Many Grandparent Caregivers Unaware of Newer Safety Guidelines

Child held in a car seat by a five point harness (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

From the 21 October 2012 article at Science News Daily

 

The number of grandparent caregivers continues to grow, and while these older adults may be experienced in caring for young children, many are unaware of more recent safety and other recommendations — including those related to appropriate child sleep position, crib safety, car seat and walker use, according to research presented Oct. 21 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans.

According to the 2011 American Community Survey, an estimated 2.87 million grandparents are the primary caregivers to their grandchildren — a nearly 20 percent increase since the year 2000. In the study, “Grandparent Caregiver Knowledge of Anticipatory Guidance Topics,” researchers attended regularly scheduled Grandparent/Kinship Care support groups. Forty-nine participants completed a 15-question survey that addressed common pediatric safety and anticipatory guidance topics for children of all ages.

When asked, “What is the best position for a baby to sleep in?” 33 percent of respondents chose “on the stomach;” 23 percent, “on the side;” and 43.8 percent, “the back.” The AAP recommends that infants be placed to sleep on their backs to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). When asked about correct car seat positioning, 24.5 percent responded that a 22 pound, 9 month-old child should be facing forward, and yet the AAP recommends that children remain in a rear-facing car seat until age 2….

 

Related articles

• As Grandparent Caregivers Increase, Many Are Unaware Of Newer Safety Guidelines (medicalnewstoday.com)
• Study finds many grandparents out-of-date on child safety issues (clickondetroit.com)
• More grandparents fill caregiver role (eurekalert.org)
• 5 common car-seat mistakes (bankrate.com)