September is Child Safety Month Reminding Texans to Play It Safe
September is National Baby Safety Month
This month pushes safety information to help keep your child out of harm's way to the best of your ability. Kids get hurt, it happens. A little scrap here or there can toughen up the skin(as my family would say) but there are a little more serious situations that require more attention.
Car Safety
As a mother of a young child, car safety is one of the biggest issues. Knowing what type of car seat is appropriate and remembering to buckle your child up is vital. Remember, as long as there is someone certified, the Police Department or Fire Department can show you the proper way to install your car seat and check if it is appropriate for your child.
Buckle Up
Seatbelts are an extra step that gets skipped. Especially, if you are just running to the corner store, you might think hey it's just around the corner no big deal. Unfortunately, accidents don't wait to strike on long trips,, they can happen to pull out of your driveway, turning the corner from your home, or just a trip to the neighborhood convenience store.
Children Left in Cars
Last year, 25 children lost their lives due to heatstroke after being left in a car. Fortunately, many newer vehicles have a safety feature that reminds drivers to look in the backseat before getting out.
Remember to Look Back
I have an extremely bad memory and this is one of my biggest fears, to the point where I look in the backseat multiple times after dropping my daughter off anywhere and having nightmares about those situations.
Putting a large dot on your hand or some sort of symbol to remind yourself of something works well for me. For example, if I have a photo to send when I get home I'll sometimes add a dot to my forehand so that when I look down it will remind me to do my task.
Exposing Myself
I am going to expose myself here in hopes of other parents not feeling alone. When my daughter was about 2 years old I thought I forgot her in a store. I was driving, looked in the back seat, and didn't see her. Immediately panic-stricken I swerve and pull overhastily to get our check the back seat only to find her car seat empty. PANIC LEVEL 3,000. I call her father let him know freaking out screaming. Hang up dial 9-1-1 because I just don't know what to do and as I press send it hits me.....I never had my daughter, she was with her aunt.
I wanted to run into traffic out of fear that was still trickling inside of me and also because I felt like a complete moron and the world's worst parent who needs that title ripped out from under me.
Check out CDC Tips
Now that I've exposed myself and brought back the sheer terror all over again, the point is, look back before getting out of your car. Check out some incredible life-saving tips from the CDC.