KidsAndCars.org to mark Heat Stroke Prevention Day on July 31

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-->News Release

KidsAndCars.org
7532 Wyoming St., Kansas City, Mo. 64114
www.KidsAndCars.org

Contacts:

Janette Fennell, 484-278-4641, cell 415-336-9279 or Janette@KidsAndCars.org

Susan Pepperdine, 913-262-7414, cell 913-205-5304 or susan@pepperdinepr.com

Sally Davisson, 913-871-4763, cell 859-361-5004 or sally@sistersofinvention.com

KidsAndCars.org to mark Heat Stroke Prevention Day on July 31

23 children have already died in hot vehicles this year

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – July ­­29, 2013 – KidsAndCars.org, along with other child-safety advocacy groups and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), will mark Heat Stroke Prevention Day on July 31 with increased efforts to raise awareness and educate parents and caregivers about ways to prevent children from being unknowingly left alone in a hot vehicle. Heat stroke is the leading cause of non-crash vehicle fatalities for children 14 and younger.

On Heat Stroke Prevention Day KidsAndCars.org volunteers will visit birthing centers in cities nationally to distribute Look Before You Lock™ safety education cards for new and expectant parents.

KidsAndCars.org, the only and leading national nonprofit group dedicated solely to preventing injuries and deaths of children in and around motor vehicles, to date has distributed over 320,000 of the safety information cards to birthing centers and hospitals nationally.

Participating agencies will also post social media messages throughout the day, asking people to share the posts and retweet using #heatstroke.

“A change in routine, fatigue, distraction, anxiety – each can lead to a tragic momentary memory lapse,” notes Janette Fennell, founder and president of KidsAndCars.org. “It can happen to anybody, even the most loving and attentive parents.” It has happened to teachers, a pediatrician, dentist, postal clerk, social worker, police officer, nurse, clergyman, electrician, accountant, soldier, assistant principal and even a rocket scientist.

The number of child heat stroke deaths in vehicles continues to average approximately 37 per year; or about one every 10 days. Since the group began tracking data, at least 670 children have died in these preventable tragedies.

A parked car can reach 125 degrees in minutes, even when the windows are open. Children are especially vulnerable to heat stroke, as their body temperatures rise three to five times faster than an adult’s.

All parents need to carefully follow the guidelines for placing car seats in the back seat – the safest place for children to ride. Additionally, babies should ride rear-facing in their car seats till age 2, according to the guidelines prescribed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. 

At the same time, parents must understand that while children riding in the back seat has saved many lives, it also requires drivers to take extra precautions to avoid unknowingly leaving children alone in a vehicle. “Following KidsAndCars.org’s Look Before You Lock safety tips doesn’t cost a penny, and provides several layers of protection so your child will not be unknowingly left in a vehicle,” Fennell added. “We never know when there might be a day that our memory fails us, so we urge parents to implement these easy-to-follow instructions so that they become a habit for them and all who care for their child.”

KidsAndCars.org’s Look Before You Lock safety tips include:

• Get in the habit of always opening the back door of your vehicle every time you reach your destination to check to make sure no child – or pet – has been left behind.
• Keep a large stuffed animal in the child's car seat. Right before the child is placed in the seat, move the stuffed animal to the front passenger seat as a visual reminder that your child is in the back seat.
• Put something you'll need on the floorboard in the back seat in front of your child’s car seat (cellphone, handbag, employee ID, briefcase, etc.). This ensures you open the back door of your vehicle to retrieve your belongings.
• Make arrangements with your daycare provider or babysitter to call you within 10 minutes if your child does not arrive as expected.
• Never leave children alone in or around cars, not even for a minute. Instead, use drive-thru services when available.
• Since the group began tracking data, at least 675 children have died in these preventable tragedies.
• When a child is missing, check vehicles and car trunks immediately.

About KidsAndCars.org: Founded in 1996, KidsAndCars.org is the only national nonprofit child safety organization that is solely dedicated to preventing injuries and deaths of children in and around vehicles. KidAndCars.org promotes awareness among parents, caregivers and the general public about the dangers to children, including backover and frontover incidents, and heat stroke from being inadvertently left in a vehicle. The organization works to prevent tragedies through data collection, education and public awareness, policy change, product redesign and survivor advocacy.

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Donated stuffed animals to warn parents about dangers of leaving children alone in vehicles

News Release

KidsAndCars.org
7532 Wyoming St., Kansas City, Mo. 64114
Office: 816-216-7085, www.KidsAndCars.org

Contacts:

Janette Fennell, 484-278-4641, cell 415-336-9279 or Janette@KidsAndCars.org

Amber Rollins, 816-216-7085 or Amber@KidsAndCars.org

Susan Pepperdine, 913-262-7414, cell 913-205-5304 or susan@pepperdinepr.com

Donated stuffed animals to warn parents

about dangers of leaving children alone in vehicles

22 children have already died in hot vehicles in U.S. this year

Anchorage, Alaska – Kansas City, MO - July 20, 2013 – Nearly 3,000 stuffed animals and their transport have been donated by Anchorage, Alaska, businesses to KidsAndCars.org, a Kansas City-based national nonprofit child safety organization solely dedicated to preventing injuries and deaths of children in and around motor vehicles. 

PetSmart, in south Anchorage, donated the stuffed cat and dog toys. On Friday afternoon another Anchorage firm, Lynden Transport, loaded the toys onto a truck and is providing free shipment by steamship to their warehouse in Fife, Wash., near Tacoma.

KidsAndCars.org will coordinate distribution to hospital birthing centers in the lower 48. Volunteers will attach KidsAndCars.org’s “Look before you lock”™ safety information cards with tips to avoid

unknowingly leaving a child behind in a vehicle, including:

• Get in the habit of always opening the back door of your vehicle every time you reach your destination to make sure no child – or pet – has been left behind. 
•  Keep a large stuffed animal in the child's car seat. When the child is placed in the seat, move the stuffed animal to the front passenger seat as a visual reminder that your child is in the back seat.
• Put something you'll need on the floorboard in the back seat (cellphone, handbag, employee ID, briefcase, etc.)
• Make arrangements with your daycare or babysitter to call you within 10 minutes if your child does not arrive as expected.
• Never leave children alone in or around cars, not even for a minute. Instead, use drive-thru services when available.
• When a child is missing, check vehicles and car trunks immediately. 

"The worst thing any parent or caregiver can do is think that this could never happen to them, that they are not capable of inadvertently leaving their child behind," says Janette Fennell, founder and president of KidsAndCars.org.

"This can and does happen to the most loving, responsible and attentive parents,” she added. ““All it takes is a lapse in memory when there’s a distraction or a change in routine or change in drivers.” Since the group began tracking data, at least 675 children have died in these preventable tragedies.

About KidsAndCars.org: Founded in 1996, KidsAndCars.org is a national nonprofit child safety organization dedicated to preventing injuries and deaths of children in and around vehicles. KidAndCars.org promotes awareness among parents, caregivers and the general public about the dangers to children, including backover and frontover incidents, and heat stroke from being inadvertently left in a vehicle. The organization works to prevent tragedies through data collection, education and public awareness, policy change, product redesign and survivor advocacy.

TOMY Revolutionizes Car Seat Safety With First Smartphone-Synched Convertible Car Seat

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TOMY

2015 Spring Road

Suite 400

Oak Brook, IL 60523

www.tomy.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Matt Miller

Salmon Borre Group

847.582.1610

matt@salmonborre.com

Twitter: @TOMYNewsUS

TOMY Revolutionizes Car Seat Safety With 

The First Smartphone-Synched Convertible Car Seat

The First Years® True Fit IAlert Car Seat Monitors Key Safety Areas:

Child Out of Seat, Unattended Child, Installation Angle and Temperature Check

Now Available Exclusively on Amazon.com

OAK BROOK, IL (July 18, 2013) – A new car seat from TOMY International that will revolutionize the way parents and caregivers think about automobile safety for babies and toddlers is now available for consumers to purchase. TOMY’s The First Years brand is producing the first mobile-synched car seat, featuring an integrated innovative monitoring system designed to alert parents of unsafe and potentially life-threatening situations. The First Years True Fit IAlert Convertible Car Seat (for use from 5 to 65 lbs.) monitors a child in the car seat and notifies parents or caregivers with an alert via their Smartphones if: 

·       A child moves out of the car seat while the vehicle is in motion

·       A child is left in the car seat when the vehicle is not in motion

Additionally, the IAlert Smartphone App:

·       Assists in achieving the recommended angle orientation for rear-facing installation

·       Reminds caregivers to buckle up their child

·       Displays the temperature in the back seat of the car

Each year, thousands of infants and children are killed or injured in motor vehicles, many of those fatalities as a result of an improperly installed car seat or a child who is improperly restrained while the vehicle is in motion. In addition, heatstroke is the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle related deaths for children, with 33 fatalities in 2012 and many other illnesses occurring after children were unintentionally left in cars, according to KidsAndCars.org. Unfortunately, until now, parents and caregivers have only been aware of these life-threatening situations after a close call or tragedy has occurred.

“At TOMY, our mission is to help parents and caregivers keep kids safe by making innovative high quality products that are easy to use and install. To that end, the new The First Years True Fit IAlert Convertible Car Seat has built-in features and functions that take some of the guesswork out of using infant gear properly,” says Greg Kilrea, President and Chief Executive Officer of TOMY International. “The advanced Smartphone-synched technology integrated into The First Years True Fit IAlert Convertible Car Seat helps provide parents with additional peace of mind, which is central to our Company mission. It is critically important to TOMY that we take a leadership position in advancing the overall safety of children in motor vehicles.”

“All new parents need to learn how to keep their child safe in and around vehicles. KidsAndCars.org believes the solution to preventing tragedies is education along with technology in case the driver’s memory fails,” says Janette Fennell, President and Founder of KidsAndCars.org. “When parents follow our simple ‘Look Before You Lock’ program safety tips such as never leaving their child alone in the car and always opening the back door once they arrive at their destination, they are taking life-saving steps to protect their children.”

The IAlert Convertible Car Seat application, produced in partnership with St. Louis, Mo.-based CARS-N-KIDS LLC, is compatible with iPhone and Android devices, and is currently available to consumers. Once the app has been installed and synched, the app provides an audio and a visual alert on the user’s Smartphone when a monitored issue occurs, so that parents or caregivers can pull over to a safe location and check the situation. The system can also be configured to send a text message to other family members or caregivers in the event of an unsafe situation. The First Years True Fit IAlert Convertible Car Seat, which retails for $349.99, is now available exclusively on Amazon.com.

The First Years True Fit IAlert Convertible Car Seat – Description & Specifications

The First Years True Fit IAlert Convertible Car Seat is a revolutionary new car seat with an integrated monitoring system designed to alert parents of potentially life-threatening situations. Working in partnership with CARS-N-KIDS LLC out of St. Louis Mo., this patented technology, when integrated into the True Fit Convertible Car Seat, assists parents or caregivers via their Smartphones with the recommended angle orientation when installing in the rear facing position. In addition, it alerts them if their child moves out of their seat while the vehicle is in motion, if their child is left unattended in the car when the car is not in motion and constantly displays the ambient temperature in the back seat of the car, The First Years True Fit IAlert Convertible Car Seat is side-impact tested to international standards and offers all the standard features of the True Fit line, including the Rebound Energy Management system for rear-facing installation. Managing rebound energy helps reduce the chance for broken bones in the legs, hips and waist that can be significant in a violent crash. The True Fit IAlert Convertible Car Seat also features a new head rest designed to help manage head control, a no-rethread, easy-adjust harness, built in lock offs, color coded belt paths, LATCH, center angle indicator, cup holder and easy-off pads for convenient cleaning. For use rear-facing 5 to 35 lbs.; forward-facing 23-65 lbs. MSRP: $349.99, available now exclusively on Amazon.com

About TOMY International

TOMY International (www.tomy.com) is a leading global designer, producer and marketer of a broad range of innovative, high-quality toys sold to preschoolers, youths and adults under the TOMY®, Ertl®, Johnny Lightning® and Tomica® brands as well as products for mothers, infants and toddlers marketed under its The First Years®, Lamaze, JJ Cole® Collections and Boon® brands. TOMY International also markets its products under popular and classic licensed properties such as Chuggington, Pokémon, Dinosaur Train, John Deere, Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, Princesses, Cars, Fairies and Toy Story, and other well-known properties. TOMY International’s mission is to inspire and fulfill the dreams of children and parents worldwide. TOMY International reaches its target consumers through multiple channels of distribution supporting more than 25,000 retail outlets throughout North and South America, Europe and Australia. TOMY International is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan-based TOMY Company, Ltd. (Tokyo Stock Exchange Code No. 7867). © TOMY

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‘8 to Great’ Workshop is Sunday, June 9, in Prairie Village, Kan.

Best-selling author MK Mueller and 20 top trainers to share success formula

Prairie Village, Kan. – June 5, 2013 … As part of its national conference, MK Mueller Enterprises’ top 20 trainers will present “8 to Great,” a three-hour success-skills workshop, from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, June 9, in the 8 to Great Conference Center in the Meadowbrook office building, 5200 W. 94th Terr. #107, Prairie Village, Kan. The workshop is open to the public.

Recently relocated to Kansas City from Omaha, MK Mueller is a keynote speaker, trainer, coach and best-selling author. Her company, MK Mueller Enterprises, has 1,800 trainers who teach the “8 to Great” curriculum in middle and high schools in 17 states.

The workshop is based on Mueller’s award-winning self-help book, “8 to Great: The Powerful Process for Positive Change.” Attendees will learn:

• A process for getting started toward living their dreams.  
• A formula for making the right decisions.
• A formula for forgiveness.
• A communication skill that breaks through old, unhealthy patterns.  
•  A process for dealing with depression and rage.
• A 3-minute exercise for living a happier life.

“We’re inviting the public to hear the stories of students who went from all F's to B's and C's in just weeks, and also stopped fighting and bullying,” Mueller said.

For registration go to http://register.8togreat.com or call 828-242-9033. Cost is $39 per person or $49 at the door, including take-home materials. More information is available at www.8togreat.com.

About MK Mueller and MK Mueller Enterprises:

MK Mueller is an international keynote speaker, trainer, coach and best-selling author. She began her professional life as a high school teacher and a mother after spending a month in a domestic violence shelter. MK Mueller Enterprises has 1,800 trainers who present the “8 to Great” success-skills curriculum in hundreds of middle and high schools in 17 states.

Letter to Kansas City Star

Here's my letter published in The Kansas CIty Star business section (April 16, 2013):

Keith Chrostowski’s recent Business Forum column titled “We want to buy cheap, be well paid" (March 12) reminded me of a story in The Little Brown Book of Anecdotes, a reference book edited by Clifton Fadiman.

           

An anecdote about Walter Reuther (1907-70), the labor leader who once headed the United Auto Workers and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), recounts his visit to an auto factory in Cleveland:

A young manager talked on an on about a new process they had for automating the line. It would be, he said, highly robotized, and it would work far more efficiently and cheaply than the current line…

“And tell me,” Reuther finally interrupted, “these wonderful new robots – will they go out and buy cars from your company?”

Protect Kids From Backover Accidents

In Kansas City 2-year-old Benjamin Thompson died this week when his father's truck backed over him. It's a tragedy that is repeated all too often – about 50 times EACH WEEK in the U.S. Benjamin was the 52nd death recorded this year.

These incidents for the most part take place in residential driveways or parking lots:
• The predominant age of victims are one-year-olds. (12-23 months)
• Over 60% of backing up incidents involved a larger size vehicle. (truck, van, SUV)
• Tragically, in over 70% of these incidents, a parent or close relative is behind the wheel.

KidsAndCars.org urges all adults to heighten their awareness before they engage a vehicle into reverse, especially when children are present. Young children are impulsive and unpredictable, with  poor judgment and little understanding of danger. In addition, young children do not recognize boundaries such as property lines, sidewalks, driveways or parking spaces.

KidsAndCars.org recommendations to keep children safe include:
• Walk around and behind a vehicle prior to moving it.
• Know where your kids are. Make children move away from your vehicle to a place where they are in full view before moving the car and know that another adult is properly supervising children before moving your vehicle.
• Teach children that “parked” vehicles might move. Let them know that they can see the vehicle; but the driver might not be able to see them.
• Consider installing cross view mirrors, audible collision detectors, rear view video camera and/or some type of back up detection device.
• Measure the size of your blind zone (area) behind the vehicle(s) you drive. A 5-foot-1-inch driver in a pickup truck can have a rear blind zone of approximately 8 feet wide by 50 feet long.
• Be aware that steep inclines and large SUV’s, vans and trucks add to the difficulty of seeing behind a vehicle.
• Hold children’s hand when leaving the vehicle.
• Teach your children to never play in, around or behind a vehicle and always set the emergency brake.
• Keep toys and other sports equipment off the driveway.
• Homeowners should trim landscaping around the driveway to ensure they can see the sidewalk, street and pedestrians clearly when backing out of their driveway. Pedestrians also need to be able to see a vehicle pulling out of the driveway.
• Never leave children alone in or around cars; not even for a minute.
• Keep vehicles locked at all times; even in the garage or driveway.
• Keys and/or remote openers should never be left within reach of children.
• Make sure all child passengers have left the car after it is parked.
• Be especially careful about keeping children safe in and around cars during busy times, schedule changes and periods of crisis or holidays.

These precautions can save lives. For additional information visit www.KidsAndCars.org

KidsAndCars.org founder to speak at NHTSA press conference

News Release

KidsAndCars.org
7532 Wyoming St., Kansas City, Mo. 64114
Office: 816-216-7085, www.KidsAndCars.org

Contacts:

Janette Fennell, 816-216-7085, cell 415-336-9279 or Janette@KidsAndCars.org

Susan Pepperdine, 913-262-7414, cell 913-205-5304 or susan@pepperdinepr.com

KidsAndCars.org founder to speak at NHTSA press conference

Aug. 22 at Children’s Mercy Hospital

Speakers will also include mother whose child died of heatstroke in hot car

KANSAS CITY, MO.– Aug. 21, 2012… Janette Fennell, president of KidsAndCars.org, a national nonprofit child safety organization working to prevent injuries and deaths of children in and around motor vehicles, will speak at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 22, at a press conference sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at Children’s Mercy Hospital, 2401 Gillhan Rd., Kansas City, Mo.

The event will focus on programs to prevent child heatstroke deaths and injuries in hot cars and to urge parents and caregivers to think, “Where's baby? Look before you lock.”

Speakers will also include Jodie Edwards, Ph.D., whose family suffered a tragedy when she unknowingly left her daughter Jenna, nearly 11 months old, in a hot car while she was at work as a professor at a small Christian university in Ohio. She thought she had taken every precaution possible to protect her daughter and her older brother. Yet her brain ‘flipped a switch,’ causing her to mistakenly believe she had dropped off Jenna at the babysitter’s on the way to work. “I have talked to dozens of families who have lost children to vehicular heatstroke,” Edwards said. “The only thing we all have in common is that none of us realized our love wasn’t enough to protect our children from our imperfect brains.”

KidsAndCars.org reported last week that in the six-day period from Aug. 2 to 7 eight children from 5 months to 4 years old died of heat stroke in vehicles in four states: Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida and New Mexico.

To educate parents and caregivers, KidsAndCars.org introduced the “Look before you lock” program, the first of its kind, and has distributed 150,000 information cards to hospitals nationwide. “We want parents to understand from Day One that this is something they need to know in order to protect their baby,” Fennell said. “Sadly, these tragedies can and do happen to anyone, even the most conscientious parents.”

In 2005, KidsAndCars.org was successful in getting a provision included in the omnibus federal transportation bill that requires data collection of incidents that are vehicle-related, but take place off of our public roads and highways. In January 2009, the first report was issued stating that more than 1,700 children and adults are killed and more than 840,000 injured every year. “Though significant, we believe the actual numbers are much higher,” Fennell said. “KidsAndCars.org is working to collect statistics on near misses, which traditionally have not been reported.” 

“After so many years of carrying this torch, KidsAndCars.org is gratified to see the muscle and tremendous outreach efforts of NHTSA to take on a leadership role in working to end these preventable tragedies.”

Based on incidents documented by KidsAndCars.org:

54 percent of the time children die after being unknowingly left inside a hot vehicle.

32 percent when children got into a vehicle on their own, similar to the situation that Hays described.

12 percent when they were knowingly left in vehicle

2 percent of the circumstances were not clear.

Safety Tips from KidsAndCars.org

KidsAndCars.org provides these BE SAFE safety tips on a card being distributed to new parents:

Back seat – Put something in the back seat so you have to open the door when leaving the vehicle – cell phone, employee badge, handbag, etc.
Every child should be correctly restrained in the back seat.

Stuffed animal – Move it from the car seat to the front seat to remind you when your baby is in the back seat.
Ask your babysitter or child-care provider to call you within 10 minutes if your child hasn’t arrived on time.
Focus on driving – Avoid cell phone calls and texting while driving.
Every time you park your vehicle open the back door to make sure no one has been left behind.

For additional information about ways to keep children safe in and around vehicles, visit www.KidsAndCars.org

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About KidsAndCars.org: Founded in 1996, KidsAndCars.org is a national nonprofit child safety organization dedicated to preventing injuries and deaths of children in and around motor vehicles.  KidAndCars.org promotes awareness among parents, caregivers and the general public about the dangers to children, including backover and frontover incidents, and heatstroke from being inadvertently left in a vehicle. The organization works to prevent tragedies through data collection, education and public awareness, policy change and survivor advocacy.