Rubber duckies, Free ranging, and Stupidity
June is National Safety Month. There is alot of work to be done to keep children safe.
On the ride home from a hospital presentation on Patient Engagement last Friday, I was caught off guard listening to the author of "Free Range Kids". I had heard of this woman who encouraged her nine year old son to ride the train in New York by himself. It seemed a bit insane to me but I had not heard or bothered to learn more about the details, so I had no place to judge.
Her word choice for how she advocates raising children is scary - Free Range Kids - puts children and cattle on the same level. But again, that was me being judgemental. Listening to her speak on my local NPR station, the annoyance wore off and deep concern set in.
She commented on the absurdity of products that are being marketed to parents as the must-haves to keep children safe making one wonder how did anyone survive childhood without these inventions? Kneepads for crawling babies? Helmets for toddlers (that do not have a medical need)?
But then she included in that group of the absurd - bath duckies with temperature gages on the bottom to protect the child from water that may be too hot.
Immediately I thought of Josie King.
Eighteen month old Josie was brought to the hospital after she was scalded by bath water at home. Though the vast majority of children are well enough to return home within twenty four hours for a bathtub injury, Josie never went home. The home accident became an iatrogenic injury when Josie was exposed to the additional threat of lack of patient safety in a hospital.
Whatever can reasonable be done to keep children safe in their surroundings should be employed. Rubber ducky temperature gages are an easy, inexpensive, reasonable tool for parents and caregivers to reduce their child's unnecessary exposure to significant risk. Knee pads for six month olds are just stupid.
It is also stupid to equate these two when it comes to promoting successful, healthy child rearing activities.
Allow your children a reasonable amount of increasingly appropriate responsibility and freedom. Each child is different in maturity and independence preparedness. There is no prescribed date and time for riding trains. It is a matter of common sense. Common sense says spending two dollars on a bathtub rubber ducky is a wise investment saving money, lives, and heartbreak.
Seeing it differently calls into question whether Free Range mom is more interested in controversy than kids healthy development.
On the ride home from a hospital presentation on Patient Engagement last Friday, I was caught off guard listening to the author of "Free Range Kids". I had heard of this woman who encouraged her nine year old son to ride the train in New York by himself. It seemed a bit insane to me but I had not heard or bothered to learn more about the details, so I had no place to judge.
Her word choice for how she advocates raising children is scary - Free Range Kids - puts children and cattle on the same level. But again, that was me being judgemental. Listening to her speak on my local NPR station, the annoyance wore off and deep concern set in.
She commented on the absurdity of products that are being marketed to parents as the must-haves to keep children safe making one wonder how did anyone survive childhood without these inventions? Kneepads for crawling babies? Helmets for toddlers (that do not have a medical need)?
But then she included in that group of the absurd - bath duckies with temperature gages on the bottom to protect the child from water that may be too hot.
Immediately I thought of Josie King.
Eighteen month old Josie was brought to the hospital after she was scalded by bath water at home. Though the vast majority of children are well enough to return home within twenty four hours for a bathtub injury, Josie never went home. The home accident became an iatrogenic injury when Josie was exposed to the additional threat of lack of patient safety in a hospital.
Whatever can reasonable be done to keep children safe in their surroundings should be employed. Rubber ducky temperature gages are an easy, inexpensive, reasonable tool for parents and caregivers to reduce their child's unnecessary exposure to significant risk. Knee pads for six month olds are just stupid.
It is also stupid to equate these two when it comes to promoting successful, healthy child rearing activities.
Allow your children a reasonable amount of increasingly appropriate responsibility and freedom. Each child is different in maturity and independence preparedness. There is no prescribed date and time for riding trains. It is a matter of common sense. Common sense says spending two dollars on a bathtub rubber ducky is a wise investment saving money, lives, and heartbreak.
Seeing it differently calls into question whether Free Range mom is more interested in controversy than kids healthy development.
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