Teens, Text, Talk, Drive

UPDATE: To see related post by same author, please check out BlogMommas.

Last week I published a post discussing Ford's MyKey programmable computer chip which allows parents to limit their teen driver's speed. I like the idea, and I said that I would like it even more if it somehow disrupted the teen driver's cell phone signal so that he/she could not talk or text while driving. 

Well ask and you shall receive! This morning I read an article about a device that would do just that.

Nationwide Insurance Co. has teamed up with Aegis Mobility, and they hope to offer a service next year that "informs a caller or texter that the intended recipient is driving and can't be reached at the moment. Meanwhile, the driver would be oblivious to the call and free to focus on driving."

DriveAssist is a downloadable software that uses motion-sensing technologies to determine when someone is driving (the service can be disabled if the user is a passenger). With DriveAssist, callers can leave a voice mail, send an emergency alert, have the call connected when the driver is done, or even find out where the driver is located. The software offers flexibility by allowing the driver to make 911 calls and allow some numbers to always come through.

So far no cell-phone carriers have signed on to provide the service, but Aegis is hoping to launch DriveAssist next year. Though the price will depend on the provider, it is expected to cost between $10 and $20 a month (a bit pricey, if you ask me).

What a great way to insure that your son or daughter is faced with one less distraction while on the road.

For more information, check out this video.

Drive through flu shots

Often I roll my eyes at our culture's demand for convenience. I could literally spend the entire day in my car - not getting out once - and still accomplish A LOT. A productive yet staionary day could look like this: drive through for coffee, drive through the bank, drive through the pharmacy, drive through for lunch, drive through the dry cleaners, drive through for a daiquiri (only in Louisiana), drive through the library book drop-off, and pick up dinner curb-side. Whether it's our increasing "drive" for cramming more into our already over-scheduled day or just sheer laziness, America has found a way to make almost everything quicker and more convenient.

And in an effort to stay active and have real interactions with human beings, I try and avoid the drive-through whenever I can (but it's so darn easy to simply drive through when I need a diet coke). 

But there is a drive-through initiative that I can support: drive through flu shots! That is one cause that really is better when made easier!

Face it, no one wants to get their flu shot. Sure they want to be healthy and stay healthy, but a needle in the arm? No thanks. So in an effort to make this less-than-desirable task easier, many groups have worked towards making this less of a hassle and more of a convenience.

Most of us have been to the grocery store when it's announced that flu shots are available near the pharmacy, but now there isn't even a need to get out of your car!  

I first heard about this in my own community. Our county's health board is offering flu shots for a minimal fee at a nearby park. All they ask is that you wear short-sleeves so that your shot can be administered with your window rolled down as you remain seated in your car. Can you believe this? 

I then googled "drive through flu shots," and found that this is a nationwide trend. "Clinics" are popping up all around the country. Many of these clinics offer free shots to individuals on Medicare and Medicaid stating that no one will be turned away for the inability to pay. Wow - how awesome. Efficient and cost-effective! 

If you are interested in driving through for your flu shot, I encourage you to google "drive through flu shots" and the name of your city. 

Because I would feel guilty if I wasn't completely honest, I must admit that I never get a flu shot. I might get a cold a couple of times a year, but that's about it. I have my reasons for not getting the shot, but I'm not a physician, so this certainly isn't my recommendation. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, it is recommend that most people get a flu shot, especially people over 50, children ages 6 months and older, and women who are pregnant. For a complete list of Who Should Get Vaccinated and Who Should Not Be Vaccinated, check out the CDC's website. 

I should also note that there is now a nasal-spray flu vaccine available and is approved for use in healthy people 2-49 years of age who are not pregnant. To my knowledge, FluMist is not available at drive-through clinics, and usually FluMist is only offered per request at your doctor's office.

Vitamin D & Kids

A recent report released by the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends doubling the amount of vitamin D consumption for infants, children and adolescents. It recommends that all children receive 400 IU of vitamin D a day. 

According to the AAP's website: "adequate vitamin D throughout childhood may reduce the risk of osteoporosis. In adults, new evidence suggests that vitamin D plays a role in the immune system and may help prevent infections, autoimmune diseases, cancer and diabetes." Additionally, it is recommended that children receive daily supplements of vitamin D as most children do not get enough vitamin D through diet alone.

Children & Cars

A nearby community suffered a great loss over the weekend when a young boy was struck and killed by a driver in a parking lot. The tragedy occurred during a morning of sports games at a local sports field. The young boy (4-years-old) was leaving a youth league football game with his family (his father is a coach) when he was struck by a pickup truck that was driving in the crowded parking lot. The boy was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead. 

This incident is especially concerning because of the environment in which it occured. I would hope that drivers in a youth field parking lot would be especially cautious knowing how many children are running around. I would also hope that drivers would be driving slowly so that if an accident did occur, the impact would be minimal. And this little guy was with his family, meaning that his parents were present, and I imagine that other adults were nearby when the accident happened.

But this tragedy demonstrates that you can never be too careful. These things happen so quickly, and I imagine that the many cars and people in the parking lot had something to do with the likelihood of this accident. 

There is a national organization that aims to prevent accidents like this. Kids and Cars' mission is "to assure no child dies or is injured in a non-traffic, motor vehicle related event." They believe that these types of accidents are preventable, and they offer valuable resources geared toward preventing a child from being injured or killed. They offer specific resources including information regarding the following topics:

• Backed Over by Vehicle (Backovers)
• Hit By Vehicle Moving Forward (Frontovers)
• Car Theft With Child In Vehicle
• Children Left in Vehicle (Heat Stroke Or Hyperthermia)
• Incidents Involving Power Windows
• Vehicle Set in Motion by a Child
• Underage Drivers

I urge everyone to peruse the Kids and Cars website - these incidents truly are easily preventable.

*I realize that some of the above statements might seem blameful, and I realize that this incident was merely an accident. I only point out that the situation appeared to be harmless because it helps us to understand how even "safe" situations can have unexpected and serious concerns.

Cold meds update

Less than a week after the FDA reported that they saw little evidence that over-the-counter cold medications work in children under 6-years-old (but fearing that parents would give kids adult medicines if the products were taken off store shelves), drug companies conceded that children under four should not be given over-the-counter cough and cold remedies. Pediatricians have asked that the drug companies take this one step further by ceasing all marketing of these medications to children under six.

According to an article Tuesday in the AP, drug companies stated that this warning, along with a warning to parents to not give children antihistamines to make them sleepy, will appear on the medications' labels this cold season.

The AP article offered these additional tips for giving cough and cold medicine to children (source: Consumer Healthcare Products Association):

Parents should never:

• Give adult medicines to a child.
• Give two or more medicines with the same ingredients at the same time.
• Give antihistamines to make a child sleepy.

Parents should:

• Give the exact recommended dose, using the measuring device that comes with the medicine.
• Keep OTC medicines out of sight and out of reach.
• Consult their doctor if they have any questions.

Learning from dad

I am constantly having conversations with moms who feel guilty. Guilty that they didn't spend enough time with one of their children. Guilty that they didn't get the laundry and cooking and cleaning done that day. It truly amazes me that moms constantly judge themselves when, let's face it, moms are accomplishing a crazy amount more than anyone gives them credit for.

But how often do you hear a dad express these same feelings of guilt? Not often. Men are definitely wired differently than women, and there might be a few things that women can learn from them regarding this cloud of guilt. Parents.com offered these three suggestions:

• Dads don't try to do it all. Men don't attempt to work full-time, be the primary caregiver to the kids, cook dinner, maintain the home, socialize with their friends and make time for their spouse. They just don't carry those expectations for themselves, plain and simple.
• Dads don't feel guilty when they take time for themselves. Men seem to constantly be looking for ways to squeeze in a round of golf or a poker night with their buddies. And when these opportunities arise, they don't think twice about having some me-time.
• Dads don't blame themselves for everything. When his little one hits another kid at playgroup, dad doesn't analyze his parenting and blame himself for this otherwise normal childhood occurrence. 

So how can us moms be more like the dads? Well, try not to check EVERYTHING off your list everyday. Sure, it's important to get things accomplished, but what's the big deal if you leave one or two things unchecked? And indulge in me-time when you have time (and if you don't have time, make time!). The more refreshed you are, the better off you are as a mom. And finally, embrace what are normal childhood situations. Just accept the fact that your child is going to do something embarrassing and outlandish; it's just a fact of life and not a result of your parenting skills.

Don't get me wrong, I do it too. I read a friend's blog or listen to a friend's story, and I think to myself, "ugh - how is she doing it all?" But just when I think I'm less than superior, I check in with my fatherhood-is-treating-me-well-husband and he reminds me that he hasn't picked up a broom in months and that round of golf he played on Saturday felt great. And when I ask him if he feels the slightest bit of guilt when our son has a 45-minute meltdown before bedtime, he gives me this quizzical look and asks, "why would I feel guilty?"

Parental control

So what do you think of this idea: Device will help parents limit teen drivers?

Apparently, Ford Motor Co. is rolling out a new feature called "MyKey" on many of its 2010 models. MyKey, a programmable computer chip in the car's key, is designed for parents who want to limit their teen drivers to 80 mph. Additionally, the computer chip allows the parent to limit the system's volume and to enable a function that sounds continuous alerts if the driver doesn't wear a seat belt.

Ford's director of electronic and electrical systems engineering put it this way, "Our message to parents is, hey, we are providing you some conditions to give your new drivers that may allow you to feel a little more comfortable in giving them the car more often."

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "more than 5,000 U.S. teens die each year in car crashes. The rate of crashes, fatal and nonfatal, per mile driven for 16-year-old drivers is almost 10 times the rate for drivers ages 30 to 59."

I like this "MyKey" idea. I would like it even more if it somehow disrupted the teen driver's cell phone signal so that he/she could not talk or text while driving. And so that I could still talk to my son even with his cell phone disengaged, allow the parent hands-free audio access into the vehicle so that I could still get ahold of my child to tell him things like, "don't forget, curfew's 11:00pm," or "if you stop by that party then you can kiss Homecoming goodbye." Not to worry, I have fifteen years before my child(ren) will be driving so there is plenty of time for the invention of these nifty enhancements. In the meantime, I am going to pray that I do not become that crazy, overbearing, always-nagging, helicopter parent that I so loathe.