The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children encourages families to “Take 25“, to sit down with your children for just 25 minutes - talking to kids about ways to be safer. On their site you can find educational materials for parents, and tips on how to talk with your kids about these sensitive subjects.

They offer 25 tips to help you get the conversation started, including:

1. Teach your children their full names, address, and home telephone number. Make sure they know your full name.
2. Make sure your children know how to reach you at work or on your cell phone.
3. Teach your children how and when to use 911 and make sure your children have a trusted adult to call if they’re scared or have an emergency.
4. Instruct children to keep the door locked and not to open the door to talk to anyone when they are home alone. Set rules with your children about having visitors over when you’re not home and how to answer the telephone.
5. Choose babysitters with care. Obtain references from family, friends, and neighbors. Once you have chosen the caregiver, drop in unexpectedly to see how your children are doing. Ask children how the experience with the caregiver was and listen carefully to their responses.

Take 25 was started to commemorate National Missing Children’s Day on May 25th. First proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, the day serves as an annual reminder to the nation to renew efforts to reunite missing children with their families, remember those who are still missing, and make child protection a national priority. It’s a time of reflection and renewed hope for millions of families in communities across the country.

Additional Resources:

• Child Safety Resources for Parents & Guardians
• NetSmartz - Help keep your children safe online.

Take 25 minutes to visit the site right now.

“Mr. Yuk” was conceived in 1971 as the mascot for the poison control center at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. The original design was created by Wendy (Courtney) Brown, a grade-school student at a school near Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital.

As part of a contest held by the poison center, Wendy drew the now-familiar face, along with a stick-figure body that was not included in the finished sticker design. Her design won, and Wendy was compensated for her time and talent with a prize: a tape recorder. Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital now owns all exclusive rights to the Mr. Yuk design. It appears on small green stickers that can be affixed to any container of poisonous substance.

The Mr. Yuk stickers are bold and obvious. Mr. Yuk does not include details of the poisonous attributes of the contents. The logo itself is intended to be enough to dissuade children from ingesting the poisons.

You can request a free sheet of Mr. Yuk stickers by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to this address:

Mr. Yuk
Pittsburgh Poison Center 
UPMC
200 Lothrop Street
BIR 010701
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

http://www.chp.edu/CHP/mryuk

There are additional poison-prevention-education materials available at the Mr. Yuk web-store.

Some timely safety advice from Consumer Reports:

Last week’s hospitalization of more than a dozen children in Dallas and the recent deaths of seven Kentucky residents illustrate the real dangers of carbon monoxide.

Keep your family safe with the safety measures below as well as this advice.

Read the rest and see the safety video.

America’s suffering a deep freeze this weekend - and the risk of carbon monoxide related poisoning climbs as people try to stay warm. Much of America is unprepared for such low temperatures, with rarely-used and poorly maintained heating systems, chimneys clogged with debris or birds nests, or dead batteries in their carbon monoxide detectors. Others will try dangerous methods to stay warm, methods like using auxiliary heaters indoors.

According to JAMA, carbon monoxide is the leading cause of poisoning deaths in America. Carbon monoxide is odorless, colorless, and cannot be detected by people without the use of carbon monoxide detectors.

Carbon monoxide is a by-product of combustion, present whenever fuel is burned. It is produced by common household appliances such as gas or oil furnaces, clothes dryers, water heaters, ovens and ranges. A charcoal grill operating in an enclosed area, a fire burning in a fireplace or a car running in an attached garage also produce carbon monoxide.

How Does Carbon Monoxide Poison?

CO combines with hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying agent in the red blood cells. When oxygen is robbed from the brain and other organs, death can result. In addition, up to 40 percent of survivors of severe CO poisoning develop memory impairment and other serious illnesses.

Many cases of reported carbon monoxide poisoning indicate that victims are aware they are not well but become so disoriented that they are unable to save themselves.

But what do you do and who to you call when your carbon monoxide detector goes into alarm? The manufacturer of First Alert®, the leading brand of carbon monoxide detectors, recommends the following:

If the alarm goes off, turn off appliances, or other sources of combustion at once. Immediately get fresh air into the premises by opening doors and windows. Call a qualified technician and have the problem fixed before restarting appliances. If anyone is experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning: headaches, dizziness, vomiting, call the fire department and immediately move to a location that has fresh air. Do a head count to be sure all persons are accounted for. Do not re-enter the premises until it has been aired out and the problem corrected.

This weekend stay safe, err on the side of caution. Carbon Monoxide Detectors are available at most hardware stores and retailers like WalMart, Target, Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware, etc. They generally cost between $20 to $40 each - the more expensive ones have a digital readout to give you a real-time and highest-recorded PPM reading.