Will Virginia enact a bill that okays cell phone use while driving?
Have you ever seen a teenage driver with her hand up to her ear talking on the cell phone while driving down the highway? How about a “mature” driver? Have you ever done it yourself?
The Virginia Senate passed a bill last week that would ban talking on a cell phone while driving unless the driver was using a hands-free device.
This isn’t the first time such a bill has come before the Virginia General Assembly, so its chances of passing are slim. However, I previously posted about the no-texting-while-driving law passed by the General Assembly that went into effect in July 2009, so maybe there’s a better chance at passage this year or next or the year after that or . . .
Driving while distracted is particularly dangerous when an inexperienced driver is behind the wheel, especially when that inexperienced driver is a teenager who is hard wired to believe she is bullet proof and that nothing can hurt her. The bill that goes to the Virginia House of Delegates won’t solve all the problems of distracted drivers, but it will be one more tool that might have an impact on keeping our teens safe.
Or, will it encourage talking on cell phones while driving — a distraction even if both hands are on the wheel.
What If Your Child Gets Lost In A Store?
Stephanie, a young friend of mine, works part time in a large book store. She recently wrote about an incident that happened while she was at work, and I thought parents ought to know about CODE ADAM. Here’s the note she wrote to me:
From working in Barnes and Noble I have learned about Code Adam, the process of locating a missing child in a retail establishment or a public place. We train regularly in executing the procedure, just in case. We did it every night for a month before the Harry Potter release party back in 2007. However, I had never actually done one until last weekend.
Last weekend we had a parent come up to us saying that she couldn’t find her two little girls. I was the one who received the information and had to make the overhead page…”Attention Barnes & Nobles customers, we have a Code Adam, etc…”. We found the girls very quickly, but still I was shaken for hours afterwards.
I wrote the article explaining what Code Adam is and why it exists for you to share with parents. I was very impressed by the customers in the store that day because everyone froze and was silent while we looked for the girls. I think it’s helpful for parents to know that this procedure exists.
Stephanie wrote an article with more information about CODE ADAM that I posted on my firm’s website. Here is a link to the article she wrote. Thanks, Stephanie, for helping to spread the word.
What Do You Teach Your Young Child About Internet Safety?
If your child is between the ages of 5 and 7, chances are she uses the internet regularly, along with an estimated 80% of children in this age group. You talk to your child about safely crossing the street; you should talk to our child about how to safely use the internet.
A short video ad encouraging internet safety for the internet’s youngest users has just been released by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre. The ad is aimed at children in this age group and is meant to teach them what information is private and that they are not to share this with unknown individuals.
One short video ad can’t do it all; you must be involved. Here are some accompanying activities for you to complete with your child.
This publicity push is in honor of Europe’s Safer Internet Day on February 9, 2010. This year’s Safer Internet Day theme is “Think Before You Post.” Not just today, but regularly and often, talk to your children openly about making safe choices on the internet.
Can Your Child Trust Caller ID? Maybe Not.
One reason to love our smart phones is all the “apps” that are available. Theyhelp you out of traffic, translate a foreign language, and thousands of other useful actions.
However, some apps have devious purposes. Growing numbers of apps provide Caller ID Spoofing. We rely on caller ID and don’t question that the person on the phone is the name that appears on the screen. However, spoofing apps allow the user to choose any number they want to appear on caller ID instead of their own, to completely disguise their voice so as to remain unrecognizable, and one spoof app allows users to fake texts and emails. Our children are trusters, but they can no longer automatically believe what the caller ID tells them.
The Wall Street Journal recently published an article (along with a 6-minute video) that featured SpoofCard, one of the most popular of the spoofing software versions, that told stories from users about how they use the device. Even though the site details useful applications of the device in the section on legality, not one legal use is included as an actual example. The examples from customers are all personal pranks or spying on “loved ones.”
Possibly the most dangerous use of this technology is that the spoofer is able to check another person’s voicemail without their knowledge. Many cell phone carriers allow the user to check their voicemail without a password by calling their phone number from their own phone. If a spoofed caller ID of your number calls your number, the spoofer is also connected directly to the voicemail box. To keep this from happening to you, make sure you have use a password to access your voicemail.
Congress is moving forward in making this practice illegal. The House passed the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2007, but it was never made into law.
The Federal Communication Commission has detailed its current view on caller ID and provides a number to call if you believe a caller ID has been falsified.
Find out all you can about caller ID spoofs. I know it may cause eye rolling by your children, but please talk to them about not assuming the caller whose ID they see on their phone may not be who they think it is. This spoof is no joke.
What If Your Child Hurts Her Head? How Do You Know If It’s Serious?
Most of the time, when a child hurts her head, she gets well and has no ongoing problems. However, with brain injuries, some children may have problems that are hard to notice right away. One by one, the problems may not seem so unusual. But, in the case of a brain injury, the problems don’t go away. Here are things to look out for — especially if they don’t go away.
HEADACHES that keep coming back or other pain in and around the head (e.g., the eyes or jaw)
BALANCE or dizziness problems
SENSORY problems -bothered by smells or light or sounds or has blurry or double vision; changes in taste or appetite; feels too hot or too cold; hearing loss or ringing in ears
Changes in SLEEP patterns – doesn’t sleep through the night, sleeps too much, gets days and nights mixed up
PAIN problems – especially frequent pain in neck and shoulders or other places on the body that are unexplained
BEHAVIOR changes – in personality or mood; irritable, restless, upset, frustrated easily; overreacts, cries or laughs too easily; mood swings, wants to be alone or away from people, is afraid or others, blames others; wants to be taken care of, doesn’t know how to act with people, takes risks without thinking; is sad, depressed, can’t “get started” doing anything, is tired, drowsy or slow to respond; trips, falls, drops things, is awkward; eats too little, eats all the time, or eats thing that aren’t food; takes off clothes in public; for older children: has different sexual behavior, starts using or has a different reaction to alcohol or drugs
THINKING Problems – can’t remember things, has trouble paying attention, reacts slowly, thinks slowly, takes things too literally, doesn’t get jokes; understands words but not their meaning; thinks about the same thing over and over; has trouble learning new things, putting things in order (desk, room, papers), making decisions; planning, starting, doing and finishing a task and emembering to do things on time; makes poor choices (loss of common sense)
COMMUNICATING- changes the subject, has trouble staying on topic; has trouble reading, listening, thinking of the right word, paying attention and having long conversations; doesn’t say things clearly, talks too much
If your child exhibits any of these problems AND THEY DO NOT GO AWAY, call your doctor.
The Washington State Traumatic Brain Injury Council has more information on what to look out for and what to do if your child has suffered a brain injury.
If your child has hurt her head and has any of these problems that do not go away, you may want to speak to a lawyer experienced in representing children with traumatic brain injuries. I will be glad to answer your questions about rights your child may have to recover for her losses from her brain injury caused by someone else. Call me at 703-273-9500, or send me an email at srohrstaff@WRSattorneys.com.
Resources for Car Safety Seats and Booster Seats
Here are some of the resources I used for the information in my blogs about car seats. (See my blog posts this past week about safe car seats for your child as she grows.)
Here’s a video explaining how to move from one car seat to another as your child “ages up” made by “Dad Labs”.
Other resources:
Car Safety Seats Information for Families
How to Choose and Use A Booster Seat
Your Child Grows into a Forward-Facing Car Seat
I’ve been posting about safe car seats for your child as she grows from infancy into older childhood. See my two prior posts for birth to about one year. We had just moved into forward-facing seats.
Forward-facing models should all have a 5-point restraint harness. Children should stay in this model until at least 40 pounds, but can usually fit until 65 pounds. These are especially helpful if you have a restless child who might try to get out of the seat belt.
When you think your child might be ready to move to a booster seat, be sure to test it out first. If they fit, their legs should not stick out straight and they should not slouch or slide forward in the seat. Once again, keep you child in the forward-facing car seat for as long as possible — it’s safer.
Booster seats are the newest addition to child car safety. Most likely you didn’t use a booster seat when you were a kid. Seat belts are designed for adults, not for children, so children need to be boosted into a higher position so that the seat belt can do its job correctly. 
Children need to be in a booster seat until they reach a height of 4’9”. At this height, the seat belt will fall correctly on the child as to protect them in a crash. Once again, there are multiple types of booster seats. There are full backed seats that resemble a forward facing seat and there are half booster seats which only have a bottom portion. In deciding which one to purchase for your child, you should consider factors such as support while sleeping in the car and the height of the seats in your car. The booster should position the child so that the seat belt falls on the hips, not the stomach, and the collarbone, not the neck. Once they reach 4’9”, the belt should fit properly without any additional support. Even once they no longer need a booster seat, children though should stay in the back seat until they reach 13 years old.
Post a comment to let us know how your child has grown into her various types of car seats.
Dangers in Your Kitchen Cabinet
I was reading a medical publication today, and found this information interesting. It’s certainly something I didn’t know when my children were very young.
Vanilla Extract – I often heard that a person could get drunk by drinking vanilla extract. I’ve wondered if that’s true. The answer seems to be “yes”. For children, that’s a real danger. Vanilla extract contains ethanol, the same type of alcohol found in beer, wine, and hard liquor (and other types of flavoring extract, perfume, cologne, aftershave, and mouthwash, too). The amount of extract called for in recipes would not be dangerous. But a child who swallowed the contents of a bottle might be at risk of alcohol poisoning. Keep flavoring extracts out of reach, along with other alcohol-containing liquids.
But, there are more dangers lurking. Nutmeg tastes great in cookies and eggnog, but too much can cause hallucinations. Children who get into the container, and people who deliberately swallow a lot of nutmeg trying to get high, can become miserably sick. Nausea, vomiting, agitation, prolonged drowsiness, and coma are all possible. Keep the nutmeg, and its relative, mace, out of the reach of children.
How Do I Know When to Change My Child’s Car Seat?
From the day you take your baby home from the hospital they should be in a properly attached car seat. The difference between a car seat and a booster seat is that a car seat is the means of protection for the child. A booster seat simply boosts the child to fit properly in the car’s preexisting restraint system.
Children from birth to age one should ride in a rear facing car seat. 
The minimum age to turn a child around to a forward facing car seat is one year and 20 pounds. However, your childshould stay rear facing as long as the seat allows, usually up to around 30 pounds. Rear facing is the safest position for a child.
There are two main types of rear facing seats. The first is infant-only seats which allow the seat to be removed without disturbing a sleeping child. They include a mount that remains firmly secured in the car and a carrier that snaps in an out. Often, the carrier attaches to a stroller for optimal mobility.
The second kind is a convertible model. These are able to hold the child from birth to about age four or five by converting from a rear facing infant seat to a front facing toddler seat.
Once again, the child should not be transferred to the front facing position until he/she reaches the maximum weight for the rear facing position. The plus for these models is that they can be used for a long time, but the down side is that it is difficult to remove a sleeping infant without waking them.
Whether you are using a convertible model or a uniquely front-facing model, a child should move to this model only once he outgrows the rear facing model, usually around 30 pounds and at least one year of age.
I’ll post more later this week. Post a comment to let me know what your experiences have been with these kinds of seats.
Which Car Seat Is Right for My Child?
I don’t mean to sound old, but things sure have changed since you and I were children, haven’t they? The way things were when we were kids often doesn’t apply anymore — not to mention the extraordinary technological advancements.
Sure, we had seatbelts and car seats in our cars when we were kids, but how many times did you double buckle with your friends or siblings or ride backwards in the back of the station wagon? Attempts to reduce the number of preventable highway deaths have prompted authorities to pass more stringent guidelines on the safety measures required for children riding in automobiles.
These guidelines are based on the height, weight, and age of the child in order to best secure the child in case of a collision. However, all of these new rules can be confusing.
• When do I use the next sized seat?
• How long does my child have to ride in the back seat?
• What is the difference between the different types of seats and belts?
Although you have to work at finding them, there are fairly clear guidelines about which type of seat you should use for your child based on their age, height and weight. Here are a few tips to get you started.
•• The first step is a rear-facing, 5-point harness child safety seat for newborns and infants.
•• At about one year of age, your child will “age up” to forward-facing child safety seats. These maintain the 5-point harness, but allow the child to sit in an upright position. These are the two safest seats and children should stay in them as long as possible.
•• School age children should use booster seats to position them correctly in the seat belt until they reach a height of 4’9”.
We’ll explore each stage in the process of moving your child from one seat to another in more depth, because each one has slight nuances that can be confusing. I’ll publish several more postings with additional information in the next few days. In the meantime, I’d love to hear from anyone who has experiences, good or bad, with buying, installing and using car seats for their children.
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