The 10 Safest States for Kids
Boise, ID recently moved up a notch to second-best place in the country for business and careers, according to Forbes magazine That’s great news for working adults, but don’t assume that Idaho’s anywhere near any top-ten list when it comes to being safe for kids. For a state that boasts family values, we have a long way to go. The criteria: laws protecting our children.
Car Seat Safety
The Idaho Legislature finally closed it’s session last week, and House Bill No. 462 never made it out of the Transportation and Security committee. We blogged about it during the course of the bill’s life in committee. In fact, the bill never made it to committee discussion due to internal opposition. Unfortunately, Idaho is one of 12 remaining states in the U.S. that allow kids to be unrestrained in a moving vehicle.
Child Death Review
Idaho remains the only state in the nation with no system in place for reviewing child deaths. In fact, Sen. Patti Anne Lodge recently blocked legislation that would have created a system for reviewing these deaths. In a recent article, Lodge stated that she had concerns that parents could end up being charged for allowing what she says are normal childhood activities. She also said that Idaho can receive information from review panels in other states.
Child death statistics are important — it helps legislators and others use statewide data to determine the causes of childhood death and determine future laws, actions or education programs to reduce these numbers. Ironically, when the above-mentioned car seat legislation was being reviewed, committee members asked for Idaho-specific statistics, of which we had none.
Preschool Safety
And we have very few laws in place protecting our children in day care and preschools. For example, teachers aren’t required to be CPR-certified. I’d like to think that if my child is in school, surrounded by toys, learning tools and snack foods, that someone might be there to help them if they choked on an object.
10 Safest States (Idaho’s No. 24)
Finally, here’s a quick summary on Today’s article, which is based on a Parents magazine investigation into the 10 safest states for kids (don’t look for Idaho): “Having a law is essential, even if you wouldn’t dream of putting your preschooler in the car without a booster seat,” says Alan Korn, director of public policy for Safe Kids Worldwide, an advocacy group in Washington, D.C. “Not only does a law educate parents who might not be as safety-conscious as you, but it also makes it easier for you to handle protests from your kids. When my 7-year-old says he’s too big for a bike helmet, I just remind him that it’s the law. Argument over.”While no state has a perfect track record, Parents’ investigation turned up a top 10 ranking of those that are at least trying hard. If you live in these states, consider yourself lucky. Otherwise, read about why Idaho’s No. 24 on the list.
Some Good News
One good thing in all of this is our electrical code. By Jan. 2009, all new home builds will require a new electrical outlet that has a safety feature built in. It’s an outlet with “gates” built into the plug outlet, which allows a two-prong plug to pass, but not a single object like a paper clip.
Comments?
What are your thoughts about child safety in Idaho? Besides exercising parental common sense, what else should the state do to protect our children? What actions have you taken in your community? What more can we do?