Giulia Simolo

Five Stroller Mistakes Parents Need To Avoid

Strollers might seem safe, but they can pose many dangers for babies. Shockingly, in the U.S. two children visit the emergency room every hour for injuries linked to infant carriers or strollers, according to a study by the Center for Injury Research and Policy of the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Many of these injuries are head injuries.

It’s very important to know how to use a stroller so that it doesn’t put your baby at risk. Here are five stroller mistakes to avoid.

You Don’t Use The Brakes

The stroller’s brakes are there for a reason. Although they might seem OTT, they’re really important to use, even if you’re only moving slowly. As outlined by Parents, it just takes a bump to the stroller, such as from an older sibling, for it to flip over, especially if you’re on an elevated surface.

If you have to take a call on your cell phone or find something in your handbag, always put the stroller’s brakes on first, even if you’re on a level surface.

You Cover Baby Up

Yes, it’s hot and you don’t want your baby to be exposed to the harmful UV rays so you cover the stroller with a blanket. But this can be dangerous. Your baby could become too hot, which is not just uncomfortable for them but can cause heat stroke. In addition, your baby could suffocate under the blanket, as Parents reports.

Make sure you only use a light blanket, and make sure you don’t cover the stroller completely because this cuts off air circulation. It’s a better choice to purchase a stroller with a canopy that will offer sun protection for your baby, so you can leave the blanket at home.

You Use The Cup Holder For Your Morning Coffee

It might seem like no big deal to use your child’s stroller’s cup holder for your hot cup of coffee, but this can easily become a freak accident. If this hot drink spills, it can burn your baby. Rather hold your takeaway coffee when taking your baby for a neighborhood stroll to avoid unnecessary accidents.

You Don’t Use The Harness

You might think, “Why should I strap my baby into the stroller when I’m just going for a slow walk with him?” Well, consider this. A 2002 study found that 76 percent of baby injuries from strollers were caused by babies falling out of them, as Baby Center reports.

You might not think your baby can fall out of their stroller if they’re snugly sleeping in it, but you’ll be surprised. You never know when they can slip or move, and if they’re not safely secured in the stroller, they could fall out of it.

You Jog Instead Of Walk

You might be in a hurry, so you increase your walking speed so that you’re basically jogging along with your baby in his stroller. It’s not safe! Not only can you trip, putting your baby at risk of injury, but your baby’s neck and core muscles need to have grown and developed so that he can handle all the bumps on the pavement, as Baby Center explains.

The site goes on to advise that you don’t use an off-road stroller or jog with a stroller until your child is at least eight months old. If your baby is over the age of two months, you can walk briskly, but make sure you’re walking on smooth surfaces and avoid picking up the pace.

Although recorded stroller injury stats are scary, it’s clear to see that many stroller-related injuries that occur can easily be avoided. Keep baby safe out there!

Sources: Eureka Alert, Parents, Baby Center

Editor’s Note: Giulia Simolo is a freelance content provider & writer for Daphyl’s LLC. Daphyl’s is a USA based multi-national world leader in safe, innovative, Licensed Rock N Roll, branded baby gear. The opinions, advice and assertions made in this article are for entertainment and information purposes only & are solely those of the author.

Important Things To Know About Kids And AI Devices

Artificial Intelligence is becoming much more common in the home. Take smart speakers, for example. Approximately 20 percent of households in the U.S. already own a smart speaker, as Statista reports. The most common ones include Amazon Echo, which is powered by Alexa, and Google Home. These devices are becoming more tailored to kids. They can play kids’ favorite songs, answer their questions about the world, and even help kids with their homework. But what are the risks involved?

You Don’t Engage With Your Kids

It might seem like a healthier idea to leave your kids with a smart speaker who can answer their questions about the world than with the TV, but this should never be done for long periods of time. Nothing compares to having quality time with your kid. In addition, if your children are spending time alone with these speakers, they could run into trouble.

Kids Might Make Unauthorized Purchases

The problem with kids using smart speakers is that the speakers are not solely designed for children. They have many adult uses. For example, smart speakers come with voice purchasing options. Google Home, for instance, merely requires that you add a payment method in the app and then you can place orders for items by asking Google Assistant for them. Now, imagine if your child gets a hold of it!

That’s what happened with a young girl in Texas, as CBS reports. The six-year-old was having a conversation with Alexa via Amazon’s Echo Dot about how she loved dollhouses and cookies, and ended up purchasing a four-pound order of cookies and a dollhouse costing $160. Since then, the family has set up a PIN code that has to be used before purchases via the speaker can be completed.

If you’re going to use a smart speaker in your home, it’s essential to change your settings so that your child can’t accidentally or intentionally buy things without your consent.

Kids Might Be Exposed To Harmful Content

Parental controls are a must to set up on these devices, as it’s really easy for kids to end up getting exposed to things that aren’t suitable for them. But there are still some loopholes. An example can be seen with music. A music app such as Spotify doesn’t have the ability to block certain songs that are age-inappropriate via smart speakers, as Southern Phone explains.

Smart Speakers Could Violate Your Privacy

The devices work by listening to your commands. They then record and upload what you say to the cloud. This is done to learn more about you so that the service can be tailored to your needs. But the process is troubling when it comes to issues such as privacy.

Since the devices are obviously tracking what you’re doing online as well as your conversations, they’re doing the same thing with your kids. The apps do have privacy settings, such as giving you the option of turning off the microphone, but as Common Sense Media states, the microphone comes back on when you ask for it which is a bit strange considering it wasn’t supposed to be listening to you!

Smart Speakers Get Info About Your Kids

Since you’ll have to set up a profile on the apps for your kid so that the devices will recognize his/her voice, you’re giving the companies a lot of information about your children, and this could include things you’d prefer to keep private. “The companies encrypt that data, and they don’t store it forever,” Common Sense Media explains. “But having that information “in the cloud” means it potentially could be used by third parties to whom you haven’t specifically given consent.”

This knowledge accumulation by the device is also worrying when you consider how children view the devices. A study that was published in the American Psychological Association found that when children interacted with a robot, they stated that they thought the device had feelings and was a social being. Some kids even felt that it could offer them comfort and be trusted with their secrets.

Kids Can Lack Social Skills

Talking to a device can make children battle to learn social skills. For example, Alexa doesn’t respond to tone, so if a child screams out a command or demands something rudely, he/she will receive a response. AI devices are trying to change that, though. For example, Google Home has a “Pretty Please” mode which requires children to say “thank you” or “please” in order to receive responses, and they’re rewarded for being polite with compliments. This can encourage children to learn not to be rude.

There are some benefits to letting your children use AI devices, such as that they can teach children about the world and entertain them. However, there are clearly quite a few issues to consider before you purchase one for your home.

Sources: Statista, Common Sense Media, American Psychological Association, Southern Phone, CBS

Editor’s Note: Giulia Simolo is a freelance content provider & writer for Daphyl’s LLC. Daphyl’s is a USA based multi-national world leader in safe, innovative, Licensed Rock N Roll, branded baby gear. The opinions, advice and assertions made in this article are for entertainment and information purposes only & are solely those of the author.