Zoom into Summer with Children’s Services Council

During the summer PARTY 96.3 & Children’s Services Council will focus on information to help families in the community.

This Week’s Feature Is

Safe Kids Coalition

 

BICYCLE HELMET SAFETY:

• With first schools and now camps closed, more kids than ever are riding bicycles and unfortunately many of them aren’t wearing helmets.
• Number of traumatic bicycle injuries for children during the first six weeks of the shutdown jumped 167 percent in Palm Beach County.
• Since January 1, 2019, 35 of the children had major injuries from bicycle crashes in Palm Beach County. Of those, 91 percent were not wearing a bicycle helmet.
• A properly-fitted helmet reduces the risk of head injuries by at least 45 percent.
• Make sure a bicycle helmet properly fits.

KIDS IN HOT CARS:

• Now also is a good time to remind parents about the dangers of leaving your child alone in a hot car.
• The inside of a car can reach 125 degrees in just a matter of minutes. Young child’s body heats up three to five times faster than an adult’s body.
• In just the last three years, 13 Florida children have died from heatstroke in cars.
• About 54 percent of the fatal heatstroke cases involve parents or caregivers who unknowingly left them in the car. Those parents often are operating on autopilot or following routine—causing them to forget a child was in the backseat.
• Safety tips include:
  • Never leave your child alone in a car, not even for a quick trip into the store.
  • Keep car doors and trunks locked and key fobs out of reach so children can’t climb into cars on their own. If your child goes missing, check the pool first and then check inside vehicles.
  • Create reminders. Place your phone, briefcase or purse in the backseat so you have to look back before you leave your vehicle. Another suggestion is to leave a stuffed animal in the car seat and place it in the front passenger seat after strapping a child in a car seat.
  • After you park your car, make a habit of walking around it.
  • Ask your childcare provider to give you a call if your child does not show up for school.
  • If you ever see a child alone in a car, call 911.

IMPORTANCE OF CAR SEATS:

• A correctly-installed car seat reduces the risk of injury by 71 percent.