Did anyone else watch Oprah yesterday? Things Parents Should Know?

[Trinity721]

I thought this was a very good show, about dangers that most parents don't really think about. I only watched 1/2 of the show, but here are some things she addressed:

Baby Oil- If a child aspirates this (meaning it gets into the lungs), baby oil coats the inside walls of the lungs so that oxygen exchange is impossible. It will seem like the child is ok at first, but eventually they will suffocate to death. Because of one child's death, the parents went to Congress and got a bill passed making sure that baby oil and other hazardous household substances are sealed with a child-proof cap.

Digging Sand Holes- To kids it looks like fun digging holes in the sand, but if they dig it deep enough the sand can collapse on them and bury them alive.

Screen Windows- Especially on the 2nd floor. Kids can poke holes or rip them, and fall out.

Cleaning solutions- Some kids can become ill because of the household cleaning solutions you may use all the time in your home.

Treadmills- Kids can get stuck in them, and even get their skin burned off or taken off if they get stuck on the belt.

Yikes! The baby oil one especially scared me, b/c who would have thought something made for babies could kill them! The poor parents had to watch one of their twins suffer for 28 days before he finally died.

 

[Lorix2]

oh that's horrible!

Thank you for the info, I didn't see Oprah yesterday. The other things of course I think are common sense issues. Geez, you wonder why the baby oil hadn't had a childproof cap knowing the bottle would be around children in their home.

It reminds me that my bleach bottle and a bottle of ammonia does not have a childproof cap on it, they just twist off. But of course these are well out of reach for my youngest.

 

[peg2001]

Originally posted by Trinity721
Cleaning solutions- Some kids can become ill because of the household cleaning solutions you may use all the time in your home.

Oh, good! Another excuse to add to my list on why we aren't better housekeepers. A little dirt never hurt a kid.

Seriously though, thanks for the tips. It is always the things that you DON'T worry about that can hurt you. BTW, I've heard that baby powder can be very dangerous for a baby to aspirate as well.

And another tip of the day, SLOW DOWN when driving through neighborhoods. The kids are out playing and not all parents are as watchful as you and I.

Peggy

 

[Margie J]

Never heard of the baby oil thing but it makes sense. The same would probably go for any oil that a child might get into.

A few years ago a child died at a local beach after a sand pit collapsed. The sand compresses quickly and the child can't breath.

There are always kids that fall out of windows around here too. You'd think people would learn by now not to lean furniture next to windows. Kids climb atop the furniture, onto the window sill and out they go.

From personal experience - If your child needs medication in the middle of the night please turn a light on. Once my Mom went to give me what she thought was cough syrup and grabbed a bottle of skin rash lotion instead. They were next to each other on the counter. I immediately spit it out and gagged. My Mom finally turned the bathroom light on and discovered the mistake.