Safe Sound Family’s Weekly Roundup (January 25)

• Tweet
• 

• Tweet
• 

Do playground wood chips really need to be childproofed?

Happy Friday! This week we’re talking about child safety, and I’d really love your opinions. How do you walk the line between keeping your kids safe and keeping them too safe?

How much is too much childproofing?

Okay, I’m going to be that person. You know, the one you’re talking to about the latest dangers or childproofing or recalls, and who says “Funny, my parents never did that and somehow I survived.” Cue the crickets, fine, but it’s true. According to KidSafe, we are 10 times more protective of our children than our parents were of us. Which many of us can glean from just passive conversations with our peers, or through humorous articles like this one from D Moms. The article is somewhat lighthearted – I’m sorry, but laying down a blanket path to protect a toddler from dirty playground wood chips? Hilarious! – but touches on a very serious topic: how much protection leads to overprotection? I think the answer is unique to each of us and our children, but it is something I think about everyday – every time I watch my son almost fall or deal with whining screams in public, I ask myself, do I go for a short-term patch or is this a “learning moment?” Parenting is hard!

Catfishing & Digital Parenting

You’re probably pretty tired of hearing about the Manti Te’o scandal by now, but have you though about how identity hoaxes (aka “catfishing”) could affect your kids? Beyond the basic concerns of lying peers or deceptive bullies intent on drawing out personal details, there’s also the threat of online predators. Of course, that doesn’t mean your kids shouldn’t go online. What it means is that we need to teach our children proper online etiquette, and how to protect themselves. It’s like teaching them to cross the street: you know you won’t always be with them every time they cross, so you give them the skills to go it alone. There are a ton of resources out there. Personally, I am a fan of Web Wise Kids and Net Smartz Kids. (Feel free to leave your faves in the comments!)

Flu Season is Here

Well, it’s flu season. (It’s also flue season, amiright? So many fires to enjoy, so little time!) Has your household been hit yet? Even if you have the flu shot, be aware that you can still get the flu. It might not be as severe a case, but it’ll still bite the big one. Marianne from the Child Safety Blog has some good tips this week on what to do if you get the flu. Consumer Reports also answers the question of whether you should take Tamiflu, so heads up, sickies! Get well, all.

Kids and Gun Safety

This week, the KidSafe blog also brings us a word of advice on kids and gun safety. I know it, you know it, we all know it: if you have children and guns, you need to go the extra million miles to keep them safe. To my mind, safety goes beyond locking up your guns and keeping the ammo in a separate, locked location; it’s also about teaching your children the power of this weapon. And if they’re old enough, maybe taking them to the range for a lesson in safety and marksmanship. Feeling the kickback is one sure way for the younger set to understand just how serious gun safety is.