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Florida Keys Healthy Start
Parent Newsletter December 2009
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Welcome
to our newsletter for Florida Keys families!
Please feel free
to share this resource with others.
- Healthy Start Coalition Staff
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National Aids Awareness Month
Get tested, get the facts, before
baby~
How does this effect you?
- if infected you could pass it to your baby
during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and breastfeeding.
Do
you know your status?
- be informed, make sure you make testing a part
of your preconceptual and prenatal care.
Where
can you get help?
- your community provides free testing for HIV
Monroe
County Public Health Department, AIDS Help, Inc.
Womankind
and your family physician are good choices
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Green
Gift Tips
Should
Christmas be a time when parents feel compelled to shop for toys?
As our
wallets are thinner and our concerns for the environment become greater;
perhaps we should give thought to this holiday tradition.
Each year
2.6 billion toys are purchased and guess where they end up?
Use the
Three R's when planning your holiday spending
Reduce
- instead of
purchasing many small toys, cut back and invest in a few meaningful
ones - preferably ones that do not have disposable parts., like
batteries.
- enroll your child
in a class and leave accessories under the tree, ie., tumbling
mat, soccer ball,
- shop for non-toy
items, ie., pj's, slippers, lunch box, items less likely to be
discarded in the immediate future.
Recycle
- Organize a toy
swap with family and friends, making sure that the toys are in good
shape with no missing or broken parts, and avoid plastics that are
not labeled PVC and Bisphenol-A free.
- Check for safety
tips at www.safbaby.com
Reuse
- Are there
household items that could be transformed into wonderful new gifts,
ie., clothing, blankets, dress up clothes. Check with friends
and family to pass along and share a favorite toy or gift - create a
new tradition.
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Shop
wise for your wee ones!
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Green Parents Wish List
Canadian based " Green Parents" group work with
companies to provide consumers with access to a list of products
that have been checked against specific restricted substance
standards.
Each product appearing on their Green Parents' List
website, and bearing the Green Parents' List Check Mark for Healthy
Home has been verified for lead, formaldehyde, and VOCs.
This provides a reference for parents that
the manufacturer of the product has gone the extra mile to
provide a responsible, safe product for use.
Check out their site for "The Top Ten Green Christmas
Gifts for 2009".
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"Prevent Blindness - Safe Toys Month"
It is no
coincidence that December was chosen by Prevent Blindness America as Safe
Toys and Gifts Month. Preventable toy injuries occur every year,
most frequently around the holidays.
Approximately
235,300 injuries reported last year were toy related, 73 percent of which
happened to children under the age of 15.
Although toy
safety regulations and enforcement are improving; the CDC had
38 toy recalls in 2009 alone.
Prevent Blindness American suggest:
- inspect
all toys before taking them out of the box to make sure there are no
small parts that could choking hazards
- avoid
toys that shoot or include parts that fly off
- (flying
toys caused 9600 injuries in 2008)
- keep
toys meant for older children away from younger ones
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News You Can Use!
Health Events
and Holidays!
12-Lighted
Boat Parade - 8pm
12-Keys
Community Band - Holiday Melodies - Key Largo
13-Healthy Start
Coalition Spa Launch - Gardens Hotel 5-7-7:39
11-12
Holiday Cayo Carnival - Reef Relief Benefit
12-13
Habitat for Humanity - Big Coppitt Open House
13-Florida
Keys Animal Expo - Higgs Beach
13-Stand
Up For Animals Holiday Mutt Strut - Marathon
13-Key
Colony Beach Boat Parade
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Food for Fines - Key West Library
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Coco Nutcracker - Key Largo
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Free Christmas Concert - Marathon Community Theatre
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Florida Keys Healthy
Start Coalition Staff and Board
Arianna
Nesbitt,CEO
Jody
Smith Williams, Administrative Assistant
Ja Good, Contract Manager
Leigh Ann Roach, Community Liaison
General
Inquiries fkhsc@yahoo.com
Holly
Merrill,
Chair, Rep. Saunders' Office
Liz
MacGard Vice Chai, Monroe County Detention Center
Nicole
Manning, Secretary, Lower Keys Medical Center
Mary
Williams, Early Learning Coalition
Members
at-large
Maggie Vogelsang, Lower Keys Medical Center, Maternal/ Infant Care Unit
Cheryl Cottrell, Mariners Hospital
Michael
Cunningham, AHEC Director
Shauna
Gionfriddo, Domestic
Abuse Shelter Direc
Liz
MacGard, Monroe County Detention Center
Denise
Vedrenne, DDS, Pediatric Dentistry
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