What to Expect the Toddler Years (236 page)
Read What to Expect the Toddler Years Online
Authors: Heidi Murkoff
At the beach, spread your blanket close to the lifeguard station—it’s usually set up on the safest strip of beach. But don’t rely on a lifeguard to keep your toddler safe; supervise your child every minute. Neither should you rely on a lifeguard knowing CPR—unfortunately, many do not.
Keep everyone in the family away from pools or other bodies of water during thunderstorms.
If you take your family boating, insist that all children wear child-size life vests (tested by Underwriters Laboratory and approved by the U.S. Coast Guard). But, like lifeguards, life vests are not a substitute for parent (or parent substitute) supervision.
LET IT SNOW
To adults, a winter snowstorm foretells a hundred headaches—walks and driveways to be salted and shoveled, slippery roads to negotiate, muddy boots and soggy snowsuits to deal with. To children, a snowstorm foretells a hundred pleasures—snow angels to be made, snowballs to be thrown, snow sculptures to create, snow-covered hills begging to be sledded down. But wintry weather and its pursuits pose certain risks that parents need to be aware of. To keep your child’s winter wonderland safe:
Ensure safe sledding.
Slopes for sledding should have a very gentle grade, shouldn’t be icy, and should be carefully inspected for hidden rocks, tree roots, or other protuberances that might upset a sled; the path chosen should also be clear of trees and not within skidding distance of traffic. Young children should be supervised at all times when sledding, and should wear a safety helmet. The sled used should be appropriate for the child’s age and size. For toddlers, a sled with a seat and seat belt is safest; if such a sled isn’t available, a toddler should ride nestled between the legs of an adult or much older child. Never allow head-first sledding or permit your child to slide down on a makeshift sled, such as a garbage can lid or cardboard box. Sleigh rides (being pulled in a sled by an adult or a responsible older child) are probably the best way for young toddlers to enjoy the snow.
Teach safe snowball “fighting.”
A little playful tossing of soft-packed snowballs is harmless fun (assuming all parties have agreed to the sport), but children need to be taught that packing ice or foreign objects in snowballs, or throwing snowballs at moving cars or at anyone’s head or face is dangerous.
Skip skiing.
Though it’s possible for toddlers to learn some skiing fundamentals, most safety experts recommend waiting until a child is at least four (when coordination increases significantly) before beginning this potentially dangerous winter sport. For the same reason, ice skating, too, isn’t a recommended activity for toddlers.
Ban snow consumption.
Even the freshest, whitest, cleanest-looking snow may not be as pure as it looks. Snow doesn’t have to fall on a city street to be dirty; rural snow can contain a variety of pollutants, including industrial or agricultural runoff, and may be contaminated by animal urine or feces. So while you won’t always be able to keep your toddler from sampling a handful of the white stuff (remember how good it tastes?), it’s wise to nix snow eating when you see it.
Know when to call it quits.
When you start to feel chilly outdoors, it’s time to bring your toddler in; don’t wait until your toddler is cold and cranky. Also retreat to the warm indoors if your child’s clothes or gloves get wet.
Always buckling up may be the first rule of car safety, but it isn’t the only one. To promote auto safety:
Never leave a child in an auto unattended. The possible scenarios are many and frightening. For example: A toddler playing around in a car could set it rolling off on its own, into someone or something; or a stranger could take off with the the car and/or the toddler; or the temperature in the car could dip or rise dangerously.
If you’re purchasing a new car seat, select a model that meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; if you plan on using it for air travel, it should also carry FAA approval. The seat should be appropriate for your child’s age and weight now and, for practical purposes, should be designed to serve for the next year or two. A 5-point harness may be more trouble to fasten but may give better protection than a 3-point model. For more information on car seat recalls, installation tips, and feature comparisons of more than 80 car safety seats, log on to the American Academy of Pediatrics’s website (aap.org) and search for their Car Safety Seats: A Guide for Families, which can be downloaded or ordered.
For safe toddler sledding, try a sled with sides and back—and a safety belt.
When your toddler outgrows a convertible car seat (these seats usually take children up to 40 pounds), he or she is ready for a booster-style car seat. Which type of booster you should use depends on the type of seat belt in the rear seat of your car (see illustration, page 654). Shoulder-belt retrofit kits are available from manufacturers for most older cars that have only lap belts in the rear seat.
Be sure the car seat is always installed correctly and secured by one of the car’s seat belts. Follow the directions that come with the car seat, and with the car,
to the letter.
Don’t assume that a new seat is installed just as an old one was. When installed properly, the seat should move very little when you try to shake it. If your car has inertia belts (which lock only in a crash), use a locking clip to keep the car seat from shifting when the car turns sharply or stops abruptly. If a locking clip was not supplied with your car or car seat, get one by contacting the auto manufacturer or dealer or (possibly) the store that sold you the car seat.
If you’re considering using a secondhand car seat (don’t use one manufactured before 1981), be sure that the seat has no missing or broken parts, that it has never been involved in an accident (even a low-impact one), and that you get the instruction booklet along with it so that you can install and buckle it properly.