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March is National Nutrition Month — not only for adults but little cuddlebugs too! I’ve posted an excerpt from our OHealthy archives which tells you all you need to know in feeding your child:

Helpful feeding information for your toddler:

The toddler (ages 1 to 3 years) phase can often be challenging when it comes to feeding. Several developmental changes occur at this time. Toddlers are striving for independence and control. Their growth rate slows down and with this comes a decrease in appetite. These changes can make meal time difficult. It is important for parents to provide structure and set limits for the toddler.

The following are suggestions to help manage mealtimes so that the toddler gets the nutrition he/she needs:

• Avoid battles over food and meals.
• Provide regular meals and snacks.
• Be flexible with food acceptance as toddlers are often afraid of new things.

Read more of the article Nutrition for Toddlers.

With all the time we all spend in our cars, it’s important to know how to keep your cuddlebug safe. Here are important “Car Safety” guidelines from OHealthy.

The importance of seat belts and car seats:

For children between the ages 14 and younger, unintentional injury-related deaths occur most often when riding in a car. According to the most recent statistics, among children ages 14 and under as occupants who were killed in motor vehicle crashes, 53 percent were not using safety restraints at the time of collision.

According to the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, children under age four who ride in motor vehicles unrestrained are twice as likely to die or suffer injuries in a car crash.

Car seats and seat belts MUST be used correctly to provide the best protection. The following are safety guidelines:

To read the complete article on more tips you need to know about car safety, visit OHealthy.

As we continue chatting about home  and auto safety, this month, we’re looking all over the home to provide you with safety tips. Fires in the home can spread quickly, so it’s important to devise a fire safety plan.

Here are suggestions to prepare for a fire emergency, courtesy of the U.S. National Safety Council:

• It’s best to sleep with the door closed. Teach children, in the event of a fire emergency, to feel the door for heat before opening.
• Create an escape route for each area of the home, and decide on a meeting point outside the home.
• Create a map that’s easy for everyone to read.
• Tell young children not to hide during a fire. Also explain that they shouldn’t be afraid of firemen — that firemen are there to help.
• Teach children to drop down and crawl beneath the smoke to escape the home.
• In low-level homes, make sure that bedroom windows open easily (aren’t painted shut), as they may be a secondary means of escape.
• Make sure that everyone in the house knows how to use an escape ladder.
• Explain that no one must ever go back into a burning building.
• Young children should know their last name, street address, and how to dial 911 from a neighbor’s house or cell phone.

Remember to storing harmful chemicals out of reach of young children.

When you think about how to make your home safer for your little ones, it may all feel so overwhelming. OHealthy’s article on “5 Home Safety Threats You Can Overlook” breaks it down to the first five you should tackle first.

You’re a careful parent who steers children away from things that could harm them. But hidden threats lurk in every house—sometimes where you least expect them. For safety’s sake, look through your home often. Keep an eye out for not-so-obvious hazards. Here are five of them:

Scalding tap water

“It is common for a home’s water heater to be set above 170 degrees, and this can cause a scald burn to a child in seconds,” says emergency room pediatrician Denise Dowd, M.D., of Kansas City, Mo. Scalding hot tap water causes 3,800 injuries and more than 30 deaths a year. A lot of victims are young kids.

Solution: Set your hot water heater to 120 degrees. Check a child’s bath water with a thermometer; aim for 100 degrees.

Unstable furniture

Each year, thousands of young kids are badly injured—and some die—when large TVs and heavy furniture tip over on them. Often, the victims were leaning on the furniture, climbing it, or pulling themselves up on it.

Solution: Double-check the stability of large furniture. Anchor bookcases, shelves, or bureaus to the wall. Get rid of items that may tempt kids to climb.

Window blinds

Hundreds of children have strangled to death after getting tangled up in cords or chains on window blinds. Window coverings sold before 2001 pose the most danger.

Solution: Fix older window coverings (see http://www.windowcoverings.org) or replace them with safer blinds. Move cribs, beds, and other furniture away from windows.

Poorly stored chemicals

Each year, more than a million children younger than 6 are poisoned by accident—and 30 die. Many poisons are found in the garage. There, “parents can unknowingly put their kids at risk by storing gasoline, lighter fluid, or other chemicals in old soda bottles or cans,” Dr. Dowd says. Kids drink the liquid, with tragic results.

Solution: Store harmful chemicals in their original, labeled containers—safely out of reach.

Home trampolines

Backyard trampolines send nearly 248,000 people younger than 20 to doctors and emergency rooms each year. Injuries range from sprains, broken bones, and cuts to neck and spinal cord injuries, paralysis, and even death.

Solution: Avoid use of home trampolines. In gym classes or competitive sports, use a trampoline only with strict adult guidance and supervision.

How safe is your home? Take the hazardous materials quiz now and find out!

What did you score? Share in the comments box below.