Health and Safety
Extreme Heat
Heat and Infants and Children
Infants and young children rely on others to keep them cool and hydrated when it’s hot outside. In this article, we provide tips for protecting your children and other family members from extreme heat.
Keep kids cool and hydrated
- Never leave infants or children in a parked car, even if the windows are open.
- Dress infants and children in loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing.
- Make sure they’re drinking plenty of fluids. Stay away from really cold drinks or drinks with too much sugar.
- Follow additional tips on how to prevent heat-related illness.
Never leave kids in a parked car
- Even when it feels cool outside, cars can heat up to dangerous temperatures very quickly.
- Leaving a window open is not enough- temperatures inside the car can rise almost 20 degrees Fahrenheit within the first 10 minutes, even with a window cracked open.
- Children who are left unattended in parked cars are at greatest risk for heat stroke, and possibly death.
Tips for traveling with children
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- Never leave infants or children in a parked car, even if the windows are cracked open.
- To remind yourself that a child is in the car, keep a stuffed animal in the car seat. When the child is buckled in, place the stuffed animal in the front with the driver.
- When leaving your car, check to be sure everyone is out of the car. Do not overlook any children who have fallen asleep in the car.
Learn how to spot heat-related illness
Seek medical care immediately if your child has symptoms of heat-related illness.
Drowning Dangers for Kids
A Key Piece of the Puzzle: Vaccinations
As a parent, you work hard to keep your baby healthy, by giving lots of
love… providing healthy foods.
Keeping little hands, feet, and faces clean. Getting plenty of physical activity, and
vaccination. Nothing protects babies better from 14 serious diseases by age two.
That’s why doctors recommend and parents choose the safe, proven protection of
vaccination. Vaccination, a key piece of the puzzle.
For more reasons to vaccinate, talk to your child’s doctor, or go to www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents.
Positive Parenting
Let’s face it…parenting is not always easy. Sometimes it seems a next to impossible task to consistently get your child to be nice to others, share, follow a consistent schedule and adhere to simple requests and instructions. Losing your temper, resorting to yelling and controlling behaviors can become the all too common norm and fall back parenting behaviors.
There is a better approach. Positive Parenting (also referred to as positive discipline) means gently, positively guiding your children to help them develop better behaviors. Positive Parenting is a better approach than the “because I told you to do it” authoritarian approach to parenting.
Positive parenting helps develop positive behaviors, better communication between parent and child, closer relationships, mental health and overall happiness.
Amy McCready, a parenting educator, and positive parenting expert shares many positive parenting solutions parents can use when facing common parenting situations – getting your child to sleep, eliminating swearing, sibling bullying, controlling chaos and many other topics. Amy McCready shares some great solutions in these videos.
You may also want to visit Amy’s website and YouTube channel for additional tips and resources.
https://www.youtube.com/user/AmyMcCready/videos
Planning the Family Vacation – Dream or Disaster
As sunny days and blue skies replace the cold, dreary days of winter, we often begin to dream of summer and a family vacation. The options for great family vacations vary from travel far from home to just staying home and enjoying a “staycation.” Either can be great and enjoyable for everyone in the family or without planning turn into a disaster. In the webinar recording below, HealthyChildren.org shares ten tips for planning and having a great family escape.
As you view the webinar, make some notes and a To Do list to ensure your family vacation is great!
Children, the Flu, and the Flu Vaccine
Children, especially those younger than 5 years, are at higher risk for serious flu-related complications. The flu vaccine offers the best defense against getting the flu and spreading it to others. Getting vaccinated can reduce flu illnesses, doctor’s visits, missed work and school days, and prevent flu-related hospitalizations and deaths in children. Information on this page summarizes vaccine recommendations for children. Visit this page to learn more about vaccine benefits.
Influenza is dangerous for children
Influenza (“the flu”) is more dangerous than the common cold for children. Each year, millions of children get sick with seasonal influenza; thousands of children are hospitalized and some children die from flu.
- Children commonly need medical care because of influenza, especially before they turn 5 years old.
- Children younger than 5 years and especially those younger than 2 years are at high risk of serious influenza complications.
- Children of any age with chronic health problems like asthma, diabetes and disorders of the brain or nervous system also are at high risk of serious flu complications.
- Flu seasons vary in severity:
- CDC estimates that since 2010, flu-related hospitalizations among children younger than 5 years ranged from 7,000 to 26,000 in the United States.
- While relatively rare, some children die from flu each year. Since 2004-2005, flu-related deaths in children reported to CDC during regular flu seasons have ranged from 37 deaths to 171 deaths. Information about pediatric deaths since the 2004-2005 flu season is available in the interactive pediatric death web application.
The single best way to protect your children from the flu is to get them vaccinated each year.
The seasonal flu vaccine protects against the influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. Traditional flu vaccines (called “trivalent” vaccines) are made to protect against three flu viruses; an influenza A (H1N1) virus, an influenza A (H3N2) virus, and an influenza B virus. In addition, there are flu vaccines made to protect against four flu viruses (called “quadrivalent” vaccines). These vaccines protect against the same three viruses as the trivalent vaccine and an additional B virus.
What kinds of flu vaccines are available for children?
Influenza vaccine options for the 2017-2018 season are listed in “TABLE: Influenza vaccines — United States, 2017–2018 influenza season. Different products are approved for different age groups, including children as young as 6 months of age.
Note that while there is a quadrivalent nasal spray vaccine that is FDA approved for the U.S. market, ACIP and CDC recommend that nasal spray vaccine not be used during the 2017-2018 season because of concerns about how well it works.
Your child’s health care provider will know which vaccines are right for your child.
- CDC recommends that everyone 6 months of age and older get a seasonal flu vaccine.
Keep in mind that vaccination is especially important for certain people who are high risk or who are in close contact with high risk persons. This includes children at high risk for developing complications from influenza illness, and adults who are close contacts of those children.
For the complete list of those at high risk, visit People at High Risk of Developing Flu–Related Complications.
There are special vaccination instructions for children aged 6 months through 8 years of age
Some children 6 months through 8 years of age require two doses of influenza vaccine. Children 6 months through 8 years getting vaccinated for the first time, and those who have only previously gotten one dose of vaccine, should get two doses of vaccine this season. All children who have previously gotten two doses of vaccine (at any time) only need one dose of vaccine this season. The first dose should be given as soon as vaccine becomes available.
The second dose should be given at least 28 days after the first dose. The first dose “primes” the immune system; the second dose provides immune protection. Children who only get one dose but need two doses can have reduced or no protection from a single dose of flu vaccine.
If your child needs the two doses, begin the process early. This will ensure that your child is protected before influenza starts circulating in your community.
Be sure to get your child a second dose if he or she needs one. It usually takes about two weeks after the second dose for protection to begin.
Recommendations on the control and prevention of influenza are published annually, in late summer or early fall. Existing recommendations are available at Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Resources for Health Professionals.
Some children are at especially high risk
Children at greatest risk of serious flu-related complications include the following:
- Children younger than 6 months old
These children are too young to be vaccinated. The best way to protect them is to make sure people around them are vaccinated. - Children aged 6 months up to their 5th birthday
Since 2010, CDC estimates that flu-related hospitalizations among children younger than 5 years ranged from 7,000 to 26,000 in the United States. Even children in this age group who are otherwise healthy are at risk simply because of their age. Additionally, children 2 years of age up to their 5th birthday are more likely than healthy older children to be taken to a doctor, an urgent care center, or the emergency room because of flu1,2,3. To protect their health, all children 6 months and older should be vaccinated against the flu each year. Vaccinating young children, their families, and other caregivers can also help protect them from getting sick.
1CDC Influenza Vaccine Program Impact Report 2015-2016
2Bourgeois F, Valim C, Wei J, et al. Influenza and Other Respiratory Virus–Related Emergency Department Visits Among Young Children. Pediatrics 2006; Volume 118 /Issue 1
3Poehling K, Edwards K, Weinberg G, et al. The Underrecognized Burden of Influenza in Young Children. The New England Journal of Medicine 2006; 355:31-4 - American Indian and Alaskan Native children
These children are more likely to have severe flu illness that results in hospitalization or death.4,5
4CDC. Deaths Related to 2009 Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) Among American Indian/Alaskan Natives — 12 States, 2009. MMWR. 2009;58(48);1341-1344.
5CDC. Prevention and Control of Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), 2010. MMWR. 2010; 59(No.RR-8). - Children aged 6 months through 18 years with chronic health problems, including:
- Asthma
- Neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions [including disorders of the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerve, and muscle such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy (seizure disorders), stroke, intellectual disability (mental retardation), moderate to severe developmental delay, muscular dystrophy, or spinal cord injury].
- Chronic lung disease (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] and cystic fibrosis)
- Heart disease (such as congenital heart disease, congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease)
- Blood disorders (such as sickle cell disease)
- Endocrine disorders (such as diabetes mellitus)
- Kidney disorders
- Liver disorders
- Metabolic disorders (such as inherited metabolic disorders and mitochondrial disorders)
- Weakened immune system due to disease or medication (such as people with HIV or AIDS, or cancer, or those on chronic steroids); and
- Children who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy
Children should be vaccinated every flu season
Children should be vaccinated every flu season for the best protection against flu. For children who will need two doses of flu vaccine, the first dose should be given as early in the season as possible. For other children, it is good practice to get them vaccinated by the end of October, if possible. However, getting vaccinated later can still be protective, as long as flu viruses are circulating. While seasonal influenza outbreaks can happen as early as October, most of the time influenza activity peaks between December and February. Since it takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body that protect against influenza virus infection, it is best that people get vaccinated so they are protected before influenza begins spreading in their community.
Additional Information:
- CDC Reports About 90 Percent of Children Who Died From Flu This Season Not Vaccinated March 22, 2013
- Children with Neurologic Disorders at High Risk of Death from Flu August 29, 2012
- CDC Report Details Influenza Prevention and Treatment for Children and Teens September 15, 2011Frequently Asked Flu Questions 2017-2018 Influenza Season
Content source:
Key Facts About Influenza (FLU)
What is Influenza (also called Flu)?
Signs and Symptoms of Flu
People who have the flu often feel some or all of these signs and symptoms that usually start suddenly, not gradually:
- Fever* or feeling feverish/chills
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Muscle or body aches
- Headaches
- Fatigue (very tired)
- Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in young children than in adults.
*It’s important to note that not everyone with flu will have a fever.
How Flu Spreads
Period of Contagiousness
Onset of Symptoms
Complications of Flu
People at High Risk from Flu
Preventing Seasonal Flu
Diagnosing Flu
Treating Flu
There are influenza antiviral drugs that can be used to treat flu illness.More information is available: “Seasonal Influenza, More Information.”
Content source:
Children and Stress – Avoiding a Holiday Meltdown
The holidays are a stressful time for even the best-adjusted adult. The holiday season for young children is almost a certain situation to cause the toddler meltdown. Think about the way your child sees the holiday season. First of all, the stores where he is used to going with Mommy look entirely different. Everybody keeps asking what he wants Santa to bring him. Mommy and Daddy are running around cooking, shopping, wrapping gifts, making plans, and stressed out. The little one is excited — overly excited — and the excitement continues day after day after day. How do you NOT expect a meltdown?
There are certain things, however, that parents can do to help their young children cope with the holiday season and all that it brings.
- Maintain the child’s normal schedule as nearly as possible. Disrupted schedules are an invitation for stress. Try to maintain normal get-up and go-to-bed times. Try to maintain normal meal times and other day-to-day schedule items.
- Limit sugar consumption. There is sugar everywhere during the holiday season. Sugar is a stimulant. Limit your child’s consumption of sugar to help him maintain control.
- Limit television and video viewing. It seems that the airwaves are overloaded with excitement during the holiday season, and the child “picks up on” that added excitement.
- Allow ample “time outs” from the excitement. Sometimes the season is overwhelming for adults, and it is doubly overwhelming for small children. Just take a break — and take a break as often as necessary.
- Don’t forget cuddle time. Yes, you are busy but don’t get so busy that you forget to take your little one on your lap and read a story. Include humor in story time. A good laugh can prevent an almost certain meltdown!
Good luck, and remember that the holidays do not last forever.
Copyright – Child Care Owner
Home Fire Escape Plan
An important safety event that takes place on a regular basis in every child care business is a “fire drill.” Each childcare center must have an evaluation plan for all children and staff. Each year when fire or smoke requires a child care facility or school be evaluated – hundreds if not thousands of children and employees are saved.
To protect your children and all family members, you should also have a home fire escape plan and have your own “fire drill” at least twice each year to make sure everyone knows what to do and where to meet outside the home after evacuating. The National Fire Protection Association provides many great resources to help parents design fire escape plan for their home. We have provided a link to the NFPA’s – Home Fire Escape Plan below.
Turn this into a family activity having all adults and children contribute to the development of your home fire escape plan, schedule escape drills and make suggestions for improvement. A small amount of time spent each year can ensure your entire family gets out safely.