Bits and Pieces

By Full-Time Dads

Bits and Pieces

Natural Sciences Industries announces the Share The Holiday Spirit contest. Entrants describe, in 100 words or less, how they or their families share the holiday spirit. Prizes include NSI standards like Popular Mechanics Tool Sets, Smithsonian Science Kits, Gunk Lab, Bead Maker, Creature Feature and Sand Art. Deadline is Dec. 15! For complete contest rules write to: NSI Share The Holiday Spirit Contest, 411 Park St., Upper Montclair, NJ 07043.

The Parenting For Peace and Justice Network, a project of the Institute for Peace and Justice, is calling on all families to join the Circle of Peace. They are hoping to have one million families take the Peace Pledge by the year 2000. The booklet Families Creating a Circle of Peace can help your family respect and affirm others, share feelings honestly, listen carefully, find safe ways to express anger and challenge violence wherever you encounter it. Send for the booklet and take the Pledge. Send $5 to: Parenting for Peace and Justice, c/o The Institute for Peace and Justice, 4144 Lindell St., Suite 408, St. Louis, MO 63108.

Check it out: there's a new publication for deaf and hard-of-hearing kids called HiP magazine. Underwritten by health-care leader Kaiser Permanente, HiP includes educational articles about technology, inspirational people, communication in the animal world, an advice column, even a deaf super-hero comic strip. It's colorful, lively, and includes a lot of artwork and writing by kids. For a subscription (6 issues), send $14.95 to: HiP Magazine, 1563 Solano Ave. #137, Berkeley, CA 94707.

Keeping your child safe can seem like a monumental task. Yet, you can decrease the risk of death to your child by 58%. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the five main causes of unintentional death to children under the age of 14 are motor vehicle accidents, drowning, fires, falls, and poisoning. Below are steps you can take to make your child's world safer.

CAR SAFETY
Keep your children buckled up in an age-appropriate restraining device. Safety Belt Safe U.S.A. reports that 95% of all children are not properly restrained. Common reasons are improper use of a car seat or failure to use one at all. Make sure children are in the correct seat for their height and weight. And don't use a seat belt alone until a child is tall enough so the shoulder strap fits properly below the neck.

FIRES
Check smoke and heat detectors in your home. Nearly 20% of homes equipped with smoke detectors have detectors that are not working. According to recent studies, smoke detectors decrease the risk of fatal injury by 71%.

FALLS
Forty percent of the deaths from falls occurred to children under five years old, usually from heights of more than three stories. Install window bars or a device that won't let the window open enough to let a child squeeze through.

DROWNING
Bathtub drowning accounts for 10.5% of all drowning accidents. A child can drown in only two inches of water. Remember not to walk away once you start filling a tub, and never leave when your child is in the tub. Also, make sure the tub is drained completely after your child's bath is finished.

POISONING
Don't let children ride in the back of a pick-up truck, especially under a closed canopy. This can cause up to 30% of the fatalities attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning.

For more safety information consult Home Safe & Sound, a free ($1.50 shipping and handling) safety guide. Write to: Home Safe & Sound Free Offer, P.O. Box 6960 Villa Park, IL 60181

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