children – Susman

October 28, 2016

Trick-or-Treat Safety

Halloween will be here in three days. I remember when I was younger, I would count down the days until I would be able to show-off my costume at school and then spend the evening filling a pillowcase with c andy from the house around my neighborhood. While Halloween doesn’t seem to be the same huge event as it was during my day, there are still tons of families that celebrate and take their children trick-or-treating. Now, more than ever, it is important to plan ahead and keep you children safe and always have a chaperone.

You can protect your children and allow them to have fun by starting with a safe costume that fits. Make sure it has some sort of reflective capabilities so it can be seen a night – especially by drivers. You always want to opt for face paint over a mask and make sure your child can see clearly. For extra safety, have everyone carry a flashlight.

While walking the neighborhoods, always cross in the appropriate areas and look both ways – multiple times. Make sure kids stay on the sidewalks or walking paths and consider putting a temporary ban on all electronic devices to keep eyes and heads up and alert.

If you opt to drive through the neighborhood, stay off your phone and watch the road. Children can be unpredictable and dart into the street at any time. Go slow and use hazards if needed. Drive on the correct side of the road and avoid blocking any entrances or exits.

It is VERY possible to be safe and have a great time!

halloween_safety

January 23, 2015

Accident Insurance For Children – Have You Thought About It?

Have you thought about providing financial security for your children in case they are seriously injured in an accident of any kind? The possibility of an accident putting your child in a wheelchair for life, is not one that anyone likes to think about. Not thinking about the possibility does not take that chance away though.

Parents are increasingly recognizing that it is necessary to insure their children against accidents. They want to know that in the event of anything untoward happening to their son or daughter, that at least there will be no financial hardship; that their child’s financial needs will be provided for the next 70 years if necessary.

Health insurance for children is normally included in family health insurance policies and is obviously worthwhile. Is that enough?

Health insurance for children may cover illnesses and broken bones, but rarely covers everything that can happen to a child.

Your family health insurance policy cover may not include:

Accidents on school trips. The school may well have insurance, but is it enough to provide a lifetime of care if your child has a serious head injury while skiing?

Car accidents with drivers who are not insured. Sadly many children are injured every year when uninsured drivers hit them. The worst drivers almost always have no insurance.

Mental health is not always adequately covered in a general family health insurance policy.

Death. Health care insurance policies rarely pay out if the insured person is killed. Money will be needed for counselling for siblings and parents as well as funeral costs.

An increasing number of parents are asking insurance companies about insurance for children to cover these and other eventualities. Ask an insurance broker about the different policies available and their costs. The cost is low, because the risk is a low one. Insuring against that low risk though, could mean a world of difference to your son or daughter.

May 31, 2014

Safety & Prevention

An air bag can save your life. However, air bags and young children are a dangerous combination. The following information will help keep you and your children safe: The safest place for all infants and children younger than 13 years to ride is in the back seat. Never put an infant in the front seat of a car, truck, SUV, or van with a passenger air bag.

All children should be properly secured in car safety seats, belt-positioning booster seats, or the lap and shoulder belts correct for their size. All infants and toddlers should ride in a rear-facing car safety seat until they are 2 years of age or until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat’s manufacturer.

All children 2 years or older, or those younger than 2 years who have outgrown the rear-facing weight or height limit for their car safety seat, should use a forward-facing car safety seat, up to the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat’s manufacturer.

All children whose weight or height is above the forward-facing limit for their car safety seat should use a belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle seat belt fits properly. When children are old enough and large enough to use the vehicle seat belt alone, they should always use lap and shoulder seat belts for optimal protection.

Side air bags improve safety for adults in side impact crashes, but children who are not properly restrained and are seated near a side air bag may be at risk for serious injury. Check your vehicle owner’s manual to see what it says about children and side air bags.

New “advanced” air bags make travel safer for adults, but it is not yet known how they will affect the safety of children. Even though these new air bags may be safer, the back seat is still the safest place for children younger than 13 years to ride.

What Parents Can Do: Eliminate potential risks of air bags to children by buckling them in the back seat for every ride.Plan ahead so that you do not have to drive with more children than can be safely restrained in the back seat.

For most families, installation of air bag on/off switches is not necessary. Air bags that are turned off provide no protection to older children, teens, parents, or other adults riding in the front seat.

Air bag on/off switches should only be used if your child has special health care needs for which your pediatrician recommends constant observation during travel and no other adult is available to ride in the back seat with your child.

If no other arrangement is possible and an older child must ride in the front seat, move the vehicle seat back as far as it can go, away from the air bag. Be sure the child is restrained properly for his size. Keep in mind that your child may still be at risk for injuries from the air bag. The back seat is the safest place for children to ride.

Source: Insurance Information Institute, “Safety & Prevention.” healthychildren.org website. Accessed May 29, 2014. http://www.healthychildren.org/english/safety-prevention/on-the-go/pages/air-bag-safety.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR:%20No%20local%20token&nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR:%20No%20local%20token

© Copyright 2014. All rights reserved. This content is strictly for informational purposes and although experts have prepared it, the reader should not substitute this information for professional insurance advice. If you have any questions, please consult your insurance professional before acting on any information presented. Read more.

May 23, 2013

Pool safety

Every year about 43,000 people are injured in and around swimming pools and more than 600 people drown in home or public pools. Half of the pool fatalities occur in the yards of single-family homes. Here are some pool safety tips you
should follow:

Never leave small children unsupervised—even for a few seconds.
Put fencing around the pool area to keep people from using the pool without your knowledge.
Keep children away from pool filters, as the suction force may injure them or prevent them from surfacing.
Be sure all pool users know how to swim. Learners should be accompanied by a good swimmer.
Don’t swim alone or allow others to swim alone.
Check the pool area regularly for glass bottles, toys or other potential accident hazards.
Keep CD players, radios and other electrical devices away from pools or nearby wet surfaces.
Don’t allow anyone who has been drinking alcohol to use the pool.
Stay out of the pool during rain or lightning storms.
Never dive into an above-ground pool, and check the water depth before plunging into an in-ground pool. Keep clear of the area near a diving board.
Don’t swim if you’re tired or have just finished eating.

Source: Insurance Information Institute; www.iii.org

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