News and tips to help L.A. Parents keep their kids safe.
Child Safety
Get Started, Be Prepared
Whether or not your family’s emergency preparedness was tested by our area’s 2018 wildfires, the new year is a great time to step up your game. My Altadena neighborhood recently had a “Map Your Neighborhood” meeting so we can help each other during an emergency. Then Ken Kondo, emergency program manager at L.A. County’s Office of Emergency Management Chief Executive Office, walked me through the “County of Los Angeles Emergency...
L.A. Found Program Helps Locate Missing Persons with Disabilities or Dementia
Almost half of children with autism will at some point engage in wandering behavior – putting their lives at risk and their families and caregivers through a terrible ordeal even if they are safely found. One-third of all people in California with autism live in L.A. County, according to the Autism Society of Los Angeles. In September, the county launched a program to make sure those with autism, alzheimer’s disease...
Riding Safely with New Car Seat Guidelines
In early September, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued new car seat guidelines on child passenger safety. The group recommends that children ride in rear-facing seats for as long as possible, that they then ride in forward-facing seats until at least age 4, and that they ride in belt-positioning boosters until at least age 8 or until they reach a height of 4 feet, 9 inches. All children, experts say,...
Stopping School Shootings
Let’s begin our look at this scary topic with two solid – possibly calming – facts: School shootings are a rare occurrence in the U.S., and there has not been a mass shooting at an L.A.-area school in recorded memory. Mass school shootings – beginning with Columbine in 1999 through Sandy Hook in 2012, up to February’s shooting in Parkland, Fla. – have spurred the notion that school shootings are...
Doc Talk: If Your Child is Bitten by a Rattlesnake …
It is rattlesnake season in Southern California – and will be until at least October. In sunny SoCal, we spend lots of time hiking, biking, camping and playing in spots where snakes are active. Cyrus Rangan, M.D., a medical toxicologist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and assistant medical director of the California Poison Control System, offers advice on what to do if your child is bitten. What should parents do...
Doc Talk: Steering Clear of Health Hype
As director of pediatric otolaryngology and a professor of head and neck surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Nina Shapiro, M.D., has met plenty of misguided parents. They want the best for their families but have trouble sorting what’s healthy from what’s not. A case involving a 16-month-old baby with a persistent cough inspired Shapiro to write her new book, “Hype: A Doctor’s Guide to Medical...
Putting the Tide Pod Challenge in Perspective
You’ve certainly heard about internet “challenges” where people – especially teens – film themselves doing everything from harmless fun like pretending to be a mannequin to dangerous things like eating laundry detergent pods. These and even more frightening challenges (the “Blue Whale” purportedly challenges participants to commit suicide) easily make headlines, but Brian Prestwich, M.D., lead physician in the Family Medicine department at UCLA Health Century City and father of...
Children’s Radiation Exposure: Gentler Imaging for Kids
When children are injured or ill, medical imaging can give doctors important information to help make kids well. But whether that’s an X-ray of a possibly fractured limb, a chest X-ray to check for pneumonia or a more advanced CT or PET scan, these procedures expose children to radiation. Marvin Nelson, M.D., is chairman of the department of radiology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where they perform as many as...
Preventing Toy Chokings
Holiday time is “toy time,” which means it’s time to talk about toy safety. Alan L. Nager, M.D., M.H.A., division director of emergency and transport medicine at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, says that ingestion (swallowing) and aspiration (sucking into the airway) of toys and toy pieces is a problem year-round. “We have a child getting something pulled out of their esophagus or airway several times a week,” he says. To...
A Toddler’s Window Fall – A Mom’s Nightmare
As many as 5,000 children in the U.S. fall from windows each year, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. L.A. Parent Assistant Editor Carolyn Richardson’s son recently fell from the window of their building. Here is her story in her own words: “You are a great mom,” said an EMT as we stood in front of our apartment building in Encino. It was a warm afternoon this past September, and he was trying to calm me down and keep me...
Why Your Family Should Learn CPR This Summer
At the beach or the pool this summer there are three letters parents should keep in mind: CPR. That’s because starting CPR immediately if someone is pulled from the water in cardiac arrest, rather than waiting for emergency responders to arrive, gives that person three times the chance of making a full recovery – avoiding coma, brain injury or even death – according to a study published in the June...
An L.A. Mosquito and Zika Virus Update
Summer vacation is upon us and mosquito season will last until November. That means the mosquito borne zika virus known to cause birth defects if a woman is infected during pregnancy will be in the news once again. Diana Ramos, M.D., director for reproductive health at the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, says we all need to protect our children's health and our families by making smart travel decisions, but...
Having a Safe and Healthy Summer Camp Experience
If you’re like many parents right now, you’re busy deciding which summer camp your children will be attending and thinking about how to prepare them for a fun, healthy and safe experience away from home. With those decisions, it’s natural for parents to experience some anxiety; especially for those who have first-time campers or children with chronic health issues. The following recommendations are based on my years of experience as...
Responding to Your Child’s Swim Mishaps
It happens even when you’re right there, within arms reach of your child. One minute, they’re bobbing on a noodle or splashing on the steps. The next minute, they’re under water. You only took your eyes off them for one second, but it was during that second that your child disappeared. You lunge for them and pluck them up quickly – before any harm is done. They are physically fine,...
Be On the Lookout For Choking Hazards
Much is written about toy safety this time of year, and one of the biggest toy related dangers to young children is choking or aspiration - the entry of a foreign object into the respiratory tract. But there are many things besides toys that end up stuck in kids' throats or airways. We have seen kids choke on gumballs, candy, wheels from toy cars, earrings and toy parts, but the...
When Kids Swallow What They Shouldn’t
During the holidays, many children get their hands on things they shouldn’t. When parents are distracted with cooking, eating, drinking and chatting, no one sees the 2-year-old wander into Grandma’s bedroom to find the candy dish of pills on the dresser. This season, take preventive steps at home and in homes you are visiting. Keep medications and other dangerous substances in their original packaging (with child-proof caps if possible). Store...
AAP’s New Sleep Recommendations Say Rooming-In is Best
Infants should sleep in the same bedroom as their parents – but on a separate surface, such as a crib or bassinet, and never on a couch, armchair or soft surface – to decrease the risks of sleep-related deaths, according to a new policy statement released by the American Academy of Pediatrics Oct. 24. “SIDS and Other Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Updated 2016 Recommendations for a Safe Infant Sleeping Environment,” draws...
Doc Talk: Beyond the Bicycle Helmet
It typically happens like this: A child hops on his bike, hollers to his mom that he’s going for a ride and is gone before she can even respond. No one has checked to see if he is wearing a helmet. No one even knows exactly where he is. The boy is hit by a car and knocked unconscious. Someone calls an ambulance and he is brought to our emergency...
UCLA Doc Offers Tips on Preventing School Sports Injuries
Back to school means back to sports – and the risk of injury that comes with them. “Being aware of the injury potential of your sport and proactively seeking ways to prevent such injuries is critical,” says Dr. Jennifer Beck, a pediatric sports medicine physician at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica. Every sport has its own inherent risks, but one competitive sport – cheerleading – often is overlooked. “There’s increasing...
Doc Talk: How to Handle the Heat Like a Pro
Whether your child is at the beach, on the ball field or just out playing in the park, heat-related illness is a danger this time of year. Parents often throw around the term “heat stroke,” but are usually using it incorrectly. There are many forms of heat-related illness. Heat Cramps/Edema/Syncope: It doesn’t have to be extraordinarily hot for children to develop cramps and muscle pain or swelling (edema) of the...
Doc Talk: Treating Insect Stings 101
This summer, the buzz about mosquitoes and Zika virus will no doubt continue. But Southern California kids are much more likely to encounter bees, wasps, hornets or yellowjackets. All carry venom that can cause problems ranging from a slight nuisance to anaphylaxis and death. First-aid starts with removal of the stinger. Flick it out with a credit card or your finger. Don’t pull it, grab it or tweeze it, or...
Toyota and L.A. County Lifeguards Host Water Safety Event with Boys & Girls Club of Gardena-Harbor
To remind the community of key water-safety tips as families head to local beaches this summer, carmaker Toyota and the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Lifeguard Division, hosted an interactive water-safety event for the Boys & Girls Club of Gardena-Harbor in May. Toyota is the official vehicle sponsor of the LA County Lifeguards, and the company considers staying safe at the beach key to having a great time this summer....
5 Ways To Shrink Your Child’s Digital Footprint
Yalda Uhls understands how much you want to Instagram those adorable photos of your toddler on the potty. Really, she does. And the mom of a 13-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy is happy that Instagram wasn’t around when her children were small. “I have the cutest picture of my daughter and her friend in the bathtub,” says Uhls, senior scientific researcher at The Children’s Digital Media Center@LA at UCLA....
Keeping Bloodhounds On the Scent of Missing Kids
Around half of all children on the autism spectrum will wander toward something that interests them, or bolt away from something that is bothersome. And because they have little sense of danger, this wandering can take them away from their caregivers and into unsafe situations. These children often go missing, and according to the National Autism Association, children ages 9 and younger with autism who wander off are killed 42...
Doc Talk: Why There Are No Accidents
The other day, a 9-year-old came in to the emergency department with an elbow fractured in a way that required a surgical repair with metal pins, and a cut across the middle of his forehead that required plastic surgery. He had tried to skateboard down six stairs. In emergency medicine, we don’t call these “accidents,” because the injuries that happen by accident are almost always preventable. And the key to...
Eyeing Digital Device Safety
Nearly 64 percent of parents spend more than five hours a day looking at digital screens. And if we’d put down our smart phones and tablets long enough, we would notice that our kids are right behind us, with 65 percent connected two hours a day or more. Those figures are from a recent report by The Vision Council, a vision care industry group. The report, “Eyes Overexposed: The Digital...
CDC Issues Travel Warning for Pregnant Women
Planning a “babymoon” cruise to the Caribbean or a Mexican getaway? Take note of a CDC travel alert that is especially directed at pregnant women and women trying to become pregnant traveling to countries where Zika virus has become a threat: Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This alert follows reports in Brazil of microcephaly...
Heads Up For New Soccer Guidelines
If you’ve winced at the sight of a ball coming down on a young soccer player’s head, new guidelines from the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) won’t surprise you. Heading the ball is too dangerous for players under age 11, the federation made known in early November, and players ages 11-13 should attempt it only during practice. Sports medicine doctor Bianca Edison, M.D., believes young athletes need to watch out for...
Are Those Toys Safe, Ducky?
The baby board book, featuring lots of colors and textures meant to stimulate developing brains, was labeled “organic.” Josh Kasteler tested it anyway, and found that the packaging contained such a high level of phthalates – chemicals widely believed to disrupt hormone levels – that it contaminated the book as well. Kasteler, a biochemist and molecular biologist who founded Santa Monica-based Safe Ducky (www.safeducky.com) in June, tests toys and other...
Learn To Install Car Seats Correctly
No child in L.A. avoids riding in a car for long, but despite massive outreach efforts, most of them still ride in car seats that are either wrong for their size or improperly installed. “The incorrect-use rate is still over 90 percent,” says Stephanie Tombrello, executive director of SafetyBeltSafe USA, a Torrance-based national nonprofit devoted to car-safety education. Tombrello says the range of car seat models – including convertible seats...
Detecting Body-Image Issues In Your Teen
What does your teen see when he or she looks in the mirror? “Body image” is how we describe what people believe about their outward appearance, how they feel about their bodies and how they sense and control their movements. Issues can occur when teens start showing signs of a negative body image, perceiving their bodies as something other than reality, convinced that their size or shape is a personal...
New Tool Let’s Swimmers Know If Beach Water is Safe
The unusual rainstorm over the weekend means lots of water washing through L.A. storm drains and down to the ocean, where the bacteria and pollution the storm water brings with it makes the water unsafe for swimming. Currently, local health agencies use laboratory analyses of water samples collected at the beach to determine if it is safe for recreational use. Unfortunately, it takes 24-48 hours to collect the samples, transport...
Keep Tabs on Children’s Product Recalls
Maria L. recently searched a swap meet for the perfect stroller for her baby, due in a couple of weeks. When she settled on one to purchase, Maria had no idea that the item was on a Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) list of recalled products known to cause injury and deaths. Recently, to help Maria save money, her family and friends also gave her used baby items that they...
Lunchtime Picnic is the Key to Beach Safety
Pack a picnic and your family is on the way to a safe day at the beach, says emergency physician Eric Nakkim, M.D. He’s a dad, beach lover, child safety expert and co-director of the Richard and Melanie Lundquist Emergency Department at Torrance Memorial Medical Center, and offered us some beach safety tips. Choose the time and place with care. Swim near a lifeguard, who has rescue skills and the...
Protect Kid Passengers From Drunk Drivers
As your family enjoys Fourth of July festivities and other outings this summer, pay attention to how much anyone who plans to drive is drinking – especially if they will be driving with kids – urges Stephanie Tombrello, executive director of the California-based nonprofit SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. A study published last year in the journal Pediatrics found that 65 percent of children killed in crashes involving impaired drivers were actually riding...
7 Safety Strategies for Kids With Special Needs
As parents, it is our job to worry about our kids. And we worry about our children with special needs at every stage of their (and our) lives. As it turns out, worry is a waste of mental energy – energy we cannot afford to waste! The best thing to do with worry is convert it to action, doing something positive to mitigate the unsettling thoughts that keep us awake...
Children’s Health: What Parents Need to Know About Cutting
Non-suicidal self-injury, also known as “cutting” because that is the most popular form it takes, is frighteningly common among kids – though the problem is difficult to study. Some researchers believe that as many as 10 percent of 8-12-year-olds have attempted self-injury. “The statistics in this particular area are completely unreliable,” says Angela Kahn, founder of the L.A.-based Kahn Institute for Self-Injury. “We have enough anecdotal evidence to say that...
Contact Lenses Vs. Glasses for Active Kids
Is your child a student of karate? A competitive young swimmer? A baseball player for the local little league team? If your child has an active lifestyle and needs vision correction, contact lenses might be a better choice than glasses. Let’s look at some of the advantages of contact use for your pediatric champion. More stable vision. A child wearing eyeglasses can feel the frames move slightly on his or...
On Solid Ground
Your Family Can Be Ready For SoCal’s Next Big Earthquake Welcome to L.A. Parent's earthquake readiness page. We've compiled this handy guide because, when we're talking about a major earthquake hitting Southern California, it's not "if," it's "when." We want your family to be prepared. We cover a number of topics here, but have tried to keep it simple. Just click below to jump to the section you're interested...
Don’t Leave Your Child in a Hot Car
Parents and caregivers most often leave children in hot cars due to a change in routine or a quick errand that turns out to be longer than anticipated. Because of all the publicity and increase in children being left in sweltering cars, I was inspired to write this article. To learn more, I reached out to Helen Arbogast, MPH, CHES, manager of the Injury Prevention Program at CHLA. Did you...
Safer Play For Kids and Dogs
By Lesley Brog As founder and Chief Animal Lover of Los Angeles-based dog rescue Wags and Walks and mom to three girls, I’ve seen firsthand how kids and dogs best go together. There is truly nothing better for a child than the love of a dog. It builds a child’s confidence, immune system and communications skills. That said, there are some important things to know so that the dogs and...
Burn-Injury Prevention Tips For Your Family
By Delilah Dees, BSN, RN, PHN, Remedies nurse blogger at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles The American Burn Association states that more than 136,000 children are treated in emergency rooms each year due to burn-related injury. Continue reading as I explain the three types of burns, why babies are more at risk and how you prevent your child from burn-related injury. Burns are classified into three categories depending on how bad...
Choosing the Right Sunscreen for Your Family
With so many types of sunscreens available, it is easy to get overwhelmed at the local drug store. Understanding what you might see on sunscreen labels will allow you to choose the right sunscreen for you and your family’s needs. What Does UVA and UVB Mean? Sunlight consists of two types of harmful ultraviolet radiations: UVA and UVB rays. UVA rays penetrate into the thickest layer of skin and have...
Making Summer Safer For Kids
By Elena Epstein When asked about their favorite summertime childhood memories, the eclectic panel of speakers brought together by LiveHealth Online last night at the Palihouse in West Hollywood became nostalgic. “I loved summer camp,” said digital lifestyle expert Carley Knobloch, founder of Forward Living and mom of two. “I loved that we could get lost in our own social nonsense.” “The greatest day of every year was the last...
Girl Athletes Should Train To Protect Their Knees
By Christina Elston ACL injuries in girls don’t happen quietly, and usually don’t involve impact. A girl will be dribbling the ball down the soccer field, pivot to avoid an opposing player, then collapse dramatically, often accompanied by an audible “pop.” “You’re going to see it. Oftentimes you’re going to hear it,” says Gregory Adamson, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. ...
Safer Swimming
Tips from local lifeguards will help you protect your kids at the beach, the lake or the pool. By Melanie Gaball Swim season is seemingly endless for Angelenos this year. Non-existent winter temperatures plus an abundance of recreational water choices means there is unlimited fun to be had! Four L.A. lifeguards offer advice to help you keep your family safe while you frolic in the surf or by the pool....