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• Study finds many grandparents out-of-date on child safety issues (clickondetroit.com)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)

 

Release of MCHL new ediition of Asthma in Children and Adolescents

From the National Network of Libraries of Medicine-Greater Midwest Region (NN/LM-GMR) news item:

The Maternal and Child Health Library at Georgetown University released a new edition of a knowledge path about asthma in children and adolescents, its prevalence, and its impact on homes, schools, and communities.  The knowledge path includes tools for improving asthma management and care and staying abreast of new developments in pediatric asthma research. The knowledge path can be used by health professionals, program administrators, policymakers, researchers, and community advocates to learn more about asthma, for program development, and to locate training resources and information to answer specific questions. Separate sections point to resources about environmental triggers, medications and monitoring, and asthma management in school. The knowledge path is available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/KnowledgePaths/kp_asthma.html. A resource brief for families accompanies the knowledge path and is available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/families/frb_asthma.html.

 

Related news article

Many with Asthma, Emphysema May Misuse Inhalers

Severe asthma in early childhood may lead to premature loss of lung function during adolescence and more serious disease during adulthood, researchers at Emory University School of Medicine report.

Breath sensor predicts an asthma attack the day before

Asthma’s Lifelong Impact on Health