More Than Mom: How Sleep Deprivation Affects Safety
By Denise Iacona Stern, CEO, Let Mommy Sleep
The link between adults with sleep deprivation and postpartum depression has been proven over and over, with women reporting the highest levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms in early pregnancy and the lowest levels of social support. When we look deeper into the effects of lack of sleep however, the link between sleep and poor outcomes affects not only a parent’s mental health but the health and safety of the family as well. Simply put, when we don’t sleep, we make poor decisions.
Here’s what that means:
Newborns and Infants: Those experiencing sleep deprivation are less likely to place infants in safe sleep situations. Additionally they are less likely to bring infants in for routine health visits, and to have infants fully immunized.
Partners: Sleep problems may also contribute to the transmission of depression within a couple. As the study states: “Mothers’ and fathers’ depressive symptoms were correlated with each other…”
Community: Accidents on the whole, in particular car accidents are also more likely due to drowsy driving. This is true for anyone who’s sleep deprived, but new parents are especially susceptible.
Sleep Deprivation and Safety: Proven Tips to Help
Prepare and Organize Baby Gear
Just as athletes prepare and visualize success for their competitions, parents can prepare for their own big game when baby arrives!
1. Pre-assemble and understand how to use your gear! Take away the stress of learning how to safely use your stroller, car seat and other essentials at the moment they’re needed by practicing before baby arrives.
2. Anchor furniture and babyproof before birth: We’ve all heard stories of babies rolling, reaching and pulling up before anyone thought they’d be capable of doing so. Take away this stress by safely anchoring the furniture/TV’s and other heavy items, tucking away cords and completing other babyproof essentials.
3. Think beyond the gear: Did you know that in a 2013 survey of 4,146 ERs, only 47% have an emergency preparedness plan in place that addresses the unique needs of children? Download the FindER app to learn and understand which emergency room is best prepared for your child’s needs before an emergency. For more minor medical situations that can be handled at home, purchase or create -and understand how to use- your own first aid kit.
Practice Good Sleep Hygiene
Basic sleep hygiene is a great foundation for sleep for everyone. Parents of newborns may not be able to do all of these activities but try to include as many as possible into your day:
- Have a good set-up: your bedroom should be quiet, dark, relaxing, and at a comfortable temperature.
- Remove electronic devices: Take away the temptation to watch TV, use a computer and scroll your phone. Blue light from tablets, phones and computers suppress the production of melatonin. Melatonin is a natural hormone released in the evening to help you feel tired and ready for sleep.
- Keep your diet in check: Avoid large meals, caffeine, and alcohol before bedtime.
- Try to get exercise: Being physically active during the day can help you fall asleep more easily at night. (Baby-chasing and stroller-pushing count as physical activity!)
Create a Schedule- for YOU
A common refrain from new parents is “how can I get my baby on a schedule?” But parents need a sleep schedule too! By switching nights or part of the night where one parent is on and one is completely off, both partners receive meaningful blocks of sleep.
In other words, parents take turns caring for baby in shifts. Parent A is on from 7pm – whenever baby gets up overnight, then parent B is on from the end of that wake-up til morning. Better yet, do a 2 nights on/2 nights off schedule. You’ll keep your immune systems strong and make safe decisions for your family by getting meaningful blocks of deep, restorative sleep.
Accept Help
Friends, neighbors and family can provide childcare relief, whether they look after the baby overnight, or support you for an hour or 2 during the day to get a nap. Hiring a night nurse or other professional nighttime care is also an option. Your own health and the health of your family is worth it.
As the CEO of Let Mommy Sleep, Denise Iacona Stern is a 15-year veteran of ensuring new parents quality sleep. She is also a mother of 3 and Cribs for Kids Safe Sleep Ambassador.
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Embracing Childproofing
By Peter Kerin, International Association for Child Safety
As grandparents, welcoming grandchildren into your home is a joyous experience. You play an important role in protecting curious and energetic explorers. When grandchildren are going to visit, it is best to take a few precautions in advance. Consider using a baby gate or two to create a safe space for them in a family room or other room in the home. Here are additional recommendations for adapting your home for little ones:
- Use baby gates to block access to stairs, dangerous rooms, or other hazards. There are options available for wide openings, stairways, fireplaces, and more.
- Ensure gates are designed and meet standards for babies. Some gates, like pet gates, are not suitable for use with babies. Only use hardware-mounted gates at the top of stairs (these gates are installed with screws into the wall).
- It is best to store medications, cleaners, and other hazards out of the reach of young children.
Secure any cabinets and drawers that may hold hazardous items with latches or locks or remove hazardous items with a little reorganization.
- Do a walk-through or “crawl through” of your house to gain the perspective of your grandchild to help you find choking hazards and more. If an item fits in an empty toilet paper roll, consider it a choking hazard.
- Nightstands and end tables can offer convenient storage (medications, tools, etc.) for adults but may hold unsafe and easily accessible items to an exploring child.
- If you have a pool, install a 4-sided pool fence.
- Cords and outlets are a hazard. Take time to secure blind cords, electrical outlets, and cords.
- Add anti-tip devices to dressers, bookshelves, stoves, and televisions.
- Add locks to pantry doors, exit doors, and other dangerous areas such as workshops with tools. There are styles that are removable that can be used when your grandchildren visit.
- Sleep safety is vital. There have been great advancements in practices and products that were used years ago. Children should be placed on their back to sleep. Drop side cribs and crib bumpers are no longer sold for safety reasons, as standards have changed to protect children.
Being a grandparent is a wonderful time – taking a few precautions can help protect your grandchild, reduce stress, and hopefully ensure frequent visits!
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Use The Right Products
By Peter Kerin, International Association for Child Safety
It is the age of the internet, we have all seen numerous videos showing shortcuts, aka ”hacks” for cooking, cleaning, and more. These can be useful tips but when it comes to child safety, hacks should not be part of the discussion.
We all want to provide the best for our children, that means using the Right Products. What do we mean by “Right” – it means a product designed and tested for a specific purpose. As someone who is married to a long-haired spouse, hair ties serve a specific purpose. That purpose is not to secure kitchen cabinets. You need to use a child safe cabinet latch.
Chairs, bar stools, and ottomans were never intended to be used as stair barriers. There are many JPMA certified gates that install easily, look great, and are the most suitable product for childproofing. Below are some tips to assist you with choosing the right gates and using them safely in your home every day:
- Use JPMA certified gates, not pet gates. Most “pet” gates do not meet baby gate standards.
- Install gates at the top and the bottom of stairways. Children can quickly climb stairs and fall. In addition, baby gates are great for blocking off access to other dangerous areas of your home.
- Keep gates closed and latched. Don’t climb over baby gates. Children watch and learn from adults and older siblings.
- Prevent entrapment. Don’t modify gates or install a gate higher than the manufacturer’s instructions to accommodate your pets.
- Review the guidelines for use so you know when to discontinue use.
When it comes to protecting our children, please take the time to “Use The Right Products”, the difference could save a life.
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No Child Left Unattended...
Written by: Nancy Chamberlain, Program Associate, Kids and Car Safety
Leaving a child unattended in any circumstance can lead to preventable injuries or worse.
The inside of a vehicle is an extremely dangerous environment for a child and children should never be left alone in a vehicle for any amount of time.
Not just a story!
A parent left their daughter unattended in the vehicle and ran in the house for just a minute to pick up an item left behind. The phone rang and he needed to go to his computer to comply with the request of the caller. He stepped into the restroom. The phone rang again. His child dies of heatstroke in the family’s driveway.
The time it took you to read the short paragraph above is the same amount of time the parent intended to leave the child unattended in the vehicle, just a minute. This is not just a story; this really happened.
TAKE ACTION IF YOU SEE A CHILD ALONE IN A HOT CAR:
- Call 911 immediately.
- If the child is in distress, immediately get the child out of the vehicle AND COOL THEM DOWN!
SAFETY TIPS FOR PARENTS
- NEVER leave a child of any age alone in a vehicle, not even for a minute.
- Use drive-thru services when available (restaurants, banks, pharmacies, dry cleaners, etc.) and pay for gas at the pump. If you order take-out, you can ask them to bring the food out to your car.
- Never leave a vehicle unattended with the engine running or keys inside under any circumstances.
- Do not put children or adults inside a vehicle with the engine running while clearing snow or ice off the vehicle. Always clear the tailpipe first to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
- Keep car keys and remote openers out of reach of children and keep vehicles locked at all times, even in driveways or garages. Ask home visitors, childcare providers, and neighbors to do the same.
- Always set your emergency brake when your vehicle is parked.
- In any state, a person can face child endangerment or neglect charges for leaving a child alone in a vehicle, even if the state does not have a law specifically making it illegal to leave a child alone in a vehicle.
“That would never happen to me.”
We all understand the inconvenience of loading, unloading, and reloading a child into a vehicle… it is exhausting! BUT…we must never put our own convenience above the safety of our precious children. There are so many things that can happen to children left unattended in a vehicle:
- HEATSTROKE
Within minutes a young child can begin to suffer the life-threatening symptoms of heatstroke. The inside of a vehicle acts like a greenhouse trapping in heat causing the temperature inside to rise VERY quickly. Cracking the windows does NOT drastically reduce the temperature inside a vehicle. A child’s body temperature rises 3-5 times faster than an adult.
Somebody Help Me! (30sec PSA): http://youtu.be/GQ6BC-oKHRA
It only Takes a Second (30sec PSA): http://youtu.be/T4wttLNSZiU
HeatStroke (30sec PSA): http://youtu.be/kYGAIagq-Wg
- VEHICLE THEFT
Vehicles are stolen with children alone inside every week. This happens even in the safest neighborhoods and it only takes a few seconds for a thief to jump into your vehicle and take off with your child in tow. Most of the time, the thief doesn’t see the child until they’ve already stolen the vehicle.
Car Theft (30sec PSA): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTa98jQfYTg&feature=relmfu
- POWER WINDOW INJURIES
Power windows in vehicles have killed or injured thousands of children. It takes just 22 pounds of force to suffocate or injure an infant while power windows exert 30-80 pounds of force. Children are curious; they push buttons without realizing the dangers of what can happen. In many cases, a parent was standing very close to the vehicle and had turned their back for just a few seconds.
Power Windows (30sec PSA): http://youtu.be/aNs97tJJFzI
Bounce Back (30sec PSA): http://youtu.be/vsSwV2se20k
- VEHICLES KNOCKED INTO MOTION
Every year hundreds of children are hospitalized or even killed after accidentally setting a car into motion. Most drivers think that their vehicle cannot be shifted into gear unless the vehicle is running and the driver has their foot on the brake. However, this is NOT the case with older vehicles. They can be knocked into gear while turned off and without the driver’s foot on the brake.
Check your vehicle to see if it can be shifted into gear without your foot on the brake: http://www.kidsandcars.org/userfiles/dangers/heatstroke/btsi-testing-051211.pdf
- SEATBELT STRANGULATION
Children have been strangled by seat belts in vehicles. If the child has wrapped the seat belt around their body or neck and the lock feature is engaged, the seat belt will continue to get tighter the more they move around. This has injured or killed children even with an adult in the vehicle. Teach children seat belts should never be played with and if the seat belt does get locked around them to immediately ask for help and stay still until someone can help them.
- VEHICLE FIRE
Vehicle fires are started by children who have discovered matches or a lighter inside a vehicle while unattended.
- FALL FROM VEHICLE
Children have been seriously injured from falling out of a vehicle or falling inside a vehicle. Falls are the #1 cause of nontraffic vehicle-related injury.
- BACKOVER & FRONTOVER
If an unattended child gets out of a vehicle, they face a whole new set of dangers. Children are backed over and run over by slow forward moving vehicles in parking lots and driveways at least 110 times every week in the United States.
62 children behind a SUV (30 sec PSA) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn0RocUSLmk
Cade (30 sec PSA) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7W4RCyTj3E
Bye-bye syndrome (15 sec PSA) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkPNgfcCtbs
- ABDUCTIONS/KIDNAPPING
Abductions and kidnappings are rare, but they DO happen.
- CHOKING & POISONING
Children are known for putting everything in their mouth. A child can choke on something or ingest something dangerous inside a vehicle when unattended and there would be no adult there to help them.
- UNDERAGE DRIVERS
Children as young as 3-4 years old have been known to “take the car for a spin” – even the most well-behaved children are curious. They see Mom and Dad drive and they want to do it too. Starting a car with keyless entry is making this easier to do. Never let a child play with car keys.
To learn more about the many dangers children face when left alone in or around vehicles please visit KidsAndCars.org’s website at: http://www.KidsAndCars.org.
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How to Choose and Use the Correct Car Seat to Protect Your Child
Written by: Joe Colella, Director of Child Passenger Safety, Baby Safety Alliance
Car crashes are a leading cause of injury, hospitalization, or worse for American children. Each day in the United States, an estimated 445 children are injured and an average of three children are killed. A shocking 40% of those children killed in car crashes are not buckled up at all, and more than half of families make errors in correctly choosing and using their car seats. Correct selection, installation, and use of a car seat, booster seat, or seat belt is the proven best defense to ensure the safety of a child in your care.
The good news is that the Baby Safety Alliance and its car seat manufacturer members are here to help guide you to correctly choose and use a car seat to protect your child. As a trade association for prenatal to preschool product stakeholders, the Baby Safety Alliance is the voice of safety and quality for the industry. We do this through sharing evidence-based educational messaging, helping to develop safe product regulations and standards, and encouraging state legislatures to pass state laws that reflect best safety practices.
A correctly used car seat begins by choosing a safe car seat that is appropriate for your child’s size, age, and developmental needs. It must then face the proper direction for your child and be placed in a car seating position that considers the safety of the child and all other passengers. The car seat must be tightly attached to the vehicle according to car seat and vehicle instructions, and your child must be snugly buckled in with correctly adjusted harnesses. The following are answers to some common questions from parents and caregivers when it comes to choosing and using the right car seat:
How do I choose the right car seat?
The basic rules that any certified Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) will reiterate, are that the best car seat 1) fits your child; 2) fits your vehicle; 3) will be used consistently and correctly.
- Fits Your Child: The right car seat is one designed for your child’s height, weight, age, and developmental needs. The instructions and labels for each car seat model reflect the height and weight ranges each mode of use is designed for, and some include minimum ages to turn the child forward-facing or use a booster seat.
- Fits Your Vehicle: The car seat must be correctly attached to the vehicle to perform its functions. Following car seat installation instructions and vehicle owner’s manual guidance is crucial.
- Used Consistently & Correctly: You and anyone else who drives your child needs to be familiar with the features of the car seat and comfortable using them correctly on every trip.
Since every car seat sold in the United States must meet stringent Federal safety requirements, those basic rules are constant. Beyond regulations, many car seat models have extra safety, convenience, and comfort features added to their designs. The right car seat for your family should also accommodate your budget and lifestyle needs.
When should my child face forward?
Children should ride rear-facing until they reach the maximum rear-facing weight or height allowed by the instructions for the model. This advice is based on extensive research and comes from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), a leading organization that represents 67,000 pediatricians who diagnose and treat child injuries. Families should delay transitions from rear-facing to forward-facing to booster seat to seat belt as long as their car seat instructions allow. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which regulates the safety of car seats and vehicles, offers similar guidance. https://healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/on-the-go/Pages/Car-Safety-Seats-Information-for-Families.aspx
Based on crash injuries experienced and biometric data, both organizations state that facing the rear longer is safer. A rear-facing car seat supports the child’s head, neck, and back throughout most crashes, and the car seat’s shell surrounds the child’s head for protection. Since most rear-facing convertible or all-in-one car seats now allow rear-facing use until a child weighs 40 pounds or higher, that means most children can ride facing the back until they are at least age 2 and in many cases much longer.
State legislatures agree with this guidance: 19 states and the District of Columbia now require children to face the rear until they are at least 2 years old. Eight additional states require rear-facing to at least age 1. https://www.safekids.org/state-law-tracker
How can I be sure my car seat is correctly used?
As safety devices that can protect children in dangerous crashes, car seats must be used in the ways they are designed and tested. So to be sure that you are using it correctly, you must carefully read and follow the car seat instructions and the car seat section of your vehicle owner’s manual. Plus, there are additional resources to help you use your car seat correctly:
- Manufacturer instructions provide all of the details needed to use their car seats correctly, and many instructions reference the AAP or NHTSA guidance and encourage you to follow it. If you can’t find your car seat manual, just contact the manufacturer for a printed or downloaded copy. Don’t forget to check your vehicle instructions too, since a car seat must be correctly attached using vehicle features. Most manufacturers list Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on their websites, and some also include supplemental video instructions, links to expert information, access to replacement parts or approved accessories, online product registration to be notified of safety campaigns or recalls, and more.
- Expert assistance from trained customer service agents is an important resource if you have specific questions or want clarification. This free service is provided by people who work for the company, and no one knows their products better than the manufacturer. Customer service has also evolved and expanded for many manufacturers. While most companies make help available by phone or email, some have added SMS (text) messaging, video assistance, and even a full video car seat inspection by a certified CPST.
- Contact a local Certified Passenger Safety Technician (CPST). Certified technicians have been formally trained with a 3- to 4-day course, have experience with parents, and will check your car seat in your vehicle to help make any necessary corrections (usually free of charge). Some CPSTs offer similar services via 2-way video (virtual), as well as in Spanish and other languages. Find a car seat inspection station near you: https://www.nhtsa.gov/equipment/car-seats-and-booster-seats#installation-help-inspection
The Safest Ways for Kids to Ride
- Children should ride rear-facing until they reach the maximum rear-facing weight or height allowed by the instructions.
- Children who exceed the rear-facing limits of convertible or all-in-one car seats should ride in forward-facing car seats with harnesses.
- Children who exceed the forward-facing harness limits should ride in booster seats until seat belts alone fit correctly.
- Children who are old enough and large enough for the vehicle seat belt to fit them correctly should always use lap and shoulder seat belts for the best protection.
Regardless of the restraint type, always follow the car seat and vehicle instructions for proper use, along with state laws. It is very important to remember that the back seat is the safest place for children under 13 to ride!
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