It’s Super Bowl Week! Lots of American buy TVs to watch the big game. Sometimes the old television ends up in a bedroom. There is one step in these purchases and moves that many families miss – anchoring the television. According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, 11,300 are treated in a hospital emergency room each year due to TV, furniture and appliance tip-overs. Some children don’t survive these tip-over incidents and 77% of fatalities involved children under 6

Parents ask us more questions about car seats than all other safety topics combined. Here are some of our most frequently asked questions with answers. 1) Do I really have to wait until my child is 2 to turn their convertible car seat around? Yes. And you don’t have to be in a hurry to turn them around at 2 years old. Wait until they reach the height and/or weight limit for rear-facing for the seat. 2) My child is tall, and their legs touch the back of the seat when

Chicago was once known as the “railroad hub of the nation”. Our city was able to grow and prosper as railroads sent people and goods all over the nation. These passenger and freight lines continue to run even today. In the Chicago area, residents have a lot of exposure to trains and train tracks. I live in a suburb with three active freight lines and a commuter rail stop. Sometimes the behavior of the young people in our community stops me in my tracks – ignoring gates that a

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently shared estimates of US motor vehicle traffic fatalities for 2022. The good news is that overall traffic fatalities declined slightly. The bad news is that fatalities have continued to rise in two key areas that affect children – cyclists and pedestrians. In fact, fatalities were up 8% among cyclists and 2% among pedestrians. Cars are much heavier and faster than cyclists or pedestrians so it’s incumbent on drivers to

Azucena Lopez is a Master of Public Health candidate at Northwestern University in the Community Health Research concentration. She is a Chicago native passionate about creating safe and healthy neighborhoods through conducting and applying public health research. Children and Guns “Is there an unlocked gun in your house?” Asking [SK1] about guns and safe storage can keep your child alive. Too often children gain access to a loaded firearm and tragically shoot themselves o

Dear Parent, Thank you for taking care of me and thank you for trying to protect me but I must ask you a favor... please avoid having a gun in the house where I am using all my senses to discover everything around me, and if you decide that my safety entails you buying one, please read the following numbers: · In 2019, there were 171 deaths related to firearms in the age group 0-19 years old in the state of Illinois. · In the age group 0-14 years old there were 17 deaths in

Since the stay at home order was issued in Illinois, I've been working remotely. Luckily, my home office is right next to the window. As I look outside, I'm seeing more and more kids riding their bikes. Most of the younger kids are wearing helmets, many of the older ones are not. Everyone and I mean everyone (little kids, big kids, teenagers AND parents) should be wearing one when they're riding. They are a really important safety device and can prevent brain injury in many

Many of us are spending a lot more time at home with our families due to social distancing measures and stay at home orders. Those of us...

I was at the doctor’s office the other day and happened up on the December issue of O Magazine. Of course, the first section I turned to was Oprah’s Favorite things. Immediately, I started looking up a lot of the great gifts for others and (who am I kidding?) myself. Lots of really good food, clothes, gadgets. That list inspired me to write a blog about some of favorite safety things. While I can’t recommend specific products, maybe you’ll be inspired to buy one for someone o

Guest Blogger - Rebecca Wear Robinson, Make the Minute Matter When the first snow hits before Halloween, you know it is going to be a cold winter. When you think of ice and snow, you don’t think of drowning, but you should. Lake Michigan may look frozen close to the shore, but those ice slabs are constantly shifting and changing. Rivers, ponds, drainage ditches - they all appear to be great for skating and sledding, but it’s impossible to tell whether the ice is thick enough