By Rob Pickle, with an intro by his Mom, Martha Wilcox
Can you tell when your kid is telling you the truth? Our kids have no idea what experts we become in watching their expressions; after all we’ve been doing it since the day they were born. “I didn’t eat the cookie,” may be declared with conviction by a 3-year-old, but the crumbs on the chin tell another story.
This is the first installment of our New Moms blog series. Check back periodically to read about the real life stories from the moms at Safe Kids.
Sometimes kids bounce and sometimes they don’t. My son, Winston, is proof. I've lost count of how many times he's fallen really hard -- and he's only 3 years old
September is Baby Safety Month, which just so happens to coincide with our anxious wait for the arrival of our first child…how fitting! Leading up to September has been a fun and strange combination of gearing up while also paring down.
But Emmett is not alone. According to the National Poison Control, 3,500 children each year suffer from a button battery accident. Eleven deaths have been reported. That’s why I want to share our story. To help other parents learn about button batteries and how to prevent similar tragedies.
I never knew that a TV or piece of furniture could be dangerous to kids. Before the accident, we secured our flat screen TV to the wall in the living room. I didn’t know that we should also secure our old TV in Brandon’s room or even the dresser on which it stood.
Was my wife, Dixie, helping me or suckering me? It’s a debate that goes on to this day, but regardless of the answer, I stand behind the following advice for every new dad: Change every diaper.
As a longtime member of the Safe Kids staff I was pretty familiar with child safety, long before I became Stephen’s dad 17 months ago, Back then, I didn’t realize the impact Safe Kids would have on my new role as parent.
Here at Safe Kids, we often hear from parents who have faced the heartbreaking loss of a child. You will want to read this story by Gordon and Julie Ross, loving parents who are eager to share their story so other parents can learn from their tragedy.
-Torine Creppy, Chief Program Officer for the United States
Sadly, between 2008 and 2010, over 22,000 children age 9 and younger were injured by preventable furniture tip-overs or instability. Lisa Marie, a parent advocate who has been working with Safe Kids, graciously shares her heartbreaking story of her son Shane.