News round-up

The latest news, advice and information on keeping your children safe

Disney favourites take to cyberspace to help children cycle smart

Disney’s popular Recess characters are taking their two-wheeled adventures on to the internet to teach children about safe cycling. The six cycling friends are set to star on a new website – www.cyclesmart.org And as well as being a new high-tech home to the gang, the site will host a range of important safety information, useful tips about bikes and equipment and even games and giveaways – starting with your chance to win a coaching session with the Saracen Mountain bike Ariel Display team and a brand new bike!

More and more children will be getting out and about on their bikes as the summer goes on. Cycling is healthy, enjoyable and it can get kids where they want to go, but it’s not risk-free. Casualties among younger cyclists are falling, but there are still too many. The new www.cyclesmart.org website builds on the Cycle Smart comic featuring Disney’s Recess in conjunction with the government’s THINK! road safety campaign. The original comic strip and posters have now been brought to life in this colourful new interactive site featuring:

• The new adventures of Disney’s Recess including TJ, the leader; Mikey, the poet; Vince, the athlete; Gretchen, the brain; Spinelli, the enforcer; and Gus, the guy who’s all heart
• Interactive pages about cycle safety gear and bike maintenance
• A game where players are challenged to choose the safest options for the cycle journey
• A chance to win prizes

Top tips for safe cycling from the THINK! campaign

1. Make sure that your bike is the right size – a bike that is too big or too small can affect your balance
2. Check whether there are any cycle training courses available at your school or, if not, in your local area (the Road Safety Officer in your local council will know this) and get yourself booked onto one if possible
3. Get a cycle helmet and wear it every time you ride your bike – you can’t afford to be without one
4. Look after your bike properly – make sure that the front and back lights work well, the back reflector is clean and the brakes and tyres are working well. It is an offence to cycle at night without a white front light, a red back light and a red reflector at the back
5. To stay safe, other road users need to be able to see you – wear fluorescent materials in daylight and at dusk and reflective clothing at night

Top tips: Car seat safety

• The seat you choose must be suitable for the make and model of your car – check with the retailer or your car’s manufacturer

• It’s your child’s weight that determines your choice of car seat, not age

• Don’t place a rearward-facing child seat on a front passenger seat with an airbag

• Follow the car seat’s instructions carefully and keep them in the car in case you need to refer to them

• Make sure the child seat fits firmly on to your car seat. There should be very little forward or sideways movement

• The seatbelt buckle should be straight when locked. It should not rest on the child car seat frame as it may snap open in an accident

• Never modify the seat harness or buckles as this may affect the quickrelease mechanism

  Secure your child properly for every journey, no matter how short

• Make sure the harness is correctly adjusted every time you use it – only one or two fingers should fit between the child’s chest and stomach

• Any diagonal seatbelt should rest on the child’s shoulders, not the neck

• Don’t buy a second-hand car seat. You can’t be certain how it has been used, or whether it had been involved in an accident. It may not even be built to current standards. In an accident, the seat may not protect your child

• No car seat is childproof. Try to discourage your child from playing with the buckle

Pictures make safety simple

A new range of baby safety booklets gives vital information in pictures rather than words. The booklets are aimed at parents who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, parents whose first language is not English, parents who are dyslexic – in short, any parent who might feel put off by a lot of text. They are ideal for one-to-one or group sessions and will appeal to every parent who prefers the visual to the textual.

For more information, visit: www.capt.org.uk

British families keep door closed on discussions

A new poll conducted by MORI on behalf of the organisers of National Meetings Week (NMW) and the initiative’s “Let’s Meet at Home” campaign, has revealed that 32% of British adults never meet to discuss family issues. Over two thirds of all Brits do not meet to discuss family matters regularly (that is, once a month or more often). According to the research, 15% meet between two and four times a year and 7% meet just once per year.

“The results of this research demonstrates that families are not meeting enough and because of this may suffer from a lack of understanding of each other’s feelings and opinions, which can often lead to frustration and hostility, says Martin Lewis, Organiser of National Meetings Week. “There are many benefits to sitting down and meeting as a family and you will see much activity encouraging both families and businesses to formally discuss important issues much more during National Meetings Week.”

The research was conducted to draw attention to the benefits of face-to-face meetings, as the UK meetings industry prepares to celebrate meetings during its annual NMW. This year’s NMW, from October 2-6, is already supported by many large organisations and celebrities including Jonathan Ross, Gaby Roslin, Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Ricky Gervais.

Summer Fire Safety:

Barbecues

Having a barbecue should be a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone. But cooking over hot coals can be hazardous – and it’s very easy to be distracted when you have excited children around you while cooking.

The Fire Kills Campaign has produced 10 practical tips to ensure you and your child stay safe from fire this summer.

1. Make sure that your barbecue is in good working order
2. Keep a bucket of water, a bucket of sand or a garden hose nearby in case of emergencies
3. Make sure your barbecue site is flat and well away from sheds, fences, trees and shrubs
4. Use only enough charcoal to cover the base of the barbecue to a depth of about 50mm (two inches)
5. Keep children, garden games and pets well away from the main cooking area
6. When you’ve finished cooking, make sure the barbecue is cool before trying to move it. Empty ashes on to bare garden soil.
7. Never leave the barbecue unattended at any time
8. Never put ashes straight into a dustbin or wheelie bin. If they’re hot, they can melt plastic and cause a fire
9. Barbecues should never be lit indoors
10. Never use petrol or paraffin to start or revive your barbeque. Use only recognised lighters or starter fuel, on cold coals. For further information visit www.firekills.gov.uk

A child’s position in the family can influence career choices

American psychologists have been looking into how a child’s position in the family can affect his or her selected career. It would appear that first born and only children are more likely to be high achievers, pursuing professions such as law, finance, engineering or medicine.

According to Professor Frederick Leong, co-author of the psychologists’ report, their tendency is to head towards “cognitive and analytical” work. Professor Leong puts this down to the fact that parents are more likely to be more overprotective towards first born or only children. Examples of famous names demonstrating this principle include Anthony Scrivener QC, Sir Winston Churchill and Sir Edward Heath. Younger siblings, on the other hand, are more likely to be destined to take up more creatively based or outdoor-based occupations, such as landscape gardening, fashion, music and art, as exemplified by Oscar Wilde, Yehudi Menuhin and Madonna.

Professor Leong’s overall explanation is that, “Parents typically place different demands and have different expectations of children, depending on their birth order. Parents of only children may discourage pursuit of physical or outdoor activities because they are more fearful of physical harm to their child. That may be why only children are more likely to show interest in academic pursuits rather than physical or outdoor activities. And those who are only children will tend to get more time and attention from their parents than children with siblings.”

He goes on to point out how the opposite tends to happen in larger families, “As they have more children, parents tend to become more open and relaxed, and that may allow younger children to be more risktaking. If the first born or only child wants to be a poet, that may concern parents. But by the fourth child parents may not mind as much.”

The research was led by Ohio State University and published in the Journal of Career Assessment

Be a fun not a frantic parent

If you are a busy parent, try to focus on your needs, whatever they might be! Increase your self-awareness and try out the following challenges:

• Find time for yourself
• Balance your commitments at work and home
• Focus your mind: be calm and relaxed
• Make time to have fun
• Commit to paper your goals and aspirations, then follow them through

Incidents on UK ’s coast increase

Nearly half of parents (49%) do not know that the Coastguard is an emergency service and like the Police, Fire Brigade and Ambulance can be called by dialling 999 according to “The Sea Smart Safety Survey” undertaken by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

Despite packed beaches during summer months, the MCA Sea Smart Safety Survey reveals that over half of parents interviewed (55%) would not call 999 and ask for the Coastguard if they saw someone in difficulty in the sea. Of these, half (27%) would call 999, but wouldn’t know which emergency service to ask for, causing a dangerous delay in assistance being provided.

According to Chief Coastguard, John Astbury: “Time is of the essence when someone is in danger in the sea or on the surrounding beach or cliff tops. If there is any delay in sending out a Coastguard rescue team, lifeboat or helicopter, then it can cost lives. As the weather is improving and another hot and long summer is predicted, it is essential that people are aware of the potential dangers and that they must call 999 and ask for the Coastguard if they see anyone in trouble.”

Worryingly, if they saw someone in difficulty in the sea, a quarter of those interviewed would put their own life in danger by trying to save them themselves, rather than calling for assistance. John Astbury adds: “This might be the instinctive thing to do for many people but this is the worst course of action they could take.

“They are not only putting the life of the person they are trying to rescue in danger, but also their own.” The MCA Sea Smart campaign – which promotes sea and beach safety to parents of young children to reduce the large number of preventable accidents and deaths on our coastline every year – is urging parents to make sure that they and their children know what to do if the unexpected happens while at the beach.

To prevent a family day out turning into a tragedy, the MCA Sea Smart campaign advises parents to follow these simple guidelines:

• If you see anyone in trouble, dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard
• Check the weather and tides before you leave
• Keep children in reach at all times
• Tie inflatables to an adult on the shoreline (including inflatable toys, inflatable boats, etc, which can drift miles out to sea with just a light breeze)
• Keep clear of cliff edges – they can be slippery when wet
• Don’t drink and drown – eating and drinking before swimming may give you cramps

www.mcga.gov.uk/seasmart

 

Cultivate the pleasure of giving in your child

There are many ways to make children aware that there are always plenty of kids less fortunate than them who don’t have much in the way of toys or material things. Get your child to donate old toys and games to local community centres. Giving them money to donate to a cause of their own choosing teaches them to take on responsibility for themselves. Kids can learn that wealth comes from what is shared, rather than from what is owned. Projects such as donating to a charity – collecting unwanted toys, art supplies or warm clothes for needy children – can become a pleasurable family tradition, as well as teaching children that we are all responsible for helping others.

Walk to school the safer way

Why should you walk your child to school?

S Safety training

Walking regularly with a child from a young age enables them to develop life skills, preparing children with road safety and personal awareness skills.

C Congestions reduction

Fewer cars on our roads is good for the environment and local communities. Fewer cars at the school gate can make it safer for children making their way to and from school.

H Health benefits

Walking to and from school allows adults and children to incorporate physical exercise into their daily routine.

O On the Ball at school

Pupils who walk to school arrive wide awake and ready to learn and are therefore more prepared for the day ahead

O Our fun and friendship

Friends and family can walk to and from school together and enjoy some quality time together

L Learning for life

Walking regularly enables a child to become more familiar with their surroundings and provides them with the opportunity to learn about the weather, the risks and enable them to learn to listen to their senses

Walking to school and crossing the road:

1. Find the safest place to cross
2. Stop at each and every kerb
3. Look all around you and listen to the traffic sounds
4. If traffic is coming, let it pass
5. When it is safe, go straight across – do not hesitate
6. Do not run!

Bullying on the rise in primary schools

Children’s charity Kidscape is fighting the rise in cases of primary school bullying with the launch of innovative new guide. Of the 14,000 calls Kidscape received last year, over 51% were from parents of primary age pupils. This is a dramatic increase from the previous year, when only 31% of the calls were about bullying in primary schools.

Some of these children had been subjected to horrific acts of physical and emotional bullying, resulting in suicide attempts in children as young as eight. As a result of these increasing reports of bullying in primary schools, Kidscape and Argos have launched the first ever anti-bullying booklet designed for primary school children, called Don’t Bully Me!

The 16-page booklet for primary age children gives information and advice to children aged 5 to 11 on what bullying is, what to do if it happens to them and how to help if they know somebody who is being bullied.

“Sadly, bullying is starting earlier and resulting in more severe damage to the victims than was the case 10 years ago,” says Michele Elliott, Director of Kidscape. “Parents call our helpline about children as young as five who are suffering at the hands ofbullies, so it’s vital that we are in a position to respond to those changes. We are delighted with the crucial support from Argos, which has enabled us to launch this project nationwide.”

Argos managing director Sara Weller says of the booklet: “Don’t Bully Me! underlines the importance of teaching children from the earliest age that bullying is not acceptable, and ensuring that teachers and parents work closely together to prevent tragedies from happening in the future. Hopefully, with our help, this booklet really will make a difference to the futures of primary school children all over the UK.”

 

 

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