Family Safety Plan

A couple of years ago, Adam (our little guy) used the microwave to time himself while practicing the piano. Our nanny Amanda thought it was fine at the time. She didn’t realize though that he was actually not using the timer and had turned it on. Thankfully they were both safe and the house didn’t burn down! It made me think about developing a detailed safety plan for our care providers.

Do you have a safety plan? We ran a poll not long ago and asked Care.com members, “What does your child safety plan include?” I was really, really surprised to find that nearly 20 percent of people who answered said they didn’t have one.

I wanted to write and encourage everyone to take some time over the next few days and set up a safety plan—for your children, your elderly loved ones, your pets, for everyone you care about. Taking a few minutes to plan now can make a world of difference to prevent accidents.

Interviewing Care Providers

When hiring a new care provider, make sure that you run them through emergency scenarios in their interviews and ask how they would handle them. You can also ask their previous employers how they handled a crisis, if any came up. It’s important to provide your babysitters, pet sitters, or elder care providers with guidelines, but you also want to ensure that they have good judgment in handling difficult situations. For advice on interviewing care providers, check out this Care.com article. Also, don’t forget to use the hiring safety tips that our Director of Product Management, Dee Zepf, just blogged about last month.

Emergency Checklists

Before leaving your loved ones or pets in the care of others, they should have basic safety and contact information in case of emergency. We’ve created some easy-to-use checklists for families (and care providers) to fill out so they’re prepared. Print them out, laminate them, and make sure your family and friends know where to find them—we keep ours handy on our home office wall.

Child Care Safety Checklist

Special Needs Safety Checklist

Senior Care Safety Checklist

Pet Care Safety Checklist

First Aid Training and Safety Certifications

There are also some safety skills that are great to have and pretty easy to learn—if you’re taking a certified training course, that is. Local chapters of the American Red Cross offer regular programs for First Aid and CPR. They even have created specialized training for care providers (These courses could be valuable learning experiences for parents, those of us who care for elderly relatives, and older children who sometimes watch younger siblings, too).

If your regular care providers aren’t certified, you might want to think about splitting the cost or paying for them to take a course. Or if you’re looking for a new care provider, either ask them about their certifications in the interview or include in your job post that you’re looking for someone with these specialized skills.

Let’s not forget about the pets, either! The ASPCA offers regular safety training for pet owners and professional pet sitters alike. Just visit their site, find your local center, and sign up for a class. You’ll be glad you did.

Safety and security is one of our highest priorities here at Care.com. To learn more, please check out our articles and resources sections which are loaded with helpful information for parents and care providers. If you haven’t seen them yet, there are links at the top page for each service. I definitely suggest checking them out.

And you can also see all the resource pages for each of our services here:

For those of you who do have a safety plan in place, what kinds of emergencies do you prepare for? And if you’re looking for a new care provider, would you be willing to pay a certified care provider more than someone who doesn’t have the same amount of training?

Comments

A. Begin by thinking of your home as a toxic waste dump. The average home today contains 62 toxic chemicals.
B. More than 72,000 synthetic chemicals have been produced since WW II.
C. Less than 2% of synthetic chemicals have been tested for toxicity, mutagenic or carcinogenic side-effects, or birth defects.
D. The majority of chemicals have never been tested for long-term effects.
E. An EPA survey concluded that indoor air was three to 70 times more polluted than outdoor air.
F.Another EPA study stated that the toxic chemicals in household cleaners are three times more likely to cause cancer than outdoor air.
G.The CMHC reports that houses today are so energy-efficient that "outgassing" of chemicals has nowhere to go, so it builds up inside the home.
H.We spend 90% of our time indoors, and 65% of our time at home. Mothers, infants, and the elderly spend 90% of their time in the home.
I. The National Cancer Association released the results of a 15-year study concluding that women who work in the home are at a 54% higher risk of developing cancer than women who work outside the home.
J. Cancer rates have almost doubled since 1960.
K. Cancer is the NUMBER ONE cause of death for children.
L. There has been a 26% increase in breast cancer since 1982. Breast cancer is the NUMBER ONE killer of women between the ages of 35 and 54. The primary suspects are laundry detergents, household cleaners, and pesticides.
M. Bleach is being linked to the rising rates of breast cancer in women, reproductive problems in men, and learning and behavioral problems in children.
N. Chemicals get into our body through inhalation, ingestion and absorption.
O. We breathe 10 to 20 thousand liters of air per day.
P. There are more than 3 million poisonings every year. Household cleaners are the NUMBER ONE cause of poisoning of children.
Q. Since 1980, asthma has increased by 600%. The Canadian Lung Association and Asthma Society of Canada identify common household cleaners and cosmetics as triggers.
R. ADD/ADHD are epidemic in schools today. Behavioral problems have long been linked to exposure to toxic chemicals and molds. Use of Ritalin has skyrocketed since 1990.
S. Chemical and environmental sensitivities are known to cause all types of headaches.
T. Labeling laws do not protect the consumer - they protect big business.
U. The New York Poison Control Center reports that 85% of product warning labels were either inadequate or incorrect for identifying a poison, and for first aid instructions.
V. Formaldehyde, phenol, benzene, toluene, xylene are found in common household cleaners, cosmetics, beverages, fabrics and cigarette smoke. These chemicals are cancer causing and toxic to the immune system.
W.Chemicals are attracted to, and stored in fatty tissue. The brain is a prime target for these destructive organics because of its high fat content and very rich blood supply.
X. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has found more than 2500 chemicals in cosmetics that are toxic and cause tumors, reproductive complications, biological mutations, and skin and eye irritations.
Y. Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, circulatory disorders, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, and hormonal problems are diseases commonly related to chemical exposure.
Z. Pesticides only have to include active ingredients on the labels, even though the inert (inactive) ingredients may account for 99%, many of which are toxic and poisons.