The JPMA celebrates Baby Safety Month
Actually, every month is baby safety month at Safe Nest Babyproofing but in September there are many groups including the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) who like to call special attention to things you can do to make your home safer for children.
To celebrate, everyday throughout the month there will be prizes awarded from member organisations of JPMA just for liking their Facebook page. For more details visit the JPMA blog.
Hazard:
Petals from the floral embellishment on the blankets can detach, posing a choking hazard to infants.
Description:
The recalled HALO SleepSack wearable blankets are 100% white cotton with pink-edged ruffles and a pink satin rose embellishment on the front. These sack-shaped wearable blankets have cut-outs for the baby’s arms, a zipper down the center, a sewn bottom and were sold in small and medium sizes. Only SleepSack products with GPU numbers 2701, 2781, 2886, 2887, 3007, 3035 and 3142 printed on a neck label under the primary neck label are included in the recall.
Remedy:
Consumers should immediately stop using the wearable blankets and contact HALO Innovations for a pre-paid envelope containing instructions to remove and return the flower and order a free replacement product.
Consumer Contact:
Halo Innovations toll-free at (866) 819-8118 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, e-mail at halorecall@nrmsinc.com or online at www.halosleep.com and click on the product recall link on the homepage for more information.
If it's been more than a year (or really a month) it's been too long!
"A properly installed and maintained smoke alarm is the only thing in your home that can alert you and your family to a fire 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Whether you’re awake or asleep, a working smoke alarm is constantly on alert, scanning the air for fire and smoke.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in properties without working smoke alarms. A working smoke alarm significantly increases your chances of surviving a deadly home fire."
The NFPA and most smoke alarm manufacturers also recommend replacing your smoke alarms every 8-10 years on top of the normal maintenance required such as changing the battery at least annually and vacuuming and testing monthly.
It is also recommended to have both types of smoke alarms in your home or a combination alarm. The two types are:
Dateline NBC tested the two types of alarms and found differences of more than 20 minutes between the two types of alarms depending on the type of fire. An extra 20 minutes in a fire can make a huge difference between everyone getting out safely and tragedy.
Lastly, verify you have smoke alarms in the proper places throughout your home. There should be at least one on each level including the basement, and both inside and outside of sleeping areas. If you only have one in the hallway outside your bedroom and a fire starts behind a closed door it could be a long time before enough smoke seeps out to trigger the alarm.
For more tips on making your home safer or to schedule an in-home consultation please contact Safe Nest Babyproofing at anytime.
Photo courtesy of SafeKids.org
In nearly every home we go into for babyproofing evaluations we see a TV that is not properly secured - everything from huge older-style TVs weighing hundreds of pounds resting on top of a dresser to brand new 60+ inch flat screens that are sitting on top of a coffee table. Many parents have no idea of the danger that toppling televisions and other heavy furniture pose to children.
A new study by Dr. Gary Smith, a pediatrician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio has some scary statistics:
“A child’s dying once every three weeks from a TV tip-over. The numbers are going up. This is a call to action. These are 100 percent preventable injuries.” In addition, more than 12,000 children were injured in 2011, an increase of over 125% since these statistics started being tracked in 1990.
It's not just the large TVs causing the injuries, either. The study reports that when injury statistics mentioned the size of the television involved, in more than 60% of the cases the TV was 26" or smaller.
Here are some tips from SafeKids.org on what to look for in your own home:
We also suggest watching this video reported by Jeff Rossen of NBC's Today Show:
We at Safe Nest Babyproofing are experts in evaluating your home for tip-over dangers and creating safer situations. If you have any questions about the best way to secure TVs or furniture in your home, please call us at 404-333-1083 to discuss at no-charge. Or, if you feel more comfortable having one of our experts secure your home's furniture and TVs, please schedule an in-home evaluation with us.
