AAP Summer Safety Tip Time - and Tips to Get the Tips to Your Families!

With summer in full swing and the 4th of July around the corner, we have a lot of advice to give out to our families in the short amount of time our office visits allow. The AAP has some great tips on all the important summer issues, including fireworks, that will help make your job a great deal easier -and more efficient:



1. Fireworks Safety

According to the National Fire Protection Association,

• "In 2006, U.S. hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 9,200 people for fireworks related injuries. 49% of the injuries were to the extremities and 46% were to the head. 55% of the 2006 fireworks injuries were burns, while 30% were contusions and lacerations.
• The risk of fireworks injury was two-and-a-half times as high for children ages 10-14 as for the general population."

2. Summer Safety Tips Part I
Sun, Heat Stress, Pool Safety, Bugs, Playgrounds, Bikes and Lawnmowers

3. Summer Safety Tips Part II
Fireworks, Boating and ATVs

So, now that you have the links and highlights, there are some easy ways you can help your families remember the information:

1. Give out a cheat sheet in your office with these links.
2. Include these links in your email newsletter or have the local hospital do it for you. Likely your families receive some sort of seasonal bulletin from your community hospital and most are happy to include information you provide.
3. Post these links on your own blog or website.
4. Write a small article for a local newspaper or blog on summer safety and include these links. Not sure where to start, how about whatever paper you read in your own community!

If you have other ideas for how to share these great AAP tips with families, let me know and I'll share the ideas in a follow-up post: cocmeditor@pediatricsnow.com

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AAP Questions DC Handgun Ban Court Decision

Released June 26, 2008 by the American Academy of Pediatrics and Society for Adolescent Medicine:

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS AND SOCIETY FOR ADOLESCENT MEDICINE STATEMENT ON U.S. SUPREME COURT DECISION ON THE D.C. HANDGUN BAN

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Society for Adolescent Medicine criticized today’s Supreme Court decision to overturn the District of Columbia’s handgun ban, saying it undermines efforts to protect children and adolescents from preventable injuries and death.

“As pediatricians, too often we see the terrible toll gun violence takes on its youngest victims,” said AAP President Renée R. Jenkins, MD, FAAP. “Today’s Supreme Court decision is a tragedy for children, taking away a critical law needed to fight a public health threat that needlessly claims as many as eight young lives a day in America. We can’t afford to lose any of the tools that can help keep guns out of the reach of children.”

Earlier this year, AAP and SAM, along with three other organizations dedicated to protecting the health and safety of children, filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the District’s handgun law.

“The Society for Adolescent Medicine believes that firearm violence is one of the most serious threats to the health of adolescents in the United States,” said SAM President Richard E. Kreipe, MD. “For that reason, the Society supports laws to reduce the availability of handguns, the primary source of firearm injuries among adolescents.”

The ban, one of the strictest in the nation, made it illegal to own handguns in the District. It also required shotgun and rifle owners to unload and disassemble them, or use a trigger lock, if the weapons were kept at home. A lower court overturned the ban in March 2007, prompting the Supreme Court challenge.

In the wake of today’s decision, AAP and SAM urged parents across the United States to take steps to protect their children from firearm violence, including locking up weapons stored at home. “The best way to truly protect children from firearm injuries is to get guns out of their homes, their neighborhoods and where they play,” Jenkins said. “If we don’t, too many children will continue to be hurt or die needlessly.”

June 25 Webinar on the "M" Generation

Just Kid Inc is holding a webinar tomorrow on the "M" Generation, or "Millenials", at 11:30 EST. Here's the link if you are interested.

According to the Webinar info flier, the goals of this 30 minute presentation are to:

"focus on the “hot buttons” of this important generations:
o How the “m generation” thinks, communicates, and BUYS
o How their attitudes differ from prior generations
o How to market and message to this powerful consumer group
o With the opportunity to “ask the experts” via online q-and-a"

BTW, what's a Millenial? They are the target population of Just Kids. According to Just Kids, the M's are:

"o More numerous
o More affluent
o More educated
o More “connected”
…compared to any prior generation."

Basically, the M's are the parents of the kids we care for!

Should be an interesting 30 minutes so I wanted to pass it along.

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How Addicting Are Cell Phones?

This you have to read! A 12 and 13 year old were both admitted by their parents to a psychiatric hospital in Spain for "cell phone addiction". According to the BBC article,

"They were doing badly at school and lying to relatives in order to get money to spend on their phones. They were not just doing "badly" in school, by the way, they were actually failing.

They have been learning to cope without their phones for three months."

Heavy stuff - the lying to get money and the very long duration of the admission.

Dr Jose Martinez-Raga, an addiction medicine specialist, advised looking for similar symptoms as with video game addiction:

• irritability
• anti-social, or withdrawn behavior
• poor school performance

We don't usually ask about cell phone use in our office visits but we often see the evidence in hand. Perhaps that is our foot in the door. Perhaps all it takes is asking the kid "do you use a cell phone?" and then asking the parent "So, how are things in school and home?" and going from there. Simple questions that may not add much more time to our plate if we do it right.

I don't know what the right answer is or the right approach but I do think this story is an eye opener.

What would you do to dig into this deeper?

COCM on the Blogsphere: Miami Dr. Deb on Miami Herald

Being involved with blogs and blog writing can have many levels of involvement. For some of us, developing and maintaining a blog is fun. For others, just writing is the goal. The blogsphere offers both opportunities.

Writing for a blog has a number of perks:
1. writing experience
2. media exposure
3. exposure for your group
4. health education for the readers of the blog

Dr. Deborah Mulligan, a COCM member from Florida, recently became involved with a new blog for the Miami Herald called MomsMiami. I asked Dr. Deb about what made her decide to get involved with this blog at this time. She told me by email:

"With a market in Florida and International communities the Miami Herald website affords me the opportunity as a pediatrician to reach thousands of mothers with information that will better the lives of their children and families. Discussing burning pediatric issues will help families make informed decisions to ensure that their kids are healthy and safe."

MomsMiami has really taken off. The blog's creator told Dr. Deb: "We launched about two months ago and are getting about 70,000+ views a month so far. We have over 2,000 registered users and growing every day." Not surprising given the circulation of the Miami Herald is 4.2 million readers a year - that amounts to about 600,000 readers a day during the week and over 800,000 readers on Sundays!

You can read Dr. Deb's first post here.

How can you get involved in blogs in your area? Check out your local newspapers. You can start small with your local neighborhood and community papers or go larger to your regional or state newspapers. If they don't have a blog, suggest one. Often you'll find the editors are contemplating one! BTW, this is how my foray into the blogsphere started.

If you ever have questions about blogging, email me or drop a line to all of us on the COCM list-serve and those of us blogging will be happy to share our experiences and get you going.

Do you have a blog story to share? Are you involved with your local newspaper blog? I'd love to know! Email me at cocmeditor@pediatricsnow.com.

And, if you ever have questions about blogging or are not sure where to begin your hunt to join the ranks of pediatricians like Dr. Deb who are reaching out to families through the blogsphere, drop a line through the list-serve. Those of us doing things you want to do are always happy to help and share!

Japanese Government Takes a Stand on Cell-Phones

Did you see this headline? Very interesting read. Turns out Japanese children are becoming very addicted to the Internet at very young ages due to their cell phones. These phones have a technology called "3G" or third generation which has very high-speed Internet access. Examples you may be familiar with are Smartphones like the Treo or Blackberry.

The Catch-22 here is that with the long commutes many of these kids face heading to schools, parents rely on cell phones to be able to communicate with their kids and have their kids call them or for help if needed.

A huge amount of Japanese kids have these cell phones. According to CNN, 1/3 of 6th graders and 60% of 9th graders. Two solutions the Japanese Government is exploring to make cell phone use more appropriate for their children include:

1. better filtering programs for the Internet to protect kids for inappropriate access
2. development of cell phones with only talk-only and GPS features

How do you advise your families about cell phones? Do you think we need similar restrictions in the USA? I'd love to know! Email me at cocmeditor@pediatricsnow.com.

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Tips For Helping Parents Manage Media

Today we welcome Guest Blogger Brandy King, librarian at the Center on Media and Child Health (CMCH) at Children's Hospital Boston.
Though you may have considered the health effects of media use from a clinical or research standpoint, do you ever wonder how real-life parents navigate today's media world with their families? If you are a already parent yourself, you may be curious to see how other parents handle this aspect of life in their own homes.

Each month, the CMCH e-newsletter features one parent's story about media, which have covered topics such as video game addiction, using a DVR to manage media use, and even taking action on what movies are shown on airplanes. For example, this past month, Callie in Michigan wrote:

"When I get home from a long day, all I want to do is put on the TV and be entertained for a little while. It helps me relax and get my mind off the whirlwind of the past few hours. I know that my kids are no different in this respect; when they get home from school, they need a break. Though I always encourage them to pursue non-media activities, I know that this is one part of their day when they just need to relax. However, I have always been cautious of what it is they see and hear during this time, preferring that the programs are somewhat educational.
A few months ago, I decided to subscribe to a Digital Video Recording (DVR) service because I found myself constantly missing shows I enjoyed. I never expected that the DVR would become such a useful tool for my kids' viewing as well!...."

Callie goes on to talk about the many benefits of the DVR she didn't expect with tips that will surprise you. In addition to learning from other parents experiences, our site has other tip guides to pass on to your families. In this case, we have a DVR/VHS guide.

Check out the complete list of Parent Perspectives, and if you're interested, contact us about writing your own!

Lawn Mower Safety Awareness Starts Today

Did you know that "nearly 210,000 people – approximately 16,200 of them children under age 19 – were treated in doctors’ offices, clinics and emergency rooms for lawn mower-related injuries in 2007"? I learned this today from an AAP press release reminding us about lawn mower safety.

With June being National Safety month, lawn mower safety has been chosen as one of the key safety issues to promote.The American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery (ASRM), the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have united together to encourage us to educate families on the dangers of lawn mowers by reviewing the following tips:

• "Children should be at least 12 years old before they operate any lawn mower, and at least 16 years old for a ride-on mower.
• Children should never be passengers on ride-on mowers.
• Always wear sturdy shoes while mowing – not sandals.
• Young children should be at a safe distance from the area you are mowing.
• Before mowing, pick up stones, toys and debris from the lawn to prevent injuries from flying objects.
• Always wear eye and hearing protection.
• Use a mower with a control that stops it from moving forward if the handle is released.
• Never pull backward or mow in reverse unless absolutely necessary – carefully look for others behind you when you do.
• Start and refuel mowers outdoors – not in a garage. Refuel with the motor turned off and cool.
• Blade settings should be set by an adult only.
• Wait for blades to stop completely before removing the grass catcher, unclogging the discharge chute, or crossing gravel roads."

Here's a link to the AAP technical report on lawn more safety.

You can find more information on the lawn mower safety campaign here.

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