Healthy Practices That Keep Children Safe

Sleeping

• Always place infants on their backs when sleeping. It's been shown that back sleeping reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
• Keep the baby's crib free from pillows, stuffed animals or other soft materials
  

Immunizations

Keep your child current on immunizations. Immunizations have proven to protect infants from once-typical and dangerous childhood illnesses.

• According to South Carolina State Law, children less than six years of age who attend a licensed public or private child day care facility, a registered church or religious child day care facility, or child development program for K4 and younger must present to the day care facility (or school if the program is in a school setting) a South Carolina Certificate of Immunization (DHEC form 1148), which assures they are "up-to-date" or "catching-up" on the childhood immunizations recommended and routinely provided by South Carolina.
• Contact your local Department of Health & Environmental Control for more information.
  

Hand Washing

• Use proper hand-washing techniques when diapering and toileting, before and after meal preparation, and teach your young child to do the same.
  
  
• Use soap and warm water while washing your hands for a full minute to reduce the dangers of contamination and infection from germs and bacteria.  If you sing the "happy birthday" song twice while washing hands, you will have spent enough time in the soap and water.

Nutrition/Activities

• Healthy eating and fitness habits are important for healthy development in children. Make sure your child is getting a variety of foods appropriate for his age. Your pediatrician will help you with your food choices, but they should include: fruit, vegetables, and protein.
  
  
• Children are naturally active, but depending on your child's personality and your family life habits, the amount of daily activity will vary. Be sure your child gets to move muscles every day.

Preventing Injuries to Children

Most injuries to children occur at home. You can help protect your child and your family by following standard safety practices in the home and when outdoors.  

Pandemic Influenza and You: Planning Tips

An influenza pandemic occurs when a new flu virus emerges among humans and spreads easily from person to person. Because the virus is new to humans, people have little or no immunity to it and the virus spreads worldwide. It is not possible to predict with certainty when the next flu pandemic will occur or how severe it will be, but the time to plan is now.

In a severe influenza pandemic:

• Many people would become sick and would be unable to go to work or to public gatherings;
• Many others would have to stay at home to care for sick family members; and
• Many people would die.

As a result, businesses and schools might close, and basic services, including transportation and food delivery, may be disrupted.

It is important that families and communities be prepared for an influenza pandemic.

You can take some simple steps NOW to prepare:

• Practice good hygiene. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water. Use a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Stay away from others when you are sick. Developing good hygiene habits now could help in the event of an influenza pandemic.
• Be ready for an emergency. Store a two-week supply of water and food. Have prescription and nonprescription drugs and other health supplies on hand, including pain relievers and cold medicines.
• Know your community and workplace plans. Find out what your elected officials, workplace, school, congregation and other community groups are doing to prepare for an influenza pandemic.

By taking these steps, you will be better prepared for a pandemic and other emergency. It's important for everyone to know what to do about pandemic flu. For more information on how to protect yourself and your family, visit PandemicFlu.gov or call 1-800-CDC-INFO.

Outdoor Safety

• Clean play area outdoors:  Remove debris and any unsafe material from the yard or child's play area.
• Use of playgrounds: Use playground or play areas with equipment on cushioned ground area to reduce injury in case children fall.
• Wear helmets: Use helmets when riding bikes, skateboards or other moving toys.
• Use car safety: Have your child in approved car seats and make sure he is in the back. For older children, sitting in the back of the car is still the safest spot. And always have children use seatbelts.

Safety in Child Care

As a parent, the safety and well-being of your children is your primary concern. It takes a great deal of trust to leave your children in child care, and when disasters occur, this trust takes on a new dimension. Knowing what safety and health practices will benefit your child and family is the first step to keeping your child safe in child care.

To help you ensure that your children are safe, NACCRRA (National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies) has published What's the Plan?: Ask Your Child Care Provider Before A Disaster for you to use when asking questions of your child care provider about their emergency preparedness. (Naccrra brochure)

Safety in the Home

• Child-proof your home:  Cover electrical outlets, and lock household products and flammable liquids out of way from children.
• Use oven and stove locks in the kitchen: Turn pots on stove so handles are facing away from you when cooking.
• Install and maintain smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors in all levels of your home.
• Have a fire extinguisher(s) in your home and know how to use it in case of containable fire.  
• Make a home emergency plan: identify emergency exits in your home and plans you and your family have for reacting to emergency situations.
  

Emergency Preparedness

Emergencies can range from inconvenient to devastating, but you can take some simple preparedness steps in advance to minimize their impact on you and your family. (Excerpts from Ready America)

Get an Emergency Supply Kit (.pdf)
When preparing for a possible emergency situation, it's best to think first about the basics of survival: fresh water, food, clean air and warmth.

Make a Family Emergency Plan (.pdf)
Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so it is important to plan in advance: how you will contact one another; how you will get back together; and what you will do in different situations. Before an emergency happens, sit down together and decide how you will get in contact with each other, where you will go and what you will do in an emergency.  

Be Informed about Different Types of Emergencies
Some of the things you can do to prepare for the unexpected, such as making an emergency supply kit and developing a family communications plan, are the same for both a natural or man-made emergency.

However, there are important differences among potential emergencies that will impact the decisions you make and the actions you take. Learn more about the different types of emergencies that could happen where you live and the appropriate way to respond to them by visiting Homeland Security's ready.gov Web site