Author Archives: Lisa Klindt Simpson

Keep your child safe and comfortable this winter

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Currently, the temperature in Milwaukee is 26 degrees. It’s cloudy and winds are out of the west at 5 miles per hour. That means it’s time to bundle up. It also means it’s a good time to check your child’s car seat. Puffy winter coats do affect how snug a seatbelt or car seat harness straps fit someone:

  • It’s more difficult to maneuver.
  • The harness straps or seatbelt doesn’t fit as tight as usual.
  • A combination of layers of clothing, a heavy winter coat or snowsuit and a padded car seat also can lead to your child overheating.

What parents can do.

  • Try layering with fleece and a thinner winter coat over top. You also may try thin, more fitted jackets.
  • Just as we would not enjoy driving our vehicles in a snowsuit, babies and kids are not comfortable with too many layers, and do not need to be excessively bundled up.

Harness should fit snugly.

  • Rear facing seats- the harness height should be at or below the top of the child’s shoulder.
  • Forward facing seats – the harness height should be at or above the top of the child’s shoulder
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  • Harness should fit snugly, parents should not be able to pinch any slack in the harness at the shoulder, only one finger should fit snugly between the shoulder and the harness.
  • The chest clip should always be at arm pit level.

Here’s hoping your children stay warm and safe. For more resources, click here.

~ Lisa Klindt Simpson, coordinator, Safe Kids Southeast Wisconsin

Safe peddling for the warmer months

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A child is 14 times more likely to survive a bike crash if he or she is wearing a helmet.

Each day in emergency rooms across the country, more than 700 kids are treated for injuries received while riding bikes, skateboards and scooters. Many of these injuries are life-threatening and disabling. Wearing helmets and other protective gear, and following the rules of the road can help prevent injuries.

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Protect your child from window falls

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It’s finally here: spring! It’s time to open the windows to let in some fresh air!

But wait, this also is the time of year when you hear news reports about small children falling from windows. In fact, every year, thousands of children fall from open windows causing serious injury or death. This year, there already have been at least two incidences in our area.

Window screens are not enough. They are made to keep bugs outside – they won’t keep children inside. There is an effective device that can help protect children from falling out of windows – window guards. These guards are easy to install and have a release mechanism in case of an emergency.

Remember, no device replaces active parent supervision. Safety items such as window guards are an aide to help busy, overworked parents.

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Safe Kids and firefighters deliver fire prevention – and pizza

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Don’t be alarmed if when you’re home next Thursday evening, Oct. 22, you hear the blare of fire truck sirens and see flashing red lights in your neighborhood. Firefighters may be responding to a call – or they may be delivering a pizza!

That’s because local fire fighters, pizza restaurants, Safe Kids Southeast Wisconsin Coalition, Safe Kids Wisconsin Coalition and State Farm Insurance are teaming up for the eighth annual “Delivering Fire Prevention” event. It’s a program designed to bring fire prevention education to local families in a fun and original way.

To find out if your community is participating, check out BlueKids.org/SafeKidsWI. If the fire department delivers your pizza and you have working smoke detectors, you’ll get a free pizza! If you have a smoke detector that isn’t working you will receive a free smoke detector. We even have a limited number of carbon monoxide detectors to give away. Everyone will receive fire prevention education materials from Safe Kids and a great experience.

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Walk This Way

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“Walk This Way”… no, I’m not referring to the song by Aerosmith, although it is a great song! I’m talking about Safe Kids Southeast Wisconsin Coalition’s Walk This Way program, which is part of  International Walk Your Child to School Day. The first Wednesday in October, boys, girls, their parents, teachers and others around the world make a special date to walk to school.

This program began back in the ‘90’s for several reasons: to encourage physical activity in children, to raise environmental concerns – and my primary focus – to raise an awareness about how “walkable” a community is.

On the local level, Safe Kids Southeast Wisconsin’s program goes into schools providing classroom education about pedestrian safety. Information goes home asking parents and caregivers to walk with their children to school on this special day to help bring awareness to the community about pedestrian safety issues. Pedestrian injury is the second leading cause of injury-related death in the United States for children ages 5-14. Six hundred kids die every year.

For more information about how to walk with a participating school on International Walk Your Child to School Day, Wednesday, Oct. 7, or to find out how to get your school involved for 2010, call (414) 390-2178 or e-mail Lisa Klindt Simpson at lklindtsimpson@chw.org.

Winners wear helmets – year round

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Meteorologists predict winter will be making a big comeback this week, whether we like it or not. When it does, we need to make sure our kids are playing safely outside.

There’s nothing more fun for kids in the winter than to sled down a hill that’s blanketed with fresh snow. Before your kids hit the hill, remember to top off their winter gear with a helmet. Nearly 25,000 kids are injured in sledding accidents every year, and 3,000 kids receive serious brain injuries as a result.

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