KDHE Home - News 1999 - News Release

Kansas
Department of Health & Environment
Bill Graves, Governor
Clyde D. Graeber, Secretary

December 22, 1999

Contact: Jan Stegelman, 785-296-1223

What Babysitters Should Know About Child Safety

It's holiday time again and you've probably been invited to New Year's Eve celebrations, family gatherings and open houses. If you plan on attending these events, there's a good chance you will need a babysitter. While your sitter's age, experience and maturity are important factors in selecting him or her to look after your children, be sure to select someone who also knows how to keep your kids safe from injury.

"Parents often mistakenly believe that if a sitter is responsible, reliable and affectionate towards children, that he or she will know how to avoid or handle a crisis situation," says Jan Stegelman of the Kansas SAFE KIDS Coalition. "Unfortunately, affection and reliability cannot replace knowledge of potential hazards and injury prevention."

The most important part of any babysitting job is keeping the child safe from harm. The Kansas SAFE KIDS Coalition recommends you discuss with the prospective sitter your concerns for your child's safety while in their care.

Interviewing the Babysitter

It is not uncommon for parents to feel anxious when hiring a babysitter. To put your mind at ease, interview prospective babysitters before deciding on one. The Kansas SAFE KIDS Coalition recommends you ask the following questions in your interview:

• Is the sitter at least 13 years of age and responsible enough to care for your child?
• Is the sitter experienced and reliable?
• Does he or she have references?
• Did the sitter take a special babysitter training course?
• Is the sitter certified in infant and child cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)?
• Is the sitter willing to accept your guidelines in taking care of your child?
• Does the sitter understand the importance of watching a child at all times?
• Does the sitter know what to do in case of an emergency?

Regardless of whether you select a family member, neighborhood teenager or a friend to watch your child, they need to be aware of your child's specific needs and daily routine, safety precautions, and what to do in an emergency.

Parents who choose to have a babysitter sit at their home do so believing that their home is the safest environment for the kids. However, each year, approximately 2,700 children ages 14 and under die from unintentional injuries sustained in the home. More than 70 percent of these deaths occur among children ages 4 and under. In addition, nearly 4.5 million children ages 14 and under are injured at home. Children are at risk of sustaining injuries from residential fire and burns, falls, drowning, poisoning, choking, unintentional firearm shootings and suffocation.

The Kansas SAFE KIDS Coalition recommends you take the following steps before leaving your child with a sitter:

• Give the babysitter a tour of your home. Inform your sitter of the safety precautions you have taken, point out the baby gates, child resistant locks, smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, electrical outlet covers, toilet locks, etc. Show the sitter where phones, first aid supplies, fire extinguishers, flashlights and extra blankets are located. These items may be helpful should there be an emergency.• Write down emergency telephone numbers and leave them by all telephones. Make sure your babysitter knows the locations of these lists. The lists should contain phone numbers of where you can be reached, the fire department, police department, poison control center, ambulance or emergency services, your doctor and hospital, a neighbor and a relative.
• Map out the approved play areas in your home. Make sure the sitter knows which rooms and sections of rooms are off limits to your children -- especially infants and toddlers. For example, your child should not be allowed to play in the kitchen or the bathroom because of the many hazards that can be found in those rooms.
• Instruct your sitter never to leave your child alone -- even for a second. There is no substitute for constant supervision.
• Show your sitter where your child's protective gear is stored. If your child is allowed to bike ride, skateboard or in-line skate while you're away, make sure the sitter knows where to find your child's helmet, knee pads and other protective gear and insists your child wears them.

If you leave your child at your sitter's home, make sure you review the information mentioned above and check out their home beforehand to see that it is childproofed. The time and energy spent on these preliminary steps can make an important difference in your child's well-being.

By taking a few precautions, the babysitter can help prevent a serious mishap that might affect your child. The Kansas SAFE KIDS Coalition recommends you and your sitter review the following precautionary steps to take in your home or the sitter's home.

• Have a working smoke alarm in every sleeping area and on every level of the home.
• Test the smoke alarm once a month and replace the batteries at least once a year.
• Keep all matches, lighters, gasoline and all other flammable materials out of the sight and locked out of reach of children.
• Plan and practice several fire escape routes from each room of the home and identify an outside meeting place.

In case of fire:

• Stay calm.
• Get the children out of the home first.
• Crawl under smoke keeping mouth and nose covered.
• Use planned escape routes.
• Stop, drop and roll if clothing catches on fire.
• Meet at a designated place outside of the home.
• Do not go back into the home -- make sure children do not return as well.
• Call the fire department from a neighbor's home.

Burns

• Never leave a child unattended, especially in the bathroom or kitchen.
• Have water heaters set at 120F or below.
• Use pans on back burners and turn all pot handles toward the back of the stove.
• Keep hot foods and liquids away from table and counter edges; do not use tablecloths or place mats.
• Keep appliance cords tied up and out of reach.
• Check the temperature of all microwave-heated foods and liquids and never let young children use the microwave.
• Never carry or hold children and hot foods and/or liquids at the same time.
• Cover unused electrical outlets with outlet plate covers.

• Never leave a young child alone on a changing table, bed or other piece of furniture.
• Keep stairs and other traffic areas well-lit and cleared of toys to prevent tripping.
• Do not use baby walkers equipped with wheels.
• Use safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs.
• Keep windows locked at all times.
• Install window guards on all windows that are not intended for emergency escape or rescue.• Move furniture away from windows.
• Always wipe up spills right away.

• Keep potential poisons, such as medicines, vitamins, household cleaners and cosmetics, locked in cabinets and out of children's reach.
• Give clear instructions on appropriate dose and time for any medications the sitter might have to give your child.
• Keep potentially poisonous plants out of reach.
• Install a carbon monoxide alarm.
• Inspect fuel-burning appliances annually.
• Keep a bottle of ipecac syrup on hand to induce vomiting -- but only administer on the advice of a poison control center or doctor.

• Do not give children under age 5 hard foods such as hard candies and nuts; or grapes, hot dogs or popcorn, which can cause choking.
• Keep small toys, toys with small parts, and balloons away from young children.
• Check the floor, particularly play areas, for small objects such as buttons, beads, marbles, coins and tacks.
• If unsure about the potential choking hazard of an object, use a small-parts tester to determine if it is appropriate for children ages 3 and under.

• Never leave a child unsupervised in the bathroom, near a pool, or around any water, regardless of the amount.
• Empty all sinks, tubs, buckets and containers immediately after use. Store buckets upside down.
• Have four-sided isolation fencing at least five feet high with a self-latching and a self-closing gate around all pools and spas; the house should not be one of the four sides of the fence.

Suffocation and Strangulation

• Always place infants to sleep on their backs.
• Remove all soft bedding from cribs when putting infants to sleep.
• Never let children wear clothing with drawstrings, necklaces, scarves or other items around their necks while using playground equipment.
• Keep draperies and window cords out of children's reach.
• Cut drapery and window blind cords and retro fit them with special break-away tassels.

The Kansas SAFE KIDS Coalition, Inc. is a nonprofit group of 67 statewide organizations and businesses that have joined to protect Kansas children from unintentional injury -- the leading killer of Kansas kids. Local coalitions and chapters are located in Wichita, Johnson County, Lawrence, Salina, Barber County, Topeka, Ford County, Manhattan, Hutchinson, Pottawatomie County, Clay County, Osage County, and Leavenworth. Kansas SAFE KIDS is part of the National SAFE KIDS Campaign.

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