ADVE R TI S E M E N T
WELCOME HOME BABY
CAR SEAT SAFETY
One of the first responsibilities
parents face before bringing home
their new baby is choosing and
installing a car seat. Use these
tips to help ensure your child will
be safe and secure while traveling:
CHOOSE YOUR SEAT WISELY
Accepting a hand-me-down car seat
is not the same as hand-me-down
baby clothes. Never use a car seat
that has been in a car crash or shows
signs of extreme use.
DO YOUR RESEARCH Make sure
you are up-to-date on car seat safety
guidelines, ratings and recalls. Visit
the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration web site ( nhtsa.gov)
for the latest information.
CALL IN THE PROS Based on a
study done by National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, typically
more than 70% of child safety seats
are improperly installed. Make sure
your car seat is correctly installed by
contacting a certified child passenger
safety technician at your local police
or fire department.
For more tips on car seat installation,
watch the Welcome Home Baby videos
on parents.tv/welcomehomebaby.
Sponsored by
State Farm - Bloomington, IL
your child
HEALTH
IT HAPPENED TO ME
“My son’s head got stuck
in a photo prop cut-out!”
During a family outing to a county park,
Elizabeth Schreckenberg’s 2-year-old son,
Isaac, put his head in a photo-op board of a
farmer so that she could take a photograph. When Isaac tried
to pull his head out, he realized he was stuck, and whichever way
he turned, he couldn’t budge. Before his mom could get to him,
the boy panicked and yanked his head so hard that his top front
tooth got caught on the wood and broke in
half. He needed surgery at the hospital to cap
the tooth. “Now I only let my kids stick the
front of their face through those circles!” says
the mom from Columbia, Illinois. Send your
own safety lesson to ihtm@parentsmag.com.
FAS T FAC T
IF YOUR CHILD
BREAKS A TOOTH,
TAKE AN Y PIECES
TO THE DENTIS T.
RECALLS
Evenflo ExerSaucer Triple
Fun Activity Centers
213,000 activity centers
(sold from October 2006 to
February 2009) were recalled
because an end cap can
come off, causing a child to
fall. Call 800-233-5921 for a
replacement end cap.
Infantino Lion and Lamb
Grabby Rattles
131,000 rattles (sold from
May 2007 to September
2008) were recalled because
the tailpiece can detach,
posing a choking hazard.
Call 888-808-3111 for a
replacement.
Q
&A
Is it safe to borrow
pumped breast milk
from my sister if
I’m having trouble
producing it?
Although you may have seen the video of
Salma Hayek breastfeeding a hungry baby in
Africa (and we give her high marks for good
intentions), the truth is that the risks of sharing
human breast milk outweigh the possible
benefits for healthy babies. Breast milk can
carry diseases such as hepatitis B, HIV, and
tuberculosis. (Milk from milk banks–used
mostly for preemies—is pasteurized.) Even if
you know that your sister is perfectly healthy,
her milk could contain bacteria and viruses that
are harmless to her baby because he shares her
immunity, but are not as safe for yours. Your
child wouldn’t necessarily have the antibodies
to protect her against those illnesses, and
preterm babies are especially vulnerable,
explains Parents advisor Jane Morton, M. D.,
clinical professor of pediatrics at Stanford
University School of Medicine. Your best bet
is to see a lactation consultant about ways to
try to increase your supply, or you might try
supplementing your milk with infant formula.
Check up on any children’s products anytime by using
parentsmag.com’s searchable recall database.
