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As a follow up to one of our recent posts , ” Mom, make up, a freeway and no seatbelt.“, I thought it would be a good idea to load up this video I took yesterday at our First Aid course, which we host for both our candidates and the public on a regular basis. Michelle van der Merwe, popped in to give a 15 minute chat child safety around vehicles.
The facts are scary. 84% of children in South Africa do not wear a seat belt. If you are in an accident driving at 50 km’s per hour it is equivalent to throwing your child off a second storey building ( that’s when you are in an accident with a stationary object) or having 30 adults stand on top of him or her. It is our responsibility to ensure that we reduce 80% of the fatalities in children involved in vehicle accidents in South Africa. Child fatality in accidents is currently the 4th leading cause of death in the country. All it takes is a few seconds, and yet 84 % are currently not strapping their children up! Wake up South Africa, 80% of these deaths are preventable.
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Recently I made a little discovery that you will be very interested to hear about. Firefly’s… What is a firefly? Well, you know that sinking feeling you get about buying your child a cell phone? Worried about the usage and whether it’s going to be a good idea? I certainly have been! I have been considering getting my 8 year old daughter a phone for emergency use but at such a young age I was worried about her abusing the phone and not understanding that calling your friends mom to organize play dates without asking me first is a no, no. The Firefly is set to change all of that for me, and it could for you too!
The Firefly phone - The Peace of mind Cellphone
For only R575.95 you can now stay in contact with your child 24/7! Its a 5 button phone, and you works purely on a speed dial basis. You can load mom and dads number, emergency numbers and anyone elses number that you think is important. It has a password protected phone book with storage for up to 20 numbers and you can even programme it to reject calls from numbers not in the phone book. No fancy cameras, MP3 player or video. They come in a range of fantastic funky colours and the entire phone lights up when a call comes through, talk about cool and safe!
Check out the firefly by clicking here or you could purchase one right now by clicking here and purchasing online, with 24 hour delivery its so convenient.
Water safety is of extreme importance at this time of the year. More children die from drowning in South Africa than vehicle accidents, statistics report approximately 3 children die daily from drowning and more than 2 per week in pools at home. So this should make it severely obvious as to how important water safety is. Water is the silent killer and it can happen in front of your eyes in as little as 30 seconds, children playing underwater games in the pool, or running around the pool, swimming in a river or ocean after lunch, a strong current, that’s as little as it can take, I personally drowned at age 2 and had to be given CPR by my mother ( this is one of the reasons I am so vigilant about first aid) So what can you do to protect your child?
Well to start off with no child under the age of 14 should be alone or even with peers in and around a pool, river, ocean or any body of water for that matter, not even children who are thoroughly competent swimmers. A small child can drown in only 4 cms of water so even the bathroom or a bucket can be fatal for our little ones. I urge parents, make sure that your child knows the dangers and never goes near water without you.
At home ensure to limit access to the pool and bathrooms, install a pool net and make sure that you have a pool alarm ( visit www.kindersafe.co.za or www.4akid.co.za , both pages are also accessible from our moms link directory on Sitters4U.co.za). Another thing one should be aware of , which a lot of parents do not think about, is warm water, I call it “warn water” and it is the most dangerous, drowning area, a jacuzzi, a bath, anywhere with hot water. Think about it, the hotter the water, the faster your heart rate and the greater the need for oxygen to the brain. In warm water it is easy to pass out, and drowning is far more damaging, you will be less likely to perform a successful Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR ( even if you are able to do CPR, the child will have irreparable brain trama and damage not to mention the rest of body). So always be with your children near water. Don’t swim after eating, and teach your children the dangers, talking to your child could save his or her life, even if they are the strongest swimmers they are not safe if you are not watching them.
Have a happy, safe, water fun filled summer folks! Till next time..
Bianca
