Parents are always looking for ways to improve the safety of their kids. Consumer Reports is doing its best to help. Consumer Reports’ Guide to Childproofing and Safety has recently been published by the highly-regarded Consumer Reports group.

At $12.95, this guide to family safety provides 600 safety tips in order to help parents navigate all the safety concerns presented on a seemingly endless basis. Every room in the house is covered  as well as the backyard and the car-even everyday life outdoors. Just in time for summer, this safety manual is just what many parents need.

Additionally, highlights from the book will be featured online in the Consumer Reports’ child safety hub. Parents interested in buying the book itself can find it at various bookstores or through a variety of booksellers on the Web.

Did you know there were safety guidelines regarding your children’s sleepwear? Did you know that they recently changed? The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently released their new requirements for kid’s pajamas to help give parents safe and broader choices when it comes to sleepwear.

• Infant sizes up to 9 months may be made from flame resistant or non-flame resistant fabrics
• Infant sizes above 9 months must either be flame resistant or worn snug-fitting

Children should not sleep in oversized or loose-fitting clothing like t-shirts or sweatshirts or other garments made from non-flame resistant fabrics. It’s important to keep 2 “f” words in mind when you’re buying your children’s sleepwear:  fabric and fit!

The Injury Prevention Program (TIPP), a program of the American Academy of Pediatrics, has a few ways to help parents get their kids to wear their bicycle helmets. Of course, they remind parents to be good role models and wear helmets themselves. Children are old enough to start learning to take precautions on their own. Check out the tips from TIPP below:

• Establish the helmet habit early.
• Talk to your children about why you want them to protect their heads.
• Reward your kids for wearing helmets.
• Don’t let your children ride their bikes without their helmets.
• Encourage your child’s friends to wear helmets.
• Make sure everyone in the family wears a helmet on every ride!

Whoa…did you know that 8,700 preschoolers get hurt by playing with workout equipment each year? According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, that number is correct. To combat this startling statistic, toymakers and child-centered companies are now creating exercise machines just for kids.

• Fisher-Price has a Smart Cycle aimed at 3- to 6-year-olds. It’s a stationary bike that plugs into the television and allows kids to pedal while they solve puzzles. It retails for $100.
• Aqua-Leisure has created the First Fitness’ Kid’s First Treadmill for kids 4 years of age and older. It’s a non-motorized machine that kids can walk or run on and it sells for $80.

Both products were kid-tested and kid-approved as part of the fit families section of FITNESS magazine. Fit fun and safe-what more could kids ask for?

Sports play a big role in lots of kids’ lives. And the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) wants parents and kids to play it safe when it comes to preventing injuries to growing bones and muscles while playing sports. Yahoo! News recently published five of the top safety guidelines for kids, according to the AAOS:

1. Get into good physical shape to prepare for your sport.
2. Learn all the rules of your sport.
3. Wear protective equipment and learn how to use it correctly.
4. Warm up and stretch before you play.
5. Avoid playing your sport if you’re experiencing pain or are too exhausted.

Since kids might not always keep these tips in mind, parents can offer gentle reminders to ensure that everyone can enjoy sports in a safe and healthy way. It’s no fun for anyone if someone gets hurt…especially if it could have been avoided in the first place.

During the week of March 16 -22, National Poison Prevention Week wants to remind you to sweep your home for potential hazards, says the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Think your little one can’t get her hands on the Clorox? Think again. “Each year, approximately 2.4 million people - more than half under age 6 - swallow or have contact with a poisonous substance,” says the AAP.

Here are their top tips for poison-proofing your home:

• Most poisonings occur when parents or caregivers are home but not paying attention. The most dangerous potential poisons are medicines, cleaning products, antifreeze, windshield wiper fluid, pesticides, furniture polish, gasoline, kerosene and lamp oil.
• Be especially vigilant when there is a change in routine. Holidays, visits to and from grandparents’ homes, and other special events may bring greater risk of poisoning if the usual safeguards are defeated or not in place.
• Store medicine, cleaners, paints/varnishes and pesticides in their original packaging in locked cabinets or containers, out of sight and reach of children.
• Install a safety latch - that locks when you close the door - on child-accessible cabinets containing harmful products.
• Purchase and keep all medicines in containers with safety caps. Discard unused medication.
• Never refer to medicine as “candy” or another appealing name.
• Check the label each time you give a child medicine to ensure proper dosage.
• Never place poisonous products in food or drink containers.
• Keep coal, wood or kerosene stoves in safe working order.
• Maintain working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

If you haven’t already taken these precautions, don’t wait until the 16th.

Beep beep, beep beep, yeah!

I think the most anxiety I had in terms of child safety was whether or not I installed J.J.’s car seat correctly. We had a seasoned mom and dad check it out for us. Then we even took a ride over to our police precinct to have a Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Technician inspect it. Of course, they said we went overboard, using the LATCH system (available in most vehicles made after 2002) and the seatbelt. But, hey, there’s no such thing as being too safe, right?

Once you’ve installed correctly, here are the car seat guidelines to follow, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)(click for the full guide):

• All infants should always ride rear-facing until they are 1 year of age and weigh at least 20 pounds. Many parents opt for infant seats that snap in and out of a base that remains in the car, so it can double as an infant carrier.

• Children 1 year of age and at least 20 pounds can ride forward-facing. It is best to ride rear-facing as long as possible. Some car seats are convertible, meaning you can use as rear facing, then forward facing, and get more bang for your buck.

• Booster seats are for older children who have outgrown their forward-facing car safety seats. Children should stay in a booster seat until the adult seat belts fit correctly (usually when a child reaches about 4′ 9″ in height and is between 8 and 12 years of age).

• Children who have outgrown their booster seats should ride in a lap and shoulder belt; they should ride in the back seat until 13 years of age.

With these guidelines, you can safely enjoy the ride. Now if you can only figure out how to stop all that backseat “are we there yet?” whining…

Have any tips for entertaining your little ones in the car?