Safety First!

What’s the #1 reason that children are in the hospital?

Often we think of the tragedies that harm adults. Due to the incidence of adults that pass away from those, we expect there to be a similar correlation with children. To be honest, Cardz for Kidz! staff was under a similar assumption at first as well. During our 150+ hours volunteering at different pediatric hospitals we learned about several of the well-known floors. 

For example, while looking through the different floors at Lurie Children’s Hospital it’s clear that there are A LOT of reasons why kids are in the hospital:

§  14 – Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

§  15 – Cardiac Care Unit

§  16 – Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

§  17 & 18 – Cancer and Blood Disorders

§  19 – Acute Care, Neurological

§  20 – Acute Care, Post-Surgery and Post-Transplants

§  21^st General Medical, Infectious Disease, Pulmonary, Allergy & Medical Observation Unit

While looking through third party research we learned that the #1 reason that most children pass away is through unintentional injuries. In addition, we learned that falling is actually one of the most frequent ways that kids are sent to the ER.

So although us here at Cardz for Kidz! understand that nobody’s perfect (not even our own moms!), but it’s important to be safe. There will never be a way for us to be able to avoid ALL “unintentional injuries”…..but we can AT LEAST TRY.

In summary, although we love giving out thousands of cards, our only request is that we ALL work together to prevent as many “avoidable” injuries as possible.

Through our research we found the following safety tips on the Center for Disease Control’s website:

Suffocation

• Make sure infants sleep alone; placed on their backs on a firm surface.
• Be sure crib meets safety standards.
• Avoid loose bedding or soft toys in crib.

Poisoning

• Keep medicines away from children and teens.
• Keep cleaning solutions and other toxic products in original packaging and where children can't get them.

Motor Vehicle Crashes

• Always use seat belts, child safety seats and booster seats that are correct for a child's age and weight.
• Use safe-driving agreements or contracts with teens.

 Drowning

• Learn to swim—important for parents and kids.
• Use a four-sided fence with self-closing and self-latching gates around pool.
• Watch kids closely when they swim.

Fire/Burns

• Use smoke alarms—where people sleep and on every level of the home—and test monthly.
• Create and practice a family fire escape plan.
• Install a home fire sprinkler system if possible.

Falls

• Use a soft landing surface on playgrounds (such as sand or wood chips, not dirt or grass).
• Use protective gear, like a helmet, during sports and recreation.
• Install protective rails on bunk beds and loft beds.

If you have any other recommendations on how to prevent common mishaps please let us know!! Although we love sending out cards, we’d love it if we had a lot less patients since folks focused on safety first!

#safetyfirst #upliftingspirits

http://www.cdc.gov/safechild/

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