HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY
It’s the first birthday for our Safety 1st & Foremost eNewsletter and we’d like to take a moment to thank you, our loyal readers, for being our partners in child safety. We’re proud of reaching this milestone and hope that you’ve enjoyed reading our monthly articles about safety, fashion, and hot product picks. We look forward to bringing you continued coverage as we achieve many more milestones along the way.
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Protecting Your Children From Fire
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October is National Fire Safety Month so it’s a good time to review a fire safety checklist and educate your children on the dangers of fire.
The following are a few tips for your home:
- Install and properly maintain smoke detectors in your home. These should be placed on each floor level, and in or just outside each bedroom. Test the smoke alarms each month. Replace the batteries at least once a year and replace the smoke alarms every ten years, or as recommended by the manufacturer.
- Program 911 on your speed dial, and teach you children how to use 911 for emergencies only.
- Create a fire escape plan for your family and stage some mock fire drills. Review this plan with your children on a regular basis. Establish a designated meeting place outside the home, preferably at a neighbor’s house where you can call 911. Make sure they understand that once they are safely outside they should never go back into the house for anything!
- Show children how to crawl low on the floor, below the smoke, to get out of the house in case of a fire. Also, demonstrate how to stop, drop to the ground, and roll if their clothes catch on fire.
- Buy a flame-retardant blanket, and for second-floor rooms, invest in a chain link ladder for use as a fire escape. These can be found at your local hardware store.
- Have a portable fire extinguisher easily accessible in high-fire hazard areas such as the kitchen, utility room, and near the fireplace.
- Ensure that extension cords are UL-listed and connected to a fuse. Do not connect one extension cord to another. Electrical outlets are designed for a certain amount of power demand. The use of multiple outlet extension cords can easily overload a circuit.
- Never place a halogen floor lamp near draperies, clothing, or other combustible materials and remove them entirely from children’s bedrooms. Children may play with lamps or place combustibles such as stuffed toys or clothing too close to the bulb.
- Do not leave children alone around open flames, stoves, or candles.
- Keep matches, gasoline, lighters, paint thinners, and other flammable materials out of children’s reach, away from sources of heat, and outside of the home.
Make sure space heaters include an automatic off switch if they accidentally turn over. Keep them off carpeting and at least three feet away from draperies, blankets, and sofas. TOP
Healthy Eating Habits For Your Baby
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Once your baby starts eating table foods, a whole new journey begins. For some moms it’s an exciting time to introduce their baby to tasty foods that the entire family enjoys. For others, it’s a little nerve wracking. Jar food is easy, but once they graduate to table foods moms may wonder which are appropriate and safe. This concern is justified – one child in the U.S. dies from choking every five days according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. But, with a little thoughtful planning, your baby’s mealtime can be a delicious experience.
Many parents overestimate their child’s ability to manage solid food. It’s easy to fall into the trap of offering your baby the same food that her siblings or even you are eating. But the reality is that for children under the age of four the following foods should be avoided:
- Nuts and seeds
- Sticky foods such as peanut butter, taffy, marshmallows, and jelly beans
- Raw carrots and celery
- Unpeeled fruits and fruits with pits
- Hard candy and popcorn
- Chunks of meat and cheese
- Whole grapes and cherry tomatoes
- Food that is round and hard
Food that is given to a baby should be cooked until it is soft and cut into very small pieces – about the size of a pea.
Despite these guidelines, there are still many tasty and nutritious foods you can offer your baby, but don’t be surprised if she doesn’t show interest in some of them at first. Provide some of her favorite foods with a milder flavor and introduce one or two new items every week. If at first you don’t succeed, try again. It can take up to twenty times of tasting a particular food before your baby will eat it. Timing is everything! Make sure that she’s not tired or over hungry when you’re offering a new food or beginning solid foods. And above all, never leave her unattended.
Good eating habits should be established right away. Children should be taught to only eat sitting upright at a table or in a high chair. Never allow your child to run, walk, or lie down with food in her mouth. Thoroughly chewing her food, not putting too much food in her mouth at once, and taking small bites are also important factors for preventing choking.
Even when taking all of these precautions choking can occur, so it’s imperative that every parent and caregiver be certified in Infant and Child CPR. Check with your local hospital or Red Cross office to find a class nearby.
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Our Picks For Parents
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Confused about which car seat to buy? Let us help you! Below you’ll find our top picks for each type of car seat.
(Infant)
Safety 1st® Starter Infant Car Seat
Perfect for your first ride home from the hospital, the Safety 1st® Starter Infant Car Seat is designed for infants 5-22 pounds and 19"-29" in height. A multi-position canopy keeps the sun out of your little one’s eyes, while plenty of head support provides a comfortable ride home. The built-in harness system secures your baby during travel, and the stay-in-car base makes moving from the car to the house quick and easy. For an added bonus, the carry handle is padded to provide extra comfort for your tired hands.
Remember that an infant car seat should always be rear-facing!
Click here for more product information.
Available at: Wal-Mart or online at www.walmart.com
(Convertible)
Safety 1st® Alpha Omega Elite® Convertible Car Seat
The Safety 1st® Alpha Omega Elite® grows with your child from infant to toddler to young child, making it the only car seat you’ll ever need. Use it rear-facing for infants 5-35 pounds and 19"-36" in height, forward-facing for toddlers 20-40 pounds and 29"-40" in height, and as a belt-positioning booster for young children 30-100 pounds and 29"-52" in height. With easy to use features like a 3-position recline, up-front harness adjustment, and fold-up armrests, your kid will feel like the king (or queen) of the road!
Available at: Wal-Mart or online at www.walmart.com
(Booster)
Safety 1st® Surveyor Booster Car Seat
As your child grows, you can upgrade to the Safety 1st® Surveyor Booster Car Seat. Forward-facing for children 22-40 pounds and 34"-43" in height, and belt-positioning for children 40-100 pounds and 43"-52" in height, it’s the perfect way to travel with your child! It wraps your child in comfort with features like a 2-position padded headrest and padded armrests. The convenient cup holder steadies your child’s drink while you do the driving.
Click here for more product information.
Available at: Kmart or online at www.kmart.com
(Backless Booster)
Safety 1st® Prospect Backless Booster Car Seat
Wow, your kid’s all grown up! Now’s the time to invest in the Safety 1st® Prospect Backless Booster Car Seat. Accommodating children 40-100 pounds and 43”-57” in height, it has comfortable pivoting armrests, a deluxe seat pad that’s cushioned for a comfy ride, and integrated cup holders/storage compartments to keep your child’s belongings close by.
Available at: Wal-Mart or online at www.walmart.com
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10 Halloween Safety Tips
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- Always carry a flashlight when trick-or-treating.
- Keep your kids on the sidewalk.
- Walk, don’t run.
- Stay in familiar neighborhoods.
- Stay away from people and animals that you don’t know.
- Only approach houses that are lit.
- Wear clothing with reflective markings.
- Have your little monsters avoid wearing their masks while walking from house to house.
- Make sure costumes don’t drag on the ground.
- Inspect all candy carefully when you return home. (Eat only the really, really good ones.)
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A Note From Our Author
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October Journal
With Hannah’s first birthday approaching, I’m breathing a sigh of relief. After losing one child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome several years ago, it's a fear that’s always in the back of my mind. While there have been incidents of SIDS after one year of age, it becomes a very small percentage once they reach the one year marker. October is SIDS Awareness Month. I always speak with clients and new moms about SIDS. I always speak with clients and new moms about SIDS but I do more speaking engagements this month than any other to explain risk reduction measures to everyone and anyone. If you would like more information about how to reduce the risk of SIDS, contact First Candle (www.firstcandle.org), the national organization dedicated to supporting SIDS parents and promoting research on SIDS, and join me in blowing out that first candle for Hannah this month.
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Meet Our Author
 Let me introduce myself. My name is Alison Rhodes and I live in Wilton, CT with my husband, three children and two dogs. My first child, Connor, died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in 1997 – he would have been 9 years old. My son Spencer is 7, my daughter Kelsey just turned 3 and we just had a little girl, Hannah this November. Needless to say, my life is crazy sometimes! I’ve teamed up with Safety 1st to develop this newsletter because I wanted to provide parents with important information on child safety. After Connor’s death, infant and child safety became my passion. I might not be able to prevent SIDS but if I can help prevent one childhood accident I’ve done something in honor of him.
When Kelsey turned three (she constantly reminds me that “she is a big girl now!”) we were able to remove some of the babyproofing items around our house such as the toilet locks and the baby gates. But now that our new daughter Hannah has arrived, it’s back to the drawing board. It’s amazing how quickly we forget all the things babies can get into when they start crawling! Check out this month’s articles to see what you might not have thought about. And the one thing I realize now as a “veteran mom” is to never put “to-do” items off until tomorrow, because tomorrow inevitably brings strep throat, extra homework or the trip to the store for the team uniform you forgot about. Since my husband Kenny and I are babyproofers you would think it would be easy to get everything done in time but it’s always the case of the shoemaker’s children. So, I’ve started giving him the ultimatum now that if he doesn’t get the gates back up he will be in charge of all diaper changes! I remember when I was pregnant with Connor – my baby registry included the layette, stroller, high chair and all of those beautiful blankets. But I never considered registering for the most important items – baby safety products. Wouldn’t it be great to have your entire house set up before the baby arrived, not just the nursery? So this time, after I buy Kelsey’s “big girl” furniture and set up the new nursery with her old furniture I’m going to have everything else in place as well.
Alison is the founder of Peek-a-Boo Babyproofing, a baby-safety company servicing Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. The company partners with parents to create a safer environment for infants and toddlers through education and installation of baby safety products. For additional baby safety tips visit their website at www.peekaboobabyproofing.com.
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If you have any questions regarding Safety 1 st products please contact Dorel Juvenile Group Consumer Relations at consumer@djgusa.com. Missed the last issue? Check out the Safety 1st and Foremost archive.
Frequently Asked Questions
GENERAL PRODUCT
Q: Where can I purchase your products in my area?
A: Visit www.djgusa.com for a complete list of retailers.
Q: I have lost the instructions for my product. How can I obtain a new copy?
A: Email us at: consumer@djgusa.com or contact our Consumer Relations Department at 1-800-544-1108 Monday – Thursday from 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Friday from 7 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. EST. The model number and manufacture date of the product are required for replacement instructions.
Q: Where can I purchase replacement parts for my product?
A: Contact our Consumer Relations Department at 1-800-544-1108 Monday – Thursday from 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Friday from 7 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. EST. The model number and manufacture date of the product are required for replacement parts.
CAR SEATS
Q: I’m ready to convert my car seat to a booster seat. Should I still use the tether strap with the booster seat?
A: No. The lap/shoulder belt of your vehicle should be used to belt in the child and the child restraint.
Q: If my child is still under 1 year of age, but meets the weight and height guidelines for a forward-facing car seat, can I go ahead and place my child in the forward-facing position?
A: No. Even if your child meets the weight and height guidelines for a forward-facing car seat the child should remain in a rear-facing car seat until at least 1 year of age.
Q: When I install my child’s car seat with the LATCH and tether should I still use the vehicle seat belt as well?
A: No. The latch and tether are designed for use instead of the vehicle seat belts.
Q: Where can I have my car seat checked to ensure it is installed properly?
A: Visit www.nhtsa.dot.gov to access the Child Passenger Safety Contact locator. Type in your zip code and you’ll receive contact information for a Child Safety Seat Inspection Station in your local area.
Q: What are the cleaning instructions for my child’s car seat?
A: The seat pad should be hand washed with warm, sudsy water, then rinsed and air-dried. The harness straps should be spot cleaned only, do not machine wash.
MONITORS
Q: How can I troubleshoot interference issues on my Safety 1st nursery monitor?
A: Other wireless products in your household may run on the same frequency as your monitor. Try unplugging anything in your home that could be creating the interference and then plug the monitor in for about a half hour so that a good connection is established. Once the monitor has established a good connection, you can begin plugging back in the other products in your home one at a time while checking to see if there is a particular product that is interfering with the monitor.
Q: Can I purchase additional transmitters for my monitor?
A: Safety 1st manufactures a variety of nursery monitors. Some are equipped to monitor one room while others are capable of monitoring two or even three rooms. Each nursery monitor is designed for use with a specified number of transmitters; therefore it’s not possible to add an additional transmitter to an existing product. Doing so could cause interference.
RIDE-ONS
Q: How long should I charge the battery for my Safety 1st Ride-On?
A: Always charge the battery for a FULL 24 HOURS the first time you use it. Always charge the battery for a FULL 16 HOURS after each use. Although the light indicator on the charger may be green, the battery may not be fully charged. Charge the battery once a month, even if you are not using the vehicle. Do not leave the battery on the charger for more than 30 HOURS.
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