Conference moira::parenting

    Good for you John remembering the Heimlich training and using it on
    your son to save his life.  I have also taken this and a first aid
    course through Digital and out Red Cross in Leominster offers the
    courses along with the Hospital.  I need to get recertified but haven't
    found time to registar for the classes.
    
    Again Congratulations on remembering such a usful procedure for saving
    a childs life, especially your own son.
    
    
    Liz

An 1-day infant CPR course, hands-on with our own private dummies, was 
organized here at our site by facilities.  They tought all kinds of tricks 
about auto seat belts, choking, CPR, mouth-to-mouth, heimlick (sp?) etc... 
especially made for children (up to 8 years old).  There are special methods 
for infants under 1 year old.

I was surprised that only 8 people showed up (40$ each).  I personnally had a 
few close calls with my 3-year old and if something ever happens again, I 
know I'll be ready to do something as opposed to sitting there watching them 
choke and wondering if this *IS IT*.

It is recommended to take such a course every year as a lot of the stuff 
learned is forgotten quickly.

One tip:  Never feed peanut butter toast/bread to a child under 3 years of 
age.  What many people do when the kid chokes on it is give them milk.  Milk 
makes the situation worse as it makes the bread expand in the airway causing 
the child to choke even more.

/Mario

    Thanks for the tip. What other things are choke hazards to a baby? I
    have an almost 1 yr old (wow!) son and I've been giving him table food
    for about 2 mos now. I take food and tear/cut it into small pieces. But, 
    he shovels every piece he can into his mouth before chewing/shallowing. 
    The only thing he's really had a problem with is bread. I guess it all 
    glued togther in his mouth and formed a ball too big to fit down his 
    throat. He choked and it came up. It scared me for a minute. 
    
    As far as food goes, I've heard that raisins, popcorn and peanuts are
    choke hazards. Any others that people can add?
    
    thanks,
    Karen
    
                                               

    
    	I was perusing some material my OB's office gave me at my
    	first prenatal visit (only 22 weeks ago, aren't I on the ball ?)
    	and noticed that they are offering an infant/toddler CPR class
    	for $25 per couple.  Last time I saw such a class offered, it
    	was $25 per person.
    
    	I'm planning to take it with my husband within the next few months.
    
    	Karen
    

    My husband took the class (covering various age groups,etc) this
    year, and I am planning to have myself (and hopefully our sitter)
    attend one in the near future.
    
    One note about babies choking (a previous noter reminded me of this)
    there are some babies/toddlers that habitually choke/gag on food 
    and some that don't. I suppose those that are gagging more often
    have to be watched much closer when introducing new foods to. 
    
    Raw carrots are a thing to watch, we waited a long time before 
    we offered them to Charlotte (19mo) but she did very well (Alan 
    watched her like a hawk!) I am still leary of some foods.
    
    Monica

    Balloons, inflated or not can cause problems.  I've always been
    more than cautious with balloons (I was a near-death suffocation
    baby, myself) and my kids generally have learned not to accept
    balloons from people (it's amazing to me how often we encounter
    people giving away free balloons; hairdresser, doctors, grand 
    openings, etc.).
    
    If the kids want a balloon (usually they don't), I make sure I
    watch them at all times.  They are not allowed to get it near their
    face and especially their mouth. 
    
    A balloon that breaks in the mouth can lodge in the throat, creating
    a danger that is tough to undo. As the child attempts to suck in 
    air, the balloon moves closer to the lungs. All the while making
    breathing difficult at best.  
    
    BTW, peanut butter sandwiches should always be made with butter or 
    margarine to help the bites slide down the throat.  
    
    Jodi-

I totally agree with the balloon story, unfortunately, everytime we go to 
some kid's event, they ALWAYS have balloons and our kid will take a fit if 
she doesn't get one.  Now, we showed her the trick of asking us to pop it for 
her and she likes it.  Gets rid of the problem once we get home.

Other tips:

Baby/infant car seats should always be put in the middle of the seat is in 
the back.  If there's an impact accident, the child is much less likely to be 
in contact with the impacted doors.  Also, you can see them more easily in 
the rear-view mirror.  They should NEVER be put behind the driver.

Hot dogs are very dangerous for choking.

Walkers - with wheels - are VERY dangerous and should NEVER be used unless 
you're in constant supervision of the child.  The paramedic teaching us the 
course still gets called on many cases of kids falling down the stairs in 
them.

Play pens with vinyl padding are dangerous.  Teething kids like to byte on 
the stuff and often choke on it.  Don't use them unless you're in constant 
supervision with the child.

Until the age of 1, infants should never have blankets in their cribs.  Some 
have died of choking by wrapping them around their necks.  Instead, dress 
them up warmer and/or turn up the heat in the room.

Some of this stuff may sound a bit exagerated but the paramedic giving us the 
course routinely gets called on emergencies because of them.

/Mario

We're expecting our first child this Feb.  My wife and I recently took an
infant/toddler Alert course - which included CPR - but it was not for
CPR certification.  The course was $25/couple.  My wife gets certified yearly 
for adult CPR (job requirement), and (as .0 said) she noted many things are 
very different for infant/toddler/adult situations.

There were only 3 other people in the course.  It was interesting to note that 
all 3 others were there because they recently had a scare with thier infant
or toddler.

Anyway, I recall one other problem food mentioned was hot dogs (sliced in
round coin shapes.)

The course (oh ya, it was called Tot Alert) covered many different subjects of
child safety - not just CPR.  To get CPR certified (including infants, toddlers,
and adults), another course (offered monthly, I think) by Umass Med Center
in Worcester costs $10.  Note that CPR certification lasts only for one year.

Dan

    I can't recommend enough taking an infant/toddler cpr course (or any
    cpr) course.  While I thank G-d I've never had to use it I feel better
    knowing that I know the right techniques and sometimes I've been poised
    to use it.  I took the course with a group of women from my prenatal
    exercise class, it was offered by the Franklin (MA) Lifesaver's and I 
    think it was only $8.  Unfortunately my husband couldn't attend the
    classes but he's read the books and he'll take it the next time it's
    offered.  Our class was pretty full, lots of pregnant women, daycare
    provider's and a few teenager's who babysat.
    
    Susan

If you can't get a course in the timeframe you want, some hospitals have
a tape that you can watch and a dummy that you can borrow to practice on.
And sometimes they have a nurse go through the whole thing with you. You
don't get certified, but at least you've seen it and had a chance to 
practice. I know that the Brigham & Women's NICU, which is where my kids
were, had classes regularly that they had parents take prior to taking the
kids home. In fact, it was a check-off item on the release paperwork, and
they started to ask about it once they started talking about sending 
Jessica home.  We took the class there, but they also noted that you could
review the tape as many times as you wanted -- all you had to do was ask.

Since Brad went to Winchester when Jessica got sent home, we got another
course there when he got released the first time (came home for a 2-week
vacation before going back in to Children's). And since he came home with
oxygen and a monitor and known problems, we also had our very own private
CPR course in our house til we were comfortable.  I also made my parents
sit through it as they were going to be around the kids a lot.

Digital offers the infant/child version once in a while. I managed to
get certified through that program, but my certification has since run
out and I need to get a refresher course.

Cathy

>Baby/infant car seats should always be put in the middle of the seat is in
>the back.  If there's an impact accident, the child is much less likely to be
>in contact with the impacted doors.  Also, you can see them more easily in
>the rear-view mirror.  They should NEVER be put behind the driver. 

Although this response does not belong in this note, to take it out of context
to the car seats note would be a little out of place. 

As strange as it seem, behind the driver is actually a preferable place to
behind the front passenger seat if you can't put the seat in the middle. Why ? 
Because the passenger's side of the car is impacted far more often than the
driver's side ... look at most of the cars you see that have had side impacts
on the doors and you'll see the passenger side impact far more than driver's
side.  Typically from someone coming out of a side turnings not looking. 

The only valid argument for not behind the driver is that you can't see
the child.

Stuart

    If you have Health Services on-site, give them a call.
    
    I just called the MKO office, and got into an adult CPR course. 
    
    They have a waiting list for the childrens CPR course. 
    
    

For the carseat discussion, please see topic 30.  If the carseat discussion
gets much longer, I'll move it there, not only to keep this one from being
sidetracked, but also to keep the car seat  discussion centralized in an
obvious place.

As for walkers, see note 371 for an extensive discussion with many opinions
on both sides.

Clay

	Yes, I highly recommend CPR as well.  There are 2 types of
	classes offered adult cpr and infant/child/adult cpr.  In
	Nashua they are offered at both hospitals Nashua Memorial
	and St. Joe's (American Heart) and the through the Red Cross
	of Nashua.  American Heart Assoc. certifies you for 2 years
	while the Red Cross recertifies people for only one year.
	I've been certified through both.  There are subtle differences
	in techniques, but both are good courses.

	The classes fill up quickly, especially the infant/child
	classes.  They are only $25 and my HMO REFUNDED the money
	so it was free!!!  I have MTHP insurance.

	Lynne

	Lynne,

	I believe AHA certification is only good for one year.

	I've had it now for 4+ years, and have had to be recertified
	each year.

	Karen

>>	Lynne,
>>
>>	I believe AHA certification is only good for one year.
>>
>>	I've had it now for 4+ years, and have had to be recertified
>>	each year.
>>
>>	Karen

Karen,

I was certified in Nashua, NH through AHA and it is valid for 2 years.
It was the second time I recertified through AHA and each time it was
for 2 years.  Maybe New Hampshire has different rules.  I think the 
2 year certification has relatively new, may 4 or 5 years.  I've
been certified for cpr for 15 years (because I was a lifeguard in
high school and college and now because I teach aerobics).

Lynne

	I guess it *does* vary from state to state.
	My card says I expire this year; I just recertified in August, 1993.

	Maybe I should move to NH ?

	;-)

The Right Start catalog sells a child first aid/CPR video for $19.95.  I 
purchased it and find it helpful.  I had taken a CPR course years ago so this
is a good refresher.  I think it will be good to have on hand and hopefully we'll 
view it occasionally. The video isn't entertaining, just straight instruction
done in a rather boring manner.  I don't like the narrator but didn't find him
so bad it interferred with me getting the information.  I do think I got the 
program's message and that's most important. 

I don't think this is a replacement for a first aid course, but a good enhancer
and definitely better than nothing if you aren't up for taking a course.

Kathy

    CPR cards are generally only good for ONE year.  As an EMT I am
    required to re-cert annually in addition to 28 hours of continuing ed
    and a 24 hour recert course one in the two year recert period.  
    
    I called the Worcester Redcross, and a complete course which is adult,
    child and infant CPR and choking was $75 for two nights, 4 hours each. 
    This is NOT a refresher, but a complete course.  I did get it through
    Central Mass EMS an association which provides inservice training to
    emergency medical personnel.
    
    RE:  the peanut butter sandwich discussion, I had a medical emergency
    call a couple years ago.  A 2.5 year old girl choked to death on a
    plaing peanut butter on white bread sandwich.  We literally could do
    nothing for her, the bread and PB could not be moved, it literally
    stuck to her throat, I still become upset when recalling this call.
    We couldn't even get an airway down the child's throat!
    
    As an opinion, I would prefer seeing parents do a real course, even if
    it is only a Community type CPR/choking course than to try to
    self-learn CPR using a video.  with a video you really can't tell if
    you are doing compressions correctly, or even have your hands
    positioned in the right place.
    
    Central MASS EMS (I have no connection to them) will do a CPR course
    for minimal fees for anyone needing a full refresher.  All I had to do
    was find two or more people willing and a place to have it.  It cost us
    $25. each, again needs to be recerted each year.
    
    Lyn

    I was thinking of finding an infant CPR course in my area (Milford,
    Ma). Are there any other type of infant courses that my be helpful
    that anyone has taken (first care, child sickness classes etc)
    
                                          Alice