Adapted from samndan.com/child-safety/  Kids. They are masters of chaos, and they are our everything. For parents, guardians, and caregivers, keeping them safe is a daunting task and our number one priority.
     Unfortunately, accidents and injuries happen, and the most recent available statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are sobering.

• Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death among children and teens in the United States.
• Emergency departments treated more than 4.1 million children and teens for accidental injuries in 2020.
• More than 7,000 children and teens died from unintentional injuries in 2019.

    Although perfect safety is an impossible goal, you can significantly reduce childhood injury risks by following basic child safety practices. This guide provides critical recommendations, resources, and guidelines for keeping kids of all age groups safe in different environments.
Quicklinks

• Childproofing Your House 101
• Making School Safety a Priority
• Daycare & Preschool Safety Considerations
• Child Passenger Safety
• Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety
• Critical Water Safety Lessons

      As an example of some of the facts presented in the above quick links, check out these statistics.

• Child Passenger Safety Facts
• More than 600 child passengers aged 12 and under died in motor vehicle crashes.
• More than 91,000 child passengers were injured.
• 38% Of those 12 and under who died in a collision, were not using restraints.
• Compared with seat belt use alone, child safety seats reduce children’s risk of crash injury by 71% to 82%

         Water Safety Facts

• For children aged 1–4 years, drowning is the leading cause of injury and death.
• Drowning kills about 4,000 people per year.
• Drowning death rates for Native American and Black people are 2.0 and 1.5 times higher than the drowning death rates for white people. 
  
• To avoid becoming another statistic, check out the CHILD SAFETY GUIDE on the website of Meirowitz & Wasserberg, LLP. Follow the link at samndan.com/child-safety/
  

By Cheryl Conklin, guest columnist
[email protected]

Remote working can be a blessing. Remote working with kids? Not so much. If you’re trying to balance a professional life with a newborn baby or toddler, you’ll need to get resourceful - here are a few of our best strategies to help.
1. Set Realistic Goals
When you’re dividing time between work and a baby/toddler, it’s unlikely that you’re going to be able to put in a (good) 8-hour shift. With this in mind, try to set more realistic targets so as not to invite feelings of disappointment and frustration. This could mean segmenting larger projects into smaller, more manageable tasks and setting new, attainable standards of quality. With the right compartmentalization, you may even find you’re achieving more in the aggregate.
 2. Be Comfortable
Considering the range and variety of tasks you’re spreading yourself over throughout the day, it pays to pick clothes in the morning that you know will be comfortable. For new moms, this could mean opting for a dress with soft, stretchable fabric and a nursing panel (this is useful for nursing and pumping away from home). Hoodies and tracksuits also make for warm, flexible choices, and you won’t worry about getting them messy. If you have meetings and need to jump on a video call, the ‘work mullet’ has proven effective ever since the beginning of the pandemic.
3. Toy Management
One of your best assets when it comes to juggling working and parenting are the toys your child can play with independently. It’s important, therefore, to think strategically about when you’re providing access and to which items. Having everything available all at once could quickly prompt distraction and stimulus overload, leading to trouble. Instead, try to stagger access throughout the week, with toys on a constant rotation.
4. Screens
On that same note, we have screens. Almost all parents in the 21st century utilize them at some point, but too many cartoons can create unhealthy dependency or problems of a different nature. Instead, save this past time for when it’s absolutely essential that your child stay occupied - during work meetings, for example. With tactical usage, you can avoid creating an addiction and still reap the greatest benefits of their being otherwise absorbed during critical work times.
5. Bring In Support
If you have friends, family, or significant others who can or want to help out, don’t be shy about reaching out - as they say, it takes a village to raise a child. When someone says, “If there’s anything that I can do, just let me know,” don’t be shy about bringing in support. Extra hands can be crucial if you want to keep your child stimulated without dropping your work performance. If you don’t have anyone available in your immediate social circle, it can sometimes be worth hiring extra hands (such as cleaners) to carry out the menial tasks and lighten the load.
6. Prioritize
Ultimately, your kids are the priority. If you’re overloaded with work, you may need to plan in advance when and how you’ll spend time with them. Use your active listening skills to understand their feelings and then problem-solve with them to come up with do-able options. This could mean reading bedtime stories, including them in chores, planning days out, or simply joining them for playtime. Priortizing and a spot of organizing are often the solution for a better work/life balance.
 
Parenting is full-time, whether you go out to work, but especially when you’re trying to earn a living at home simultaneously. If you want to manage both and stay sane in the process, you’ll need to think tactically about time and plan your routine well in advance.
 
Dr. Robinson is a Christian psychologist, author, radio personality, and speaker who provides biblical resources and practical tools for better mental health, family life, and parenting. Learn more about his work at: www.thereformykids.com

     Bullying often happens at school, and children who wear glasses are common targets. It can be verbal, physical, or both, and it often happens at school.
Bullying involves a power imbalance, which can be real or perceived. It also involves unwanted and aggressive behavior, repetition, and the potential to be continually repeated.
     Maltreatment can negatively impact a child, resulting in declining grades, lower self-esteem, social withdrawal, mental health concerns, and self-harming behaviors.
Educating children on the harm of bullying, and when to step up and help someone, can help to prevent bullying. There are many resources available to help children who are experiencing bullying.
Information on Childhood Bullying & Glasses Just over 20 percent, or one out of every five students, reports being bullied. A major reason for being the victim of bullying is physical appearance.
     Wearing glasses as a child can increase the risk of being bullied. A study shows that pre-teens have a one-third greater risk of being bullied when they wear glasses or an eye patch. Glasses are commonly perceived by young children as not attractive, and this can make someone who wears them a target for bullying.
     Bullying involves intentional, unwanted, and repeated aggressive behaviors along with a real or perceived imbalance of power. It frequently happens among school-aged children.
Statistics on childhood bullying show the following:

• Verbal abuse is most common; 13 percent of those bullied report being called names, made fun of, or insulted, and 12 percent report having rumors spread about them.
• Sixth graders are bullied most often; 31 percent report being bullied.
• Girls are bullied more than boys: 23 percent versus 19 percent.
• Race and ethnicity can play a role; 25 percent of Black children, 22 percent of Caucasian children, 17 percent of Hispanic children, and 15 percent of Asian children report being bullied.
• Bullying can also occur online; 10 percent of children bullied report being cyberbullied.

   Verbal harassment is the most common form of bullying (79 percent); social harassment is second (50 percent); physical bullying comes next (29 percent); and cyberbullying is the fourth most common form of bullying (25 percent). Nearly half (44 percent) of children being bullied believe it is due to the way that they look — that their physical appearance was the reason.
     Glasses change the way someone looks, and this could open a child up to bullying. Being perceived as “different,” which can include wearing glasses, by peers is a risk factor for bullying as is being perceived as weak or unable to defend oneself.
 Harassment in School Close to half of all children will experience bullying in school, and 10 percent are bullied on a regular basis. Harassment at school takes two main forms: verbal abuse and physical abuse. Both can be highly detrimental to learning, socializing, and a child’s self-view.
     Verbal abuse can include name calling, intentionally leaving someone out of social situations, and starting rumors about others. Girl bullies are more prone to emotional warfare, belittling, and ostracizing others. Boys are more likely to use force, aggression, and physical abuse, including pushing and shoving, tripping, spitting on others, making others do things against their will, and intentionally destroying property.
Bullying commonly occurs in the following areas:

• Stairwells or hallways
• Classrooms
• Cafeterias
• Outdoor school grounds
• Bathrooms or locker rooms
• School buses

The Impact of Bullying on Children Bullying can put a child at risk for depression, anxiety, social withdrawal and loneliness, poor self-esteem, difficulties with interpersonal interactions, and self-harming behaviors and ideations.
Lower self-esteem Bullying can make a child feel isolated, unwelcome, and unlovable, which can directly impact the way a child views themselves and lower their self-esteem. This lowered self-esteem can also make them a target for being victimized and bullied again.
     When a child views themselves as less than others, it can lead to depression, a lack of motivation, poor production in school and dropping grades, and less interest in activities and the world around them.
     Bullying, and being the victim of bullying, increases the risk for suicide. Children who are both bullied and participate in bullying themselves are at an especially high risk over their peers who have not experienced bullying in either direction.
     Low self-esteem can make a child a target for bullying. Likewise, bullying can decrease self-esteem.
Interpersonal Issues Someone who has few friends can be a target for bullies, especially children who look different, such as those that wear glasses. Being the victim of bullying can cause many interpersonal and social issues, leading to further social withdrawal and a loss of motivation to participate in group activities.
These are signs a child might be being bullied:

• Loss of interest in schoolwork
• Declining grades
• Fear of being in school, being involved in group projects, and riding the bus
• Avoiding the cafeteria and outdoor time
• Unexplained torn clothing, missing or destroyed items, bruises, or cuts
• Interacting with very few people and having few friends, if any
• Withdrawal and seeming on edge, sad, and fearful
• Sleep disturbances
• Substance abuse
• Changes in eating habits

      Being the victim of bullying can also increase the odds that a child will become a bully themselves. Their experience of being bullied may cause them to start lashing out at other children.
Anxiety Being the victim of bullying can lead to lasting psychological issues. Nearly a quarter of people who have been bullied experience mental health issues later in life, including social anxiety, anxiety disorders, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), and depression. Anxiety disorders don’t just lead to poor mental health; they can also cause physical health issues.
     Anxiety disorders can cause a person to be irritable, withdrawn, and triggered by past events. They may have nightmares and sleep difficulties, angry outbursts, focus and attention issues, and eating issues. Being bullied can cause social avoidance, loneliness, hypervigilance, isolation, and significant distress, all of which indicate social anxiety.
Bullying Prevention Young children, preteens, and adolescents are at a high risk for bullying during a particularly important period of self-growth and development. Being bullied as a child can directly impact self-worth and mental health status.
     Education and school programs can work to prevent bullying. Studies show that anti-bullying programs at schools can decrease bullying by nearly 25 percent.
Children need to understand the full impact of their actions. They need to know that bullying is harmful and has lasting effects on their peers. Students should be aware of the anti-bullying policies and resources at their school as well as how to stand up for someone being bullied. This means they must clearly know how to report bullying when they witness it.
     Fostering an all-inclusive atmosphere that celebrates differences can help to decrease bullying that occurs based on lack of understanding and negative views of being “different.” For children with glasses, seeing themselves represented in popular media, such as in books and television shows, can help. It shows children that glasses are a normal part of life, and lots of kids wear them.
Bullying Resources & Helplines There are many resources available, both to help with bullying prevention and intervention and to support children who are experiencing or have experienced bullying.

• Resources for getting immediate help
• Stomp Out Bullying HelpChat Line
• Resources on stopping bullying and what to do
• Campaigns for students supporting anti-bullying
• Resources for bullying prevention
• Guide for helping educators and students speak up
• Places to call and resources on how to handle bullying

References Student Reports of Bullying: Results from the 2017 Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey. (July 2019). U.S. Department of Education.
Kids Who Wear Glasses Are Bully Magnets. (May 2005). Review of Optometry.
Kids Who Wear Glasses Feel Worse About Themselves, Studies Find. (September 2012). The Globe and Mail.
A Snapshot on Bullying in America. (2017). StopBullying.gov.
How Are Students Experiencing Bullying? Youth Truth Student Survey.
Bullying Basics. Learning for Justice.
Child Bullying. Bullying Statistics.
Bullying Statistics. (November 2020). PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center.
Bullying Perpetration, Victimization, and Low Self-Esteem: Examining Their Relationship Over Time. (January 2021). Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
The Relationship Between Bullying and Suicide: What We Know and What It Means for Schools. (April 2014). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Childhood Bullying Can Cause Lifelong Psychological Damage: How to Spot the Signs and Move On. (August 2018). RACGP.
Peer Victimization and Onset of Social Anxiety Disorder in Children and Adolescents. (June 2019). Brain Sciences.
Student Bullying: Overview of Research, Federal Initiatives, and Legal Issues. (October 2019). Congressional Research Service.
Get Help Now. StopBullying.gov.
HelpChat Line. (2021). Stomp Out Bullying.
StopBullying.gov. StopBullying.gov.
Do Something.org. DoSomething.org.
Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center. (2021). PACER Center, Inc.
Speak Up At School. Learning For Justice.
Who to Call. (2020). Cybersmile Foundation.
Reference https://www.nvisioncenters.com/education/childhood-bullying-glasses/ .