My Children Are Safe (1973)

foreign foreign [Music] Rachel when I take you out of your playpen Rachel I want to be certain that you stay away from the range because it's very hot understand I think not you see Rachel is at that tender age when she is totally dependent on the protection on the care of someone else the proper attention she will mature and education will supersede the need for protection but right now Rachel is simply getting her first lesson in education her name she knows what it means soon there will be other important life-saving words for her to learn words like no no Cindy we don't touch mother's art objects let me get you something of yours to look at Linda and Charles Robb daughter and son-in-law of the late president Lyndon Johnson are examples of concerned parents they mix practical experience with information from the national Safety Council and the American Academy of Pediatrics to safeguard their children Lucinda and Kathy we try to keep hazardous items out of the reach of the children but there are many things such as art objects that we have to keep low and those things we tell the children please don't touch when the age of reasoning starts usually past two years old children can start their education in safety before that I've taught them the meaning of no and hot after age one they usually understand those words I use no most frequently here in the living room is more pertinent in the kitchen I think this is the most dangerous place in the house I'm busy working and cooking in here and having time to play with the children so we organize some of their prey things toys crayons or whatever have them sit down in their place in the kitchen we've created a control situation the range is a problem we try to tell the girls it's hot don't touch in the kitchen we check to make sure they're never dangling or defective cords about the kitchen equipment the national Safety Council recommends that Skillets and the light be put on back burners tablecloths shouldn't hang Within Reach they say it's always best to keep dangerous products Out Of Reach we keep our dangerous household chemicals in a locked cabinet we also keep our Knives Out Of Reach and a special rat which requires adult thought to remove an eye of course there is the risk that children will pull chairs up to the range I simply do my best to tell them not to touch [Music] an infant is utterly dependent on his parents for everything he needs love food shelter and protection the overwhelming majority of parents fulfill these responsibilities accident prevention is the most tragic exception Phil Dykstra of the national Safety Council suggests ways parents can make sure infants are as safe as they should be with Protection Plus there is no totally foolproof way of protecting young children from accidental injuries in the home but it is possible to minimize the chance of such injuries by eliminating potential hazards giving children this extra margin of safety is what we call Protection Plus for example Protection Plus means covering electrical outlets so that children can't insert hairpins or other sharp objects into those openings and shock or burn themselves it also means storing matches and cigarette lighters out of sight and Out Of Reach of children gravity always seems to be tugging at the seat of a toddler's pants minor bumps and bruises are all part of his education but as soon as he starts to climb teach him the dangers that are involved keep the crib sides up never leave infants alone on beds or chairs install gates at the top from the bottom of stairways until the child has learned to negotiate the stairs in a safe manner ever notice how kids love to explore the house both with their hands and their mouths keep all poisonous products Out Of Reach of tiny hands use only non-toxic paint on Cribs toys and any other objects that children chew on be especially careful with safety pins they are a common cause of infant injuries have a definite storage place for toys and teach your children early to keep their toys in that place keep stairs and Floors clear of tripping hazards make sure that all throw rugs have a non-skid backing Protection Plus also means educating the child not to run in the house he should be taught word association such as the hot which Mrs Robb described this helps your children respect your warnings remember your kids will always be kids but they'll grow up safely if you help them with Protection Plus one way of protecting our girls is latching our doors we have matches which are high enough so only Chuck and I can reach them aesthetically the latches leave something to be desired but it means that I can keep certain rooms closed off without worry the downstairs is a relaxation and Recreation Area once when our girls were much younger we had people over for dinner and Lucinda managed to turn on a range because we never used it we forgot it was a working range we had left a wooden bucket on top fortunately it didn't catch fire the smell was something else we immediately removed the knobs and now if we want to turn this range on we have to locate the knobs another dangerous area is the laundry area here again we try to keep the dangerous objects High the iron is kept Out Of Reach and unplugged except when they mute they usually iron when the children are asleep or in school and not here to touch and explore a TV set rests on a platform well beyond the reach of curious hands with the television raised we don't have to worry about the girls pulling at the knobs or exploring the back of the set in the children's room I try to keep toys down at a play level so the children don't pull toys down on themselves when the children were under one-year-old we gave them squeak toys sturdy non-flowerable rattles washable stuffed dolls with embroidered eyes colored balls cups are smooth non-breakable objects to chew on at age one or two we handed them rubber or washable squeak toys soft stuffed dolls and they started playing with blocks with rounded corners and pushing Pro toys with strings or rounded handles later at the explorative age two to three the girls had wooden animals cars and wagons to push around tip proof Kitty cars and tricycles large crayons low rocking horses and simple musical instruments we avoided anything with sharper rough edges or with removable parts at ages three to four we introduce them to small brooms toy telephones dolls with simple wraparound clothing doll buggies and furniture dishes miniature garden tools trucks and tractors we try to see that the toys are well made malt breaker splinter we also try to avoid toys which are too heavy for the girls looking at this room full of toys makes me mindful of just how dependent we parents are on industry to take the initiative in making their products safe to handle why are children so susceptible to accidents the predominant factor is the failure by most of us to recognize children's rapid physical and intellectual changes and to take basic precautions Daniel hurson president and chairman of the board of Acacia Mutual Life describes the concern of one of America's life insurance companies about planning for the safety of our young I and most of the employees of my company and certainly the majority of our policy owners are parents so as parents we can appreciate in a very real and a very personal way the tremendous help that we receive when we are able to prevent accidents occurring among our young children certainly it's to the best interest and to the business interest of a life insurance company when we can prevent premature deaths and when we can extend and prolong the span of life in our company a mutual company the policyholders are the owners of the business and they benefit directly from the savings which occur when we are able to reduce accidents and to prolong the span of life but our real concern arises from a basic need for the dissemination of much more public information on the prevention of accidents among our young children the robs as young parents are certainly an inspiration and remind me of when my boys were growing up the American free enterprise system is today more tuned than ever to its social responsibilities and certainly the prevention of accidents to our young is a part of that responsibility my company's View is the same concern that those of us who our parents have the safety and Welfare of our own children The Physician is also concerned about eliminating senseless infant accidents Physicians are taking an active interest in community accident prevention and education working with women's clubs and many other community organizations all this activity and concern for what well that Rachel might grow stronger and more independent but she and the millions of other infants will grow older and rely more on their own education instead of constant adult protection Robert Louis Stevenson said that youth is wholly experimental he was right there's an entire world waiting for young people to explore let's have the wisdom to anticipate our children's wants by removing potential hazards we can provide the climate for them to mature in safety for even fear of Senseless oversight [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music]