Dear Supporter,

I was reading a quarterly report from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and an interesting story caught my eye. Mrs. Daniels, a second-grade teacher at Casey Elementary School in Jackson, Miss., asked her class to share a photo of their favorite things.

We all have our favorite things and probably a story to go with it. For my daughter, Ally, it’s her stuffed dog, Lady (pictured at right).

Lady joined the family right after Ally was born and has been a treasured “pet” ever since. So much so that she even travels with Ally. Of course, we’ve had our adventures and scares along the way. Like the adventure at the beach when a real dog confused Lady with a chew toy, and gnawed the stuffing out of her.

I’m not going to lie, when we finally wrestled Lady away, it didn’t look good. But this was Ally’s favorite, which meant we weren’t going to sit back and do nothing. So we jumped in the car, headed to the nearest art supplies store and found the perfect replacement stuffing and some felt fabric to create a patch for Lady’s missing eye.

This is what we do for our kids so favorites can remain favorites.

Now it’s your turn. Tell us a story about a favorite thing and send a picture if possible. We’ll pick one for next month's An Ounce of Prevention.

Kate Carr
President, CEO, Mom
Safe Kids Worldwide

Can Your Sled Come Out to Play?

Last month we asked for your favorite snow stories. We were tempted to pick the flakiest one. But the one that warmed our hearts the most is this nostalgic memory from Dorothy Dickson.

Like all children I love the snow but living now in the Canary Islands, the only snow we see is very occasionally on the top of Mount Teide.

However, I well remember 1947 when Britain suffered a very severe winter and we were unable to get to school. As the war was not long over, such luxuries as sleds were few and far between. My father was in the Merchant Navy and had made a trip to Canada where he had bought a Canadian flier sled. Believe me, our popularity in the neighbourhood rose by leaps and bounds.

One day we were confined to the house for some forgotten reason, when the doorbell rang. Mum went to the door where a group of children were standing. "Is Alistair coming out to play?" was the question. Mum said no. "Well, is Dorothy coming out?" On being told no, their faces fell. After a moment’s thought came the question. "Is the sled coming out then?"

I still remember it with a smile after all these years.

Childproof Now So You Don't Worry Later

Little explorers are always getting into something. Scrapes and bruises are a natural part of growing up, but taking a little time to look for potential hazards can help prevent more serious injuries. Here are a few childproofing tips to help.

Why Lose Sleep Over Smoke Alarms?

We'll all lose an hour of sleep when we turn the clocks forward on March 10. And that's a great wake-up call to change (and test) our smoke alarm batteries. For the best protection (and peace of mind), install smoke alarms on every level of the home, outside every sleeping area and in every bedroom. Learn more.

Kids On the Cliff Again

Albert Einstein once said that “doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results” is not consistent with good mental health. But here we are, sitting on the cliff again, just as we did on New Year’s Day. Learn more about how you can help.

An Officer and an Activist

We’d like to recognize Officer John Langhans from the Harrisonburg Police Department in Harrisonburg, Va. for his dedication to child passenger safety.

Officer Langhans has been a patrol officer at the Harrisonburg Police Department for almost 13 years and as a father of twin boys, is particularly vigilant about car seat safety. He truly cares about the children in the community and actively works with Safe Kids Central Shenandoah Valley to ensure that children are properly restrained while riding in vehicles.

Thank you Officer Langhans for your dedication to keeping kids safe.

Brazil Leads the Way for Online Education