Showing posts with label awareness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label awareness. Show all posts

Monday, July 18, 2011

Irritated?

Do you ever feel irritated at your hubby.... what about your children?  This video is thought provoking and - though targeted towards spouses/the marriage relationship - it really applies to all relationships. It's definitely causing me reevaluate not only the way I respond to B... but also the way I sometimes respond to even KB...


Tuesday, March 22, 2011

AAP: Rear-facing until atleast 2!

The AAP now recommends that all infants and toddlers should ride in a Rear-Facing Car Safety Seat until they are 2 years of age or until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat’s manufacturer!!

Car Seat Guide 2011 Info for Families:: healthychildren.org


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/42190931#42190931

This makes me extremely hapy...as I wholehelartedly believe that the previous "one year or 20lb *recommendation(!!)*" - something most parents seem to consider the rule of absolute maximum, rather than absolute minimum - is just not logical OR safe!! Based on skeletal models of a one-year-old's spine, vs a two or even four-year-old's.. just basic anatomy proves the inconsistency of that previous rule! In the short year between the ages of one and two, there is a *huge* difference in the spine’s development!!! Babies under 3yrs - but ESP under two - have very immature bones and connective tissue, thus creating a particularly serious risk of spinal cord injury in a frontal crash. However, studies haveshown that children who are left to ride RF, are 5x safer in the case of a frontal collision (which according to Crashtest.Com, frontal and frontal offset crashes combine for about 72% of severe crashes. Side impacts are about 24%. Rear and rear offset crashes only account for about 4%!). As they say... "Broken leg -cast it... broken neck -casket."

(Yes, while I admit ^that^ does present as a rather crude mental picture... it certainly makes one think, no?)

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=sssIsceKd6U

One thing I regret most in my parenting journey thus far, is that I didnt fight to keep KB rear-facing (RF) longer! B insisted that we turn her around 16 months... and though I was uncomfortable with the decision (and even had a seat/means to follow through)... I didn't know enough info o on the matter, to be able to back up my instinct and give me a basis to insist otherwise. Thankfully, I have since learned a lot more... and have already begun showing B the research. So if we are blessed with other children, there will be no question as to the protocol we take - Extended-RF all the way!!

More resources on ERF..
http://www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/CPS
http://www.car-safety.org/ rearface.html

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Early elective births... NOT such a great idea...

As early elective births increase so do health risks for mother, child
Shortening a pregnancy could affect a baby’s lung development, vision,weight, and some fine-tuning of the brain, experts say... At 35 weeks, the brain is only two-thirds of what it will weigh at 40 weeks...