Paths to QUALITY advertisment in Hendricks County Flyer on August 29, 2009

Hamilton County PlayCare Training--Sept. 26!

Project K.I.D. will conduct PlayCare training in Central Indiana on Saturday, September 26, 2009. Prospective volunteers ages 13 and over interested in learning more about responding to children's needs in disasters are welcome.

The training will be held at Riverview Hospital in Noblesville. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. Training begins at 9:00 a.m. and concludes at 4:00 p.m.

Costs of training are being underwritten by a grant from the United Way of Central Indiana. Participants completing training can qualify to receive one (1) C.E.U. credit.

For more information, please contact Kim Pratt, 877-846-7529 x4 (toll free).

Project: K.I.D. is organized around a very simple premise: Play is at the heart of what it means to be a kid. This means that as soon as possible in the wake of a disaster, children need protective, restorative environments where they can return to being kids.

When children are exposed to traumatic experiences such as the devastation following a natural disaster or similar disruption to their environment, they are often immersed in a situation marked by physical destruction and emotional fear. Even when children are not separated from their parents, their caregivers are often themselves in despair, strained by the immediate need to ensure survival and protection for their family members and overwhelmed in facing the challenge of rebuilding their lives.

Emergency shelters are a critical component of disaster response efforts, but the very nature of life in shelters often magnifies the sense of despair and disruption to which children are exposed. These problems are exacerbated by the physical confinement and sheer boredom shelter life imposes.

The founders of Project: K.I.D. believe that in these circumstances, the best thing for children and their parents is to as quickly as possible establish environments in which children who are victims of devastation can spend at least some time each day being kids. Children need to experience continuity of loving care and some freedom from the fear of seeing adults grieve.

More and more childrens advocacy and education groups are recognizing the centrality of play to childrens ability to thrive and bounce back from traumatic experiences. Child Play International puts it this way:

Play is serious business for children; it is the way they learn to master their environment. If everything else is right in their lives, they will always find a way to play. But in conditions of poverty, illness or misfortune, they need some help. They don't need elaborate equipment, but they need the right atmosphere, encouragement, and at least a few simple materials. Above all, they need affectionate and joyful adults to care for them when their parents can't.

Visit Project K.I.D website: http://www.project-kid.org/playcare

Little Tikes Recall

Little Tikes is recalling about 1.6 million Workshops Sets and Trucks because they have oversized plastic toy nails that can pose a choking hazard to young children.
The company has received one report of an 11-month-old boy from Goose Creek, S.C., who choked when the toy nail become lodged in his throat. The child was hospitalized and made a full recovery.
The oversized plastic toy nail is about 3 1/4 inches long by 1 1/4 inch in diameter and comes in red or blue colors. It has a large round head; about 1 1/4 inches below the head is a plastic ridge, slightly smaller than the nail head and about 1 inch in diameter. They were sold with a variety of Little Tikes children's products "The toys were sold on various Web sites, including littletikes.com, and retailers nationwide, including Toys "R" Us, from March 1994 through June 2009 for between $25 and $100.
Consumers should immediately take the toy nails away from young children and contact the firm for a free replacement toy nail.
For more information, contact Little Tikes at (800) 791-2737 or visit littletikes.com
Here is the recalled product information:
Model #
Name
Picture
0914
Electronic Project WorkshopSold from March 1994 through December 2003UPC: 0-50743-00914-3
0920/612237
Little HandiWorker WorkhorseSold from March 1999 through June 2009UPC 0-50743-10920-1UPC 0-50743-61223-7
4146
Home Improvements 2-Sided WorkshopSold from February 2001 through January 2009UPC 0-50743-04146-4
440Z
Swirlin' Sawdust WorkshopSold from April 2004 through November 2008UPC 0-50743-38540-7
4028
Black Pickup Truck with ToolsSold from March 2000 through April 2009UPC 0-50743-04028-3

Bassinet Recall

WASHINGTON -- Government safety officials warned parents Thursday about Simplicity bassinets after two more infants were killed when they became trapped.
Two young children died after getting trapped in previously recalled Simplicity close-sleeper/bedside sleeper bassinets, the Consumer Product Safety Commission disclosed.
The company's 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible bassinets contain metal bars spaced farther apart than federal standards allow. If the Velcro-fastened fabric covering the metal bars of the bassinets is not properly adjusted, it can be dangerous.
In September 2008, a 2-month-old girl in Demorest, Ga., suffocated when she became trapped in a pocket of fabric, which was not properly secured to the bassinet. In January 2009, a 6-month-old girl in Fort Worth, Texas, died when the fabric flap was undone and she got trapped between the exposed bars.
Asked about the time gap between the deaths and the re-announcement of the recall, the new chairman of the safety commission told The Associated Press the death in Georgia did not come to the agency's attention until this year. In a telephone interview, Inez Tenenbaum said she could not comment further on the Texas death because it is under investigation.
The CPSC warned against these Simplicity bassinets in August 2008, when it reported the deaths of two infants who also got trapped.
Tenenbaum, who was confirmed to the position in June, said she is learning daily that the public might not hear about recalls when they are first announced.
"We want to step up in the future our education and advocacy so that consumers are better informed," she said.
The commission has been contacting child care facilities, state governments and consumer groups about the bassinet recall.
All of the bassinets manufactured before May 18, 2008, have been recalled. This includes some sold under the Graco brand, some with a Winnie the Pooh motif, as well as other bassinets.
Recalled bassinets can be returned to the retail stores where they were purchased. For details on the affected products, visit: http://tinyurl.com/lr4gwf
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Associated Press writer Ann Sanner contributed to this report.

Hamilton County Paths to QUALITY section in August 20 and 27 Hamilton County The Times

Free R.E.C.I.P.E. Workshop

Are you looking for new and interesting ways to add nutrition to your
kids’ diets?

What: R.E.C.I.P.E. for Growing Healthy Children
Place: Kid City, 752 International Dr. Franklin, IN
Date: Wednesday, September 9th
Time: 6:30pm‐ 8pm
Johnson County Extension would like to invite you to attend a 90 min workshop developed
uniquely for child care providers. Throughout this workshop we will show you:

• 
  How to create menus that meet The Dietary Guidelines and CACFP Recommendations Food Safety tips
• 
  How incorporate nutrition into your kids’ diets without them knowing!
• 
  Lots of food demonstrations for Breakfast, Lunch, and snacks and tasting

This is an excellent opportunity to pump up your menus with nutrition without the kids
knowing!

R.S.V.P. TODAY by sending an email to Linda Souchon at lsouchon@purdue.edu or by calling at
317‐736‐3724. Program limited to 20 providers, so call today!