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Update: Week of June 1

This Week’s Hot Topic

I avoided the topic last week but I think, given all the news, I probably should address the issue of home gym safety. What happened last week to Mike Tyson’s 4 year-old daughter was a tragedy and proof that you can’t always protect children 100%. Horrible accidents still happen. (For those of you living under a rock, the child strangled herself on a cord hanging from a treadmill and died the following day.) This incident made me sick inside but I’ll take it as an opportunity to make you think.

Since the news broke, I’ve been inundated with request for interviews about treadmill and home gym equipment safety. My favorite question so far was, “what piece of gym equipment would be safe for a child?” This is like asking me, “what equipment at an open construction site should I let my kid play on?” The answer is, I can’t think of one. Weights can fall and crush hands and feet. Pulleys and moveable parts can shift and fall . Bicycle spokes can catch little fingers. Treadmill belts catching hands or feet are the most common types of injuries seen with this piece of equipment (which most of us are probably using just to hang our laundry on anyway). Basically, a safe home gym is one that a kid can’t get into.

What’s probably more relevant to this story is preventing strangulation. All electric cords should be unplugged, folded up and put away whenever possible. Cords that must remain connected should be secured to the floor or wall, such as with staples or duct tape. Window cords should have 2 free ends (no loops!) and also be kept out of reach. (Free window cord child safety retrofit kits are available at www.windowcoverings.org) Cribs and other pieces of furniture should be kept away from windows when possible. And while I’m at it, your kid’s binky can most certainly be pinned to his shirt with a ribbon but the ribbon should be short enough to pull on the shirt when the binky is in his mouth. 

Tales of The Truly Bizarre

Well, it’s not bizarre, but I’m still waiting for those stories. From the Tales of the Incredibly Astute comes a story from Lauren in Chicago. Her 2 year-old recently announced “Cookie monster no boogers…no nose!!!” and laughed hysterically. You know, I never thought about it, but I guess that’s right.

so until next time…

Dr. Lara Zibners, Jun 03, 2009

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