Safety And Health

In our Safety and Health section for parents get all of the information you need to ensure that your children stay as safe and healthy as possible.  Below we have provided a list of resources vital to keeping your child safe such as listings on where to find information on product recalls, poison control centers, allergy information, doctor listings, nutritional information, safety information, and even emergency dental services. 

Also check out our many articles on child health and safety like dealing with illness like common colds, nutrition, winter safety, summer safety, pond safety, water safety, crib safety, fire survival, pesticides, animal safety, street smarts, pedestrian safety, and more. And find out why car air bags are not safe for your child.

Resources - Product Recalls

CBC's Marketplace Recall and Warning Centre
Canada's most comprehensive list of consumer alerts featuring
children's products recalls, health, food, vehicles, and home recalls and warnings, etc.

National Safe Kids Campaign - Product Recalls
You can check for product recalls from the past three months on Safe Kids. Recalls are arranged in reverse-chronicological order, with the most recent listed first.

Consumer Reports Recalls - Children's Products
A large list of product recalls of children's products sorted alphabetically. The site also offers advice on what to do and who to call if you have a defective children's product. Click here for more details.

Where to call if you have a complaint.
If you have questions about a specific car-seat model, you can call the NHTSA auto safety hot line, 1-888-327-4236, or check its Web site (www.nhtsa.dot.gov) for recalls.

To report an unsafe product or get recall information, call the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Council (CPSC) hotline,1-800-638-2772. Consult its web site (www.cpsc.gov) for up-to-date recall data.

Top Resources - Child Abuse

Childhelp U.S.A.
Child Abuse Hotline 1-800-4-A-CHILD® (Canada and the U.S.)
Staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by degreed professional counselors who have access to a database of over 55,000 emergency, social service, and support resources. Accessible throughout the U.S., its territories, and Canada. Technology makes possible communication in 140 languages, as well as the hearing impaired through TDD (1-800-2-A-CHILD.)

State contact numbers for reporting child abuse and for more local information.

Kids Help Phone - Canada
1-800-668-6868 (For Kids)
Abuse - For kids - a explanation of what abuse is and to help
them understand where to get help.
For Parents - A Guide To Understanding Abuse & Harassment For Parents & Guardians (A well detailed outline of everything a parent need to know about child abuse.

Child Abuse - Resources For Teachers
A valuable resource from the Association of Childhood Education International on dealing with child abuse and all its facets, from suspecting abuse to when a child talks about abuse, and so on. This is a .pdf file well worth downloading.

Resources - Health

The Canadian Paediatric Society has developed a new Web site! Caring for Kids is designed to provide parents and child care providers with information about their child's health and well-being. Because the site is developed by the Canadian Paediatric Society, the voice of Canada's 2,000+ paediatricians, you can be sure the information is reliable.

American Academy of Pediatrics
The site is chock-full of valuable information for parents and child care providers.

Canadian Health Network
CHN is designed to help you find excellent resources from non-profit health information providers across Canada, as well as key international resources.

Find a Doctor at DoctorDirectory.com (U.S.) (New)
Need a doctor? Check here for a list of doctors in your state or city.
List is nicely broken down by specialty to make your search easier.
For example: Find a Pediatrician with this link.

Find a Doctor on Healthy Canadian.com (New)
Not a complete list but the best we could find. Site promises to ad new provinces.

Kids Health
This site contains a ton of information on a variety of child health issues. Special sections for parents and kids.

Children's Health Development Foundation
Provides comprehensive child health resources for schools and other settings. While their focus is on South Australia, they believe their information they provide will be of interest and relevance to the global health and education community. Rightly so...too much great information here on a lot of topics of interest to parents, caregivers, and educators not to pay them a visit.

Resources - Nutrition

Netquote.com
Dole 5 a Day Program
Everything you need to get your kids excited about eating fruits and vegetables is presented here. The Dole Food Company's 5 a Day Program is a must visit for all parents and caregivers. It's just too much fun to pass up...lot's of great resources, recipes, and so much more.

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture - Child Nutrition Home Page
Information on the Child Care Food Program, National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Special Milk Program and more. The program was designed to ensure children in child care settings have access to healthy meals and snacks. Day care centers and home day care providers can participate in the programs.

The Child Care Nutrition Resource System
The Child Care Nutrition Resource System provides you with recipes, resources and information on preparing nutritious meals and food safely. Contains lots of resources, some for free, including
a fun Food Guide Pyramid For Young Children. Provides links to other valuable resources.

Life Threatening Food Allergies in School and Child Care Settings
From the British Columbia Ministry for Children and Families, this is a guide that should be included in every daycare, dayhome or school resource library. (.pdf file. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here for a free download.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency - Food Safety Facts
This Web site has an exhaustive list of food safety facts on a variety of topics from picnic to the kitchen, from bagged and box lunches, to barbecuing, and everything in between. While you're their check out their online booklet: Food Safety and You.

Resources - Safety

Babyproofing Babyproofing Checklist
Only you can safeguard your children against injury. Unfortunately there are more dangers in the ordinary
home or daycare centre than most people think. For
the Love of Children Babyproofing Checklist can help
you identify potential hazards in your baby's world,
room by room.

Safe Kids Campaign U.S.A.
Safe Kids Campaign Canada
The SAFE KIDS Campaign is the premier resource for all aspects of childhood unintentional injury prevention. Safe Kids provides safety tips and resources on a variety of issues, product recalls, a special section for parents, kids and so much more. Well worth the visit.

Food Safety Net
Welcome to the Australian Food Safety education pages. Great resource for food safety tips, resource sheets, fun and games to teach kids about safe food, and a whole lot more.

The Kierra Harrison Foundation for Child Safety
The Kierra Harrison Foundation is a resource for people concerned about the the dangers in child care... child abuse... and missing and exploited children.

CTTC 2001 Toy Report Online
Every fall, the Canadian Toy Testing Council publishes the results of its year-round toy evaluations in the information-packed TOY REPORT, which provides descriptive, analytical comments on all the toys tested. Each listing includes the name of the toy and its manufacturer, model number, price range, CTTC rating ("One Star", "Two Stars", "Three Stars", "Novelty" or "Not Recommended").

National Program for Playground Safety
NPPS promotes the safety of playgrounds by serving as the national clearinghouse for playground safety information. They house the largest compilation of playground-related publications and documents in the nation, and share their information with communities, child care centers, park departments, parent groups, government officials, children's organizations, schools and other educators.

Resources - Dental Issues

America Dental Association's Kids Corner
Here you'll find games, information sheets, and answers to many questions you might have about your child's oral health.

American Dental Association's Tips for Teachers

Canadian Dental Association - Your Child's Teeth
Canadian Dental Association - Kids Section (lots of games and activities to teach children about dental health.

Saveyoursmile.com Dental Zone
Great resource for articles and tips of all sorts on dental health and your child.

Resources - Food Allergies and Special Diets

The Food, Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network

School Guidelines for Dealing With Students With Food Allergies

Food allergies can be life-threatening. The risk of accidental exposure to foods can be reduced in the school setting if schools work with students, parents, and physicians to minimize risks and provide a safe educational environment for food-allergic students.

Special Needs - Special Diets
Practical information on dietary modifications needed when a child has special dietary needs. Arizona Dept. of Health Services. The site has a lot of other valuable information for parents and caregivers on just about everything imaginable when it comes to nutrition and children.

Resources - Poison Control

American Association of Poison Control Centres 1-800-222-1222
Nationwide telephone number for poison control. Medical experts are standing by 24 hours a day,
7 days a week to: - offer emergency treatment advice, - answer questions about medicines and products, and - provide information about poisons in your home, outdoors, or at work. This number works anywhere in the United States -whether you're calling from your home, your vacation spot, or your car. Local State Poison Control Numbers

Poison Control Numbers in Canada

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
This site covers every health topic imaginable from A-Z.