TAMPA, Fla. — We are taking action for you and gathering several tips on how to protect your children during National Child Safety Month.
IN THE CAR:
Data on the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles website shows that more than 16,000 children were involved in crashes in Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties in 2018. More than 150 were seriously injured and 12 were killed.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a step-by-step guide for parents looking for help with car seats and booster seats on its website. The car seat finder asks for a child’s date of birth, weight and height before giving recommendations and listing products along with reviews.
If you would like to get your car seat inspected, or need help installing one, enter your location on the website and you’ll find a list of certified technicians who will look at the car seat free of charge in most cases. You can also visit a local Florida Highway Patrol station and ask for a certified trooper.
IN THE HOME:
It is important to make sure your home is one of the safest places for your child.
Remember to keep laundry pods and dish pods out of reach of kids. The CDC estimates 35 kids a day are poisoned by them.
Flat screen TVs can also easily tip over. More than 17,000 kids are injured per year and experts say it's because they aren't secured to the wall. It's easy to do so and will cost you less than $10.
If you're looking for an app to let you know how to keep your home safe, there are plenty out there. Ikea provides Safer Home that lets you create safety checklists based on age.
ON THE INTERNET:
It is important to monitor your kids social media and still teach them stranger danger.
"Even things that may appear as innocent," says a child safety advocate Katrina Oliver. "Things like a child practicing gymnastics moves, stretches, things like that, in the wrong hands of people who don't have good intentions, that could turn into something negative,"
Oliver says do random checks to monitor their activity. Check pictures, videos, texts and make sure they are all appropriate.
Also, you may want to consider downloading a monitoring app. Oliver suggests, Net Nanny, Mama Bear or Phone Sheriff. These allow you to control what your kids have access to across multiple devices.
