Today we have the presence of Mari Ángeles Miranda, a woman who for a long time has struggled to make society aware of the rate of child accident, in order that among all of us we are able to articulate the measures that would make its prevention possible, and consequently the protection of hundreds of girls and boys. I am grateful to M. Ángeles, not only because whenever I ask her for a collaboration she accepts the challenge, but also (and not only as a mother) because she never tires of making visible, and of “giving us a slap on the wrist” when it is necessary. Not in vain there is a lot of talk lately about "unintentional injuries" instead of "accidents", since it is not a matter of fortuitous events (despite its unintentionality) but the result of carelessness or neglect, and therefore preventable.
M. Ángeles is a preventionist, and as she herself specifies, "only for children". Its main objective is to "reduce the rate of childhood injuries" and educate in order to achieve a society with a more preventive culture. With the motto "sow awareness to gather prevention" it is recognized "infected" by the virus of self-protection. Our guest today is a consultant and child safety trainer and although it is difficult to summarize her professional activity in a few lines, I will try: she audits spaces in which a child can develop (from homes to educational centers, through hotels, etc. .), disseminates knowledge through its two blogs (and through collaborations with other written media), participates in the AEN / CTN 172 / SC4 Technical Standardization Committee, writes books; and his work is carried out in Spain, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Well, I'm sure he left me something, and I would like to ask you: "Where do you get the time, M. Angeles?", although I am not going to wait for your answer, but I am going to present you the interview that we have had.
And by the way, before continuing, it goes without saying that I have intentionally chosen these dates to publish the interview, because during school holidays (as the interviewee herself will explain) the number of child accidents increases. And now yes:
The media coverage of childhood accidents is scarce
Madres Hoy: Tell us about the child accident rates in our country, is the number of children who suffer them worrying? Has the incidence changed in recent years? Do you think we are more aware of the need to prevent accidents in all areas?
M. Angeles Miranda: Every time you read a report with statistics that leads to headlines such as "In 2014 149 children under 15 years of age died in Spain from injuries of all kinds" you must remember that in Spain there is NO record of child accidents, or at least NOT in all the types of injuries. As an example of this statement, I will tell you that the drowned minors are counted manually, that is, when the media inform us they are pointing, this "precariousness" affirms that the data is not real or objective. A single child who died from preventable causes is very worrying for me, which depends on how you have died or injured whether or not it is taken into account for the statistics should also concern us.
In any case, if the (supposed) figures and headlines serve to create more preventive awareness, welcome! For our part, we are going to continue the line that we believe is effective, and this is confirmed by families and professionals: to offer effective solutions adapted to our society, suitable for all audiences and that manage not only to avoid accidents at the time, but also , create a preventive culture from childhood to achieve a society much more aware of its safety and that of others, as one of our slogans says: Sow awareness, collect prevention.
MH: At home or on the street? Where do children get more accidents?
MAM: If we do cases of the "statistics" should tell you that in the car forever! Perhaps this is the case, but we question it if we take into account that precisely the DGT SI keeps a record of minors who died in cars and of the injured classified according to the nature of their severity.
In addition, the media do echo this news, but it is evident, because it is a reality, that children spend more time at home than on the street (and more with the arrival of screens in our childhood, although this should also be different, but it is another topic of long discussion), and Many accidents also occur in school during school, but finger amputations are not newsUnfortunately, they come to us directly from families and they hurt us as much or more because of the scarce media coverage.
In Spain there is NO record of child accidents, or at least NOT in all types of injuries
MH:Keep in mind that we are in winter and the children are on vacation; That is very good news (we spend more time together, they are freer…) but especially with the little ones we will have to be more aware, right? And by the way, in which room of the house do the most child accidents occur?
MAM: On vacation child accidents increase (going back to the figures, they say 20%) so we must increase the "dose of prevention", prevention well understood of course.
For example, and bringing together the little ones (under 2 years old) and spaces where more accidents occur (the kitchen), what prevention measures can I include?
- I can close the access to the kitchen.
- I can adapt a part of the space to your needs.
- I can educate in prevention.
Taking advantage of vacations to spend more time with our children is also prevention because being with them I am aware of the risks, I supervise them and I can take advantage of specific moments to instill a preventive culture as the child has a sufficient cognitive level, for example by jointly preparing Christmas snacks while we detect the risks and teach them to do it correctly.
How much time do we spend teaching them to give thanks, to ask please, to tie their shoelaces, and how much time do we spend on self-protection? Has anyone ever considered playing with their children to protect themselves from a fire? To find an escape route that will take us to a safe place? And outside the home, to interpret the evacuation plan that "decorates" all the hotel doors? I invite you to take a moment this vacation to create a culture of prevention.
MH: Let's continue with domestic accidents, carelessness, houses poorly prepared for babies and young children, lack of information on prevention, ... what are their main causes?
MAM: The arrival of a baby at home causes a series of inevitable changes: we decorate their room, ours, we acquire everything the baby may need, we inform ourselves, we advise each other, but child safety is always excluded from the “birth lists” ( except for the car seat which is "mandatory").
In 90% of the families that ask me for an audit for their home, they do so when something serious has happened or they have detected the imminent risk in their home or at the home of their grandparents. The remaining 10% are families with a preventive culture where a child safety audit® at home is the most normal thing in the world. Beyond information (not always reliable) child safety should be present in every home to avoid:
- Serious accidents (some with fatal consequences).
- The culture of no.
- Overprotection.
Homes adapted to child development are spaces where children do not require constant supervision, where they can fall and then get up.
Taking advantage of the holidays to be with our children is also prevention
MH: "Christmas, Christmas, sweet Christmas" Some of the campaigns of the National Association for Child Safety, are focused on preventing accidents on these dates. What measures should we take in those family gatherings in which we want to relax and allow the little ones to play together safely due to lack of attention? And speaking of attention, I know this is a difficult question to answer, but from what age can we trust that nothing will happen to them even if we are not looking at them?
MAM: As you say, at Christmas it is very common for children of different ages (and different needs) to meet in a home while the older ones enjoy long evenings.
As a basis, we could establish a "red line" of greater prevention with those under 36 months, due to the risk of playing with toys (or other household objects) that are small, removable, fragile or harmful to contact. It is important to remember that the responsibility lies with the adults: Children don't have to take responsibility for other little ones!
From here, there are several safe and fun alternatives that allow us to continue sharing with adults:
- Depending on what space allows us and the age difference between children, we can establish different play areas: one for the older ones and another for babies.
- It is also possible to establish game shifts (vigilance) by adults: from time to time a game manager is appointed to participate or help create games.
- It is highly recommended to prepare games previously suitable for all audiences where the little ones can play and interact without risk ... and if at some point the adults dare ... what better than Christmas to share all together!
I take this question to encourage family play, the screens (plugging in the children and unplugging them from the evening) are very popular throughout the year, it is Christmas: enjoy and let yourself be filled by the magic they transmit.
MH: The tree and the Nativity scene and in general the Christmas decoration with all those suggestive-looking elements that attract the attention of our children. A priori it might seem absurd to talk about it, but what to take into account so that ornamentation is compatible with security?
MAM: As absurd as preparing our home for the baby's arrival, hahaha! I don't pretend to be Kafka but I think he has all the common sense in the world!
Christmas decoration should be in the TopTen of children's curiosity, and as children's curiosity we cannot limit it because of how vital it is for their development, it is inevitable that ornamentation is the one that adapts to their needs.
Use ornaments:
- Large, that cannot be disassembled into small, unbreakable and non-toxic pieces.
- Lights with all the safety guarantees and avoid candles: the risk of fire is not only for children, it is for the whole family, that is why I cannot stop asking the Three Wise Men to give life this year with a smoke detector: the guardian of your family at Christmas and throughout the year.
- Keep those risky ornaments out of the reach of children, sorry I rectify: DO NOT USE THEM!
- Other risky ornaments that not everyone knows is the toxicity of the Easter plant, mistletoe or holly, replacing them for a few years with artificial ones will give the same festive air to our home but without danger for children and animals.
(Leaving them out of reach but in plain sight is a mistake, the child will do everything possible to achieve them increasing the risk both in case you access it and during access. At this point, I include those ornaments that are far from their reach but that are tremendously striking: Christmas lights, a Santa Claus climbing the balcony and also followed in single file by three Magi ... If we do not block properly windows and balconies we can have a serious dislike, because I insist: An older child will understand the risk but the baby will try to satisfy his curiosity).
The responsibility for the care of young children always rests with adults, not other children
MH: These are days of meetings and outings, of encounters and trips, and some of them are carried out in vehicles. Are we more careful in the use of CRS, compared to previous ones?
MAM: I want to think that yes, that in this aspect it has improved a lot but there is still a lot to do. The main problem in this sense is that on these dates we incorporate our children other children (family, friends) in our car and the so famous phrase of "total is here next door" can be very dangerous if it hides the excuse of do not take those children in an SRI. Let's appeal to all:
- Do not accept the responsibility of taking a minor in your car without SRI
- Don't let your child ride in a car without an SRI.
MH: Personally, I don't like crowds, although sometimes there is no choice. It seems even unnatural to walk into a crowded shopping center with young children, and on the other hand, going to see the Three Kings parade or other activities is both fun and a bit nerve-wracking. What advice can you give us to guarantee the safety of the little ones in these situations?
MAM: I share your taste for crowds, but as you say, sometimes we have to ... or not. The activities offered by both shopping centers and municipalities with their fairs and Christmas markets are unquestionably very appreciated by the children's public, of course the Parades are projected for the little ones.
But to what extent should we expose children to crowds? Surely we have all detected in some of these outings babies (barely months) who neither understand the meaning nor enjoy it, beyond child safety perhaps we must consider what kind of activities we should take our children since the The objective is always for them to enjoy themselves, to learn, but it is not necessary for them to be overwhelmed or frustrated because an activity is not suitable for their development.
When we go to events of great agglomeration of people with our children, we must establish safety and prevention guidelines, it is what we call in the management of child safety to be a strategist:
Do you dare to create a strategy?
Plan the outing, offering and locating the available resources in case someone gets lost and lost: a meeting point to meet, instilling in them that security professionals are there to help them. Also explain to them and make them participate in other protection measures: write down the phone number on the arm, wear an identification or geolocation bracelet, etc., no one knows your child better than you, no one better than you can anticipate their protection and education, and above all do not delegate to other people, it is your responsibility.
These would be a few minimum and summarized requirements, in terms of Shopping Centers from the parking lot to the stairs and elevators as well as within the shops, security also implies the example and as it is the norm of the house, take advantage of those moments to educate in Self-protection: we will have a fun time interacting, educating and avoiding risks derived from "I get bored and I have to explore."
There are two gifts that are not toys, namely: dogs and drones
MH: I think it is also very important to pay attention to the purchase of toys and other gifts. I don't want to abuse confidence, so let's just focus on the 0-36 month stage: give us some brief purchase and safe use recommendations, please.
MAM: Letting me talk about child safety is a gift, never an abuse!
Like nougat, the toys always come home for Christmas and with them safety, I always like to explain that in the same way that in our work the machinery we use has to be suitable for production and comply with safety requirements, the toy is the machinery of the essential work of children: playing. Would we work better with more equipment even if it was unsafe or did not give us the right result? Well, a child does not learn either and has more fun with many toys and without safety requirements:
- Few toys (experts in the field say no more than four)
- Appropriate to their abilities and skills, not those of their parents, each thing in its own time: a toy that is not useful for playing or that must be treated with care because it breaks is not a toy, it is a frustration for the child.
- That they really motivate the child to play, are adapted to their interests and motivations, let's remember at this point that the game does not understand gender.
Regarding basic security:
A toy is considered safe when, understanding the habitual behavior of a child, it does not endanger the safety of the minor and other people while using it.
Other requirements:
CE marked, but CE of European Community not CE of China Export.
The CE Marking (European Community):
- It is a commitment by the manufacturer to certify that the toy complies with all EU safety standards, standards on the other hand are among the strictest in the world.
- It effectively informs the consumer of the proper use and the risks in the event of not being used properly.
- It requires mentioning in all toys those that have passed the necessary tests to verify that they are or are not appropriate for children under 36 months.
Toys for children under 36 months, broadly speaking, should not be small or removable, include magnets, balloons or strings, movable parts that can cause entrapment, in the case of carrying batteries these must be totally inaccessible.
I am not going to extend much more but abusing trust I would also like that the safety of the play environment (the child's workplace) was taken into account and remember that there are two "toys" that are not: dogs and drones require a different responsibility in each case but adult responsibility in any way.
THANKS!
"Child safety should be present in all homes", I am left with this phrase, even if it is at the cost of ending the interview without highlighting so many other useful and necessary ideas that Mari Ángeles has given us, whom (by the way) you can follow on Safe Baby y Child safety. Briefly, because the credit goes to our interviewee, whom I consider an ally of families with children, and who has been contributing so much to me in recent years ...: I am delighted that you have accepted this collaboration, THANK YOU to you, and I wish you very happy holidays.