The First Steps to Putting  Child Dangers into Perspective:

Over the weekend, the news bombarded us with stories on how our children were at immediate risk of being run over by parade floats and in serious danger from “third-hand” smoking (chemicals left in furniture, etc, like when smokers have been there).  These may be dangers that can effect your children but how can we begin putting dangers into perspective.

Common sense gets shaky when scare stories play endlessly on the news.  You start questioning your own common sense.(Obviously, you could buy my book The Paranoid Parents Guide that is coming out in September) but we can take some basic steps.  First use your common sense, it is the cheapest child safety tool you have.

What are the odds  out of 74 million children in Ameica:
Remember when you hear statistics about some danger injuring 10 children, there are about 74,000,000 children in America. One child hurt is a tragedy but the danger may not be an immediate threat to every child in America.

Ten children hurt are ten too many but out of 74 million that is not an epidemic we need to fit with every dollar we have.  Even one hundred out of 74 million still does not make the danger a probability to effect your child.

• Make sure you aren’t panicking about your child’s vulnerability until you put the danger into perspective.
• Don’t spend hundreds or thousands on a device to stop a one in ten million threat.
• Fix the important dangers, not the most highly publicized.

There is not a parade float or a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day balloon of Under Dog stalking your child.  Don’t cancel going to the Fourth of July town parade, just keep an eye on your kids, especially if they are rushing out to pick up candy.  Yes, floats have blind spots but so do SUVs in the school parking lot, or buses.  Third-hand smoke, the statistics aren’t in on that.  But smoking is the cause of most fires that kill and injure kids.  Stop smoking.

Be strong.  Don’t let your common sense be challenged.