand that abuse and neglect can have long term consequences for a child. Stress releases chemicals in the brain that weaken brain architecture and hinder brain development.


6. Help spread the message that we all have a stake in developing healthy kids. “Children are one third of our population and all of our future.” (Select Panel for the Promotion of Child Health, 1981)

Remember that child maltreatment is a problem with solutions that don’t always receive the attention they should. This is not a problem that should be left only to parents and social workers. Children are everyone’s future!

“We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.” (Marian Wright Edelman)

Internet Safety

The internet can be a wonderful and useful tool to enhance our knowledge about any topic. In seconds, we can know the capitol of Guam or how much corn Indiana produces in a single day ( I haven’t actually looked either of these up, but I’m sure the internet could inform us). It keeps us up-to-date on our favorite sports teams and celebrities, and enables us to be linked in at work and school when we need to be. In those same seconds however, a predator can “enter” our homes, and potentially harm our children. It is imperative then, that we teach ourselves, and more importantly our children, some basic internet do’s and don’t’s.

1. Parents! You need to become computer savvy. Learn how to use the internet, and keep up on all of the upgrades and latest security software

2. Find out where your child has access to the internet…school? A friend’s house? The library?

3. Check the history of your internet log to see what sites have been visited

4. Use parental control tools. Your service provider can assist you with determining what is best for your family, and how to use them

5. Keep the computer in a common area of the home. This tactic is not a “cure all”, but it does help in being able to supervise how long your child is spending on-line, as well as what they are doing while on-line

6. Tell your children to never give out any personal information on-line.

7. Do not post pictures of your children on social media outlets, especially if any identifying information is able to be viewed, e.g. the name of their school or sports team on a jacket or jersey, their name on a piece of clothing, etc. Any of these items may enable someone to trace your child’s whereabouts.

8. Keep an open dialogue with your children. Tell them to let you know immediately if someone makes any kind of sexual solicitation toward them (or any type of unwanted contact or message)

9. Model courteous behavior. Never tolerate bullying of any type.

10. There MAYBE some warning signs if a predator has made contact with your child. Your child may be using the computer late at night; may divert the monitor when you enter the room; may start receiving phone calls or gifts.

For more information about internet safety, you may visit www.preventchildabuse.org, and they have many resources to which you may link.

Some of this information was gleaned from Prevent Child Abuse America