Stuff We Like: Keeping Kids Healthy & Safe

What’s more important than our kids’ health and safety? Here, some info you need to know and our top product picks for keeping little ones safe and sound.

Ah, Coconuts!

Put it on your skin-care short list: CapriClear Natural Spray-On Moisturizer has just one ingredient—one soothing, emollient, fragrance-free, hypoallergenic ingredient: all natural, 100-percent fractionated coconut oil. I’ve been using this gentle spray-on moisturizer to soothe my 4-year-old’s eczema because it’s free of all the bad stuff (there are no preservatives, dyes, parabens, sulfates, PABAs, or other potential irritants commonly found in skin care products), and the simply good stuff—it’s super-effective—is easy to apply. Misting this fast-drying spray over his body is barely a blip in our bedtime routine (which wasn’t the case for the lotions he previously fought me on), and the scratch marks that blemished his precious skin have all but disappeared. ($16.99 for 5.4-oz. bottle or $6.99 for 1.6-oz. travel size; capriclear.comor at Bed Bath & Beyond stores)

Hidden Household Risk

Kids play with remote controls—that’s a fact. But their doing so is more than a find-the-clicker nuisance: It can be dangerous, especially for the 4 and younger set. The powerful coin lithium batteries that power so many of our electronic conveniences—car key fobs, calculators, bathroom scales, and more—can cause serious harm or even death if lodged in a child’s throat. Each year, more than 3,500 swallowing cases of all sizes and types of button batteries are reported to U.S. poison control centers, and statistics show that the threat is growing fast. So keep these devices out of reach of young children, secure them (make sure those tiny screws are tight on your kids’ talking books, for example, and seal remotes with tape). If a coin-size battery is swallowed: • Go to the emergency room immediately, and tell medical providers that it might be a battery. • If possible, provide doctors with the identification number found on the battery’s package. • Do not let the child eat or drink until a chest x-ray can determine if a battery is present. • Do not induce vomiting. And while only 8 percent of swallowing incidents trace the battery package as the source, why not buy child-safe packaging to be truly safe? Energizer’s coin cell battery packaging complies with child-resistant packaging standards and recommendations made by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and features durable, flexible materials that prevent access by children but can be easily opened by an adult with scissors. Contact the National Battery Ingestion Hotline at 202-625-3333. Watch this video about the risks and how to protect your family:

Seats, Please

When we have our first baby, we research car seats extensively in an effort to choose the best. Let’s admit it, though—once the child gets old enough for a booster seat, who’s really got the time to check out 10 different brands and ratings? We’ve got you covered. Trust me when I say that you can trust Britax, whose products undergo the most rigorous testing in the industry at five Britax testing facilities worldwide (I’ve seen their crash simulations in person). Their 2013 Parkway SGL ($112), for children 38-63 inches tall and between 40-120 lbs., has true side-impact protection, and the base is designed to significantly lower your child’s center of gravity, reducing forward movement of the car seat in a crash. Its light weight and lower LATCH connection also make it easy to transport (great for carpools or switching between Mom’s and Dad’s cars). According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the lives of more than 8,300 children younger than 5 have been saved by using child restraints properly. Find clear videos to help with all Britax car seat installations at britaxusa.com/support/user-guides, and go to nymetroparents.com/carseatfor a guide to local car seat inspection sites.