Document e5DGpkDXXDBBBLk1r5NOG2Z7q

Current Topics in ... I ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5 ... 6 ... 7 ... S ... 9 ...10 ... 11 ...12 ... 13 ... 14 ... 15 ... 16. ... 17 ... 18 ... 1 ... 20 ... 21 22 ... 23 ... 24 ... 25 ... 26 :0 ... 29 ... 30 ... 31 ... 32 ... 33 's pare Pro- HOME SAFETY As presented in the Home Safety Sessions of the 1949 National Safety Congress Home Safety for the Whole Community (Summary of a Panel Discussion)...................................... 4 Industry Is for Home Safety..................................................... 5 Seasonal Themes and How to Use Them in a Home Safety Program...................................... ..................... 7 Club Contests .......................................................................... . 10 The American 'Red Cross Program............................................. II A State Health Department Takes Hold.........,..................... 14 Responsibility of the Public Health Nurse............................ 17 The Parent-Teacher Association and Child Safety............... 19 BERS rmorc ach US .20 JO S0 ml 31. i, 1U. --WHP Volume 13 Transactions 1949 National Safety Congress NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL 20 North Wacker Drive Chicago 6. Illinois rr 0W6at& Tteta... In safety, as in ail other human activities, the question is repeatedly asked, "What's new?" Many answers to that question are .given every year by those who participate in the various sessions of the National Safety Congress. Many new methods, devices, and ideas which later became generally accepted first were presented at a Congress session. Because of this fact, safety leaders throughout the nation have always found the Transactions of the Congress a valuable tool in their accident prevention programs. Publication of the Transactions in small volumes--one for each Section or Division--permits wide distribution of pertinent portions of the Congress material to key individuals at small cost The 33 volumes of the 1949 Congress Transactions are listed on the last page. Distribution of these volumes to key personnel is suggested as a valuable aid in die safety program. In preparing these Transactions the proceedings of the Congress have been condensed and edited for reference purposes. Complete original manuscripts, with any charts or illustrations which were used, are available in National Safety Council files. Views expressed at the Congress or in this record are those of the Congress participants, and not necessarily those of the National Safety Council. THE HOME SAFETY CONFERENCE This volume is a record of the sessions held at the 1949 National Safety Congress by the Home Safety Conference. The conduct of these Congress sessions each year is only one of the many cooperative activities which the Conference carries on for the benefit of accident prevention work in the home. The activities of the Conference are under the direction of the officers of the Conference listed at the dose of this volume. 4 Home Safety Home Safety for the Whole Community (Summary of a Panel Discussion) Participants: Mbs. E. G. Stevenson, Director, Wom en's Activities, Greater Minneapolis Safety Council, Minneapolis, Minn. Mrs. Bert S. Johnston, Chairman, Wom en's Division, Greater Minneapolis Safety Council. Mrs. Herman Anderson, Women's Di vision, Greater Minneapolis Safety Council. Mrs. Levi M. Hall, Women's Division, Greater Minneapolis Safety Council. Bess J. Knox, Vice Chairman, Women's Division, Greater Minneapolis Safety Council. Mrs. Catherine McShane Ryan. Wom en's Division, Greater Minneapolis Safe ty Council. Mrs. William Wells, Women's Division, Greater Minneapolis Safety Council. This session was a simulated meetings of the Women's Division of the Greater Min neapolis Safety Council for the purpose of hearing reports of activities and projects already under way and of considering new projects. It was an attempt to show a safety council committee in action. Among the activities that were reported on were the following: The Women's Division at the request of the Traffic Section of the Safety' Council sent volunteer workers into loop depart ment stores to interview customers with a questionnaire asking the form of transpor tation taken to the store (auto, streetcar, bus, on foot). This survey was used for showing to loop merchants who were op posed to "No Parking" in the loop area, in order to find some alleviation for loop con gestion at peak traffic hours. The Women's Division carried a Courtesy Driver Notification program as a spring project and mailed form letters, of commen dation for courtesy to motorists. The Women's Seventh Annual Safety Institute was attended by representatives of 132 organizations. At the morning session of the institute talks were presented on home, school, traffic, air, radio, and dry cleaning. Exhibits from the public librarv displayed no-slip floor covering, safe toys, a Park Board, a Red Cross, and a N. \V. Airlines exhibit A portion of the morn ing's program--a children's safety play-- was televised. The home safety committee prepared copy for a home safety questionnaire for 125,000 stuffers in a public utility monthly bill ing. L. S. Donaldson Co., a large department store, displayed a "Model Safe Home" for which the home safety committee prepared placards pointing out the safety' features and trained and supervised 50 volunteer host esses to conduct tours of the home. More than 1.450 guests viewed the project The National Safety Council film, "Home, Safe Home" was viewed by members of Minne apolis organizations at 156 showings. The committee found the Program Package for Home Safety and the Child Safety Program Package of great help. There has been discussion in Minneapolis of adding safety as a subject in the curricu lum of the public schools, but it was de cided to integrate safety with other sub ject matter. Two auditorium programs a year in the schools are devoted entirely' to safety. An institute is conducted at the high school level. The editors of the school -papers are brought downtown to help pre pare their own program on safety in the schools. This is done concurrently with the driver license education program. There are three high schools which have training cars for use with their driver training pro grams. The problem is to reach the child early enough--perhaps at the junior high leveL The Fifth District Federated Gubs are participating in projects of the Women'? Division by arranging to conduct one month of Operation Safety, through telephone pub licity on the Safety' Institute by the president and volunteers, and through announcement? at club meetings. Regular stress of safety angles in wom an's page columns--Quid Giatter, House hold Hints and Mary Hart's cooking and canning series -- publicizes home safety. Other press and radio publicity included picture publicity on the Safety Institute. / tie .jvs, t N. W. e momr play- red copy :or 125,thiy biliKurtroem me" for prepared features eer host, e. More xrL The ne, Safe Minnegs. The kage for Program meapoUs curricuwas deher subgrams a itirely to ! at the ie school iclppre- wv At . There tralninf! ting prothe child ior high lubs are Women's ie month one pubpresident ncements in womHotise- ting and safety, included Institute Industry Is for Home Safety 5 spot announcements on the radio on all safety activities, television of the school safety program and of the fire program. New projects brought before the commit tee for action at the panel session included tbe following: The chairman was instructed to appoint a committee of three to meet with the sheriff to discuss the establishing of speedboat first aid and rescue service on Lake Minne tonka. A committee is to be appointed to pursue promotion of driver training in the city's junior and senior high schools. Based on the National Safety Council's "Safe Toys for Christmas Campaign Kit" which was heartily approved, the division has set in motion a safe Christmas cam paign project. Department heads for toy sections of all stores were invited to meet with the Women's Division on November 7th to discuss the project Two television shows have been arranged for during the campaign and the newspapers have indi cated they will cooperate. Industry Is for Home Safety By . H. BLEWER Assistant Supt. of Safety, New York Central System, New York City Before I tell yon about our home safety committees, let me give you just a few facts on safety as it applies to the railroad industry. The railroads of this country have been in the safety business since their in ception. Their main objective is to cany passengers and freight at the cheapest pos sible rates. As accidents are costly they are naturally figured into these rates. Through the years there have been a vast number of improvements to the railroad plants such as automatic signals, air brakes, cross ing bells, crossing gates, safety appliances on cars, heavier rails--all to that one end, to prevent accidents. Organized safety began on the American railroads in 1910 and safety departments were recognized as an important part of the operations of the railroads. Most rail roads today have safety departments or someone within the organization who is responsible for safety. Aside from accident prevention among our employes, the rail roads are concerned with a great variety of problems of which the average person is not fully aware. We must think about the safety of our passengers while they are on our trains or property; we must think about our shippers who depend on us to get their goods to their destination safely. Auto mobiles and trucks are an ever-present ac cident potential at rail-higtyvay crossings. Industrial plants which are*entered by cur train crews present many varied problems. Trespassers on our property come in for their share of our attention, and of course our employes are our constant concern. Unlike most industrial plants, the safety problems of the railroad are spread over a large area (for our own system, 11,000 miles). At some points there is a large concentration of men while at other points there may be only one man. In order to have a safe railroad it is necessary to reach even that one man. And here, in case you have been wondering all this time, is where home safety comes in. We had tried all the usual media through the years to reach every employee but we still felt that there was something lacking. We knew from our experience that the wives and children at home had a lot to do with the attitudes of their menfolks, so we began groping around trying to find the way to put that influence to work. In our monthly safety department publication. Safety Sidelights, popularly known as "The Green Sheet" because of its color, we began to print a few home safety items. At first we got no response at all Then from tbe Big Four part of our New York Central System came a letter from one of our freight agents, H. L. McKay. "Why not form family safety committees in the home" was the gist of .the letter. We thanked him and told him we might be able to use the suggestion. Then suddenly it struck: This might be just that elusive "something" that we were groping for. But we were treading on dangerous ground. 6 Home Safety A man's home is his sacred domain, and it was very necessary for us to proceed with a great deal of caution in order to promote this suggestion. In industry we have safety rules and operating rules with which we operate our railroads. These rules are based on the safe operation not only of trains but also of men. The experience of half a century of accident statistics is the foundation of these rules. But we realized that it is an im possibility for you or me to go into a man's home and set up a rule that tells his wife to use a small stepladder when she climbs up to those cupboards. You have to be super salesmen in order to convince this lady of her error without arousing her wrath. In the March, 194$, issue of the Green Sheet we published the letter from our agent. With this we printed a cut-out box to be filled in by any other interested per sons who wished to form a safety commit tee in his own home. This was to be sent to Mr. D. E. Mumford, superintendent of safety for the New York Central System. We appealed on a voluntary basis only. One man responded. Then for a month we did not receive any volunteers, and we had about decided that home safety was not that elusive "something." We looked at our one lonely name, then published that name as the only one who had responded and again we apparently drew a blank. Then the cut out boxes began to trickle in from different parts of our system. Month by month our list grew. First one hundred, then five hundred, then one thousand, and strangely enough from the same location where No. 1 had originated. Each month the Green Sheet carries the names, occupations and locations of about 150 employees who form home safety committees, but the backlog of names continues to build up and the list of those assuming their safety responsibilities in this manner grows. At first we were able to write a personal letter each month with some home safety material enclosed to each of our family committees, but as the list grew we have had to reorganize the mechanics of our plan. Mr. Mumford, however, did not wish to give up this personal touch entirely o he still sends to each new member a personal letter, together with a kit of safety material, which includes safety check lists for the homes, various other public safety materials and a copy of the Green Sheet Mr. Mumford has signed nearly 4,000 of these letters to date, and he's de termined his hand will hold out as long as the list grows. The new member is advised that all future safety material for use at the committee meetings will be contained in the Green Sheet each month. This keeps bookkeeping and mailing at a minimum but still establishes the monthly contact with all of our home committee chairmen, and the results are quite apparent. These family organizations are asked to use this material in meetings with their family or friends. Our material must of necessity be interesting and practical and covers everything from pots and pans to Junior riding his bicycle. We use a great deal of literature from the National Safety Council and the Red Cross. Safety morale" has greatly improved and everywhere men and women are com ing to realize that their first responsibility is to see that accidents are prevented. Some of these committees which were originally intended just for the family have grown to groups of two or three families. Some are attended by neighbors. One of our yard conductors in Windsor, Ontario, had a meeting in his home attended by 12 other conductors, brakemen, switchmen and now they arc all enrolled members of the home safety movement. It has even as sumed civic proportions. One man devel oped in his home safety meeting that bumed-out fluorescent light tubes were be ing improperly disposed of. He passed this information on to the proper city authori ties and received a quick response of ap preciation. We are discovering new > angles to this movement every day which I believe can be applied to home safety everywhere. We have had letters from different industries asking about this plan and how to start one. There is one railroad which is follow ing our plan verbatim and several which have varied it to suit their own needs. We even have some. committee members who are not railroad people and who secure the 'Green Sheet through our employees. We have a variety of 16mm. sound mo tion picture films on various safety subjects which we loan out to our own people and public Green nearly 2J dvised use at tained keeps m but . with a, and ked to their ust oi il and ms to : from e Red proved : comsibility . were y have milies. )nc of ntario. by 12 cn and of the en as* ) l ire be* ed this uthori* of ap- to this ve can re. We lustrief > start followwhich Is. We 5 who ire the id moubjects >le and Seasonal Themes and Haw to Use Them in a Home Safety Program 7 to any organization who requests one. Our supervising safety agents attend family groups, church groups, civic organizations and the like, showing those films' and giving a short talk on safety. Of course, we do have our railroad work to do and any side activity must be scheduled to fit in with the schedules of our men. I would like now to go back to the words voluntary and personal because we believe that these two words are the stepping stones to the success of our program. We started this program on a purely voluntary' basis and to date with nearly 4,000 home safety committees operating on our system, we still hold to the voluntary principle. If a man searches out a Green Sheet and sincerely writes his name on the cut-out box without any outside pressure, he is bound to have safety for himself and his family in his heart and will carry out his end of this program. If, however, you run into a gen eral foreman, as I did, who very smilingly handed me nearly 350 names all typed up on several sheets of paper and said everyone in his shop was just so enthusiastic about home safety' that they all wanted to join, don't believe it! Hand him back this list and explain to him the necessity of volun teering for this movement because the pro gram will not be a success under pressure. We believe we must give each individual something he can sink his teeth into; some thing in which he and he alone as an in dividual can take an active part. We hope that we have found the plan by which a man can sell himself on safety. And equally _ important is that personal touch. I don't need to point out to any of you how gratifying a personal letter from the boss can be. You've all had that ex perience. If you can keep your program on a very personal basis it will add a great deal to its success. As I said before, Mr. Mumford still writes a personal letter to each new member, and it is with deep regret that he cannot write to each member every month. Our home safety movement is growing every month along our system lines and if any of you people live in the towns and cities served by the New York Central System we would be very glad to aid you as much as possible. We are selfish enough to know that if you need us, even more do we need you for your help will go a long way in making our own New York'Central family more safety minded. No matter how we strive tor safety in industry, on the highways, in cities or in states, we know that we cannot achieve complete success until the fundamental prin ciples of safety are deeply rooted in each home. Seasonal Themes and How to Use Them in a Home Safely Program By ESSIE L. ELLIOTT Vice-President for Home Safety, Greater Los Angeles Chapter, National Safety Council In 1946 "Operation Safety'* was launched in Los Angeles. Civic groups were asked to assume leadership for monthly programs. Themes were chosen. Every agency and orgSnization was asked to cooperate. The following statistics show the results over the three years of concentrated effort on traffic safety education. In metropolitan Los Angeles in 1946 there were 505 traffic deaths 1947 there were 409 traffic deaths 1948 there were 289 traffic deaths The success of the year round traffic safety program encouraged the safety council to attempt a similar one for home safety. The following objectives were for mulated : To reach all persons in the Greater Los Angeles area with home safety education. To invite all organized groups to par ticipate in this program. To think in terms of a continuing pro gram, month by month and year by year. > : r 8 Home Safety The procedure for organizing a home safely program was as follows: The president of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the 'National Safety Council, appointed a Vice-President for Home Safety on January 1st, 1949. The vice president for Home Safety then Invited presidents of one hundred of the leading women's organizations in Los Angeles to a conference: To discuss the reasons for an all in clusive home safety program. To secure sponsorship for each month. To decide upon appropriate themes for each month. When themes and sponsors had been selected, it was necessary to hold a series of small group committee meetings. Al though many clubs already had safety chairmen, not enough help and inspiration had been given them to be as effective as they desired. It was evident the time was right for a united effort on the part of all agencies. An advisory' board of persons with time and willingness to serve was appointed. The personnel of this board consisted of: Two vice chairmen Radio and press chairmen Red Cross safety chairman City health department chairman Coordinating council director P.T.A, home safety chairman Speakers bureau chairman Statistics chairman Publicity Director of Greater Los An geles Chapter of the National Safety Council Manager of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the National Safety Council President of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the National Safety Council This advisory board Plans policy Prepares kits of material for sponsors Releases statistics Collects completed reports of each month's campaign as soon as it is over Advises sponsoring groups as to the best methods for securing public co operation and publicity Prepares the agenda for the monthly meetings. Progress Report for First Nine Months of the Home Safety Program in Los Angeles The following themes have been selected for each month JANUARY "Accidents to Children in the Home" FEBRUARY "Home Equipment" MARCH Tlaytime Hazards" APRIL "Garden Hazards" MAY "Cleaning Hazards" JUNE "Water Hazards" JULY "Hot Weather Hazards" AUGUST "Vacation Hazards" SEPTEMBER "To School and Home Again" OCTOBER "Home Fires" NOVEMBER "Home Accidents in Re lation to Business and Industrial Accidents" DECEMBER "Holiday Hazards" It-was necessary to "sell" home safety to key organizations capable and willing to take the lead for one month. Many as sisting organizations were invited to par ticipate. For example: In November, the Southern California Industrial Safety Societies, the American Society of Safety Engineers, the Executive Secretaries, and the Industrial Nurses will cooperate in telling Greater Los Angeles of the effect of home accidents on business and industrial efficiency. In December, the Los Angeles Advertis ing Women will concentrate on holiday hazards, assisted by the Executive Secre taries. In January, the Childrens Hospital will use all possible media to tell parents how to avoid accidents to children in the home. Many interested groups of parents will be asked to cooperate. It is advisable, in fact necessary, to have a regular meeting time and place once a month for sponsors. Another for the ad visory board or executive committee which ever it may be called. This is working sat isfactorily in Los Angeles. Reports--The accomplishments of the past month, the current month, and plans for the coming month, are presented by the sponsors at each meeting. A good speaker from civic or business life is an added attraction. [onths i set drcn in tzards" s" Home In Re iss and tents" i" ifety to ling to iny asto par- lifornia nerican cecodve its will Angeles msiness dv' H- fn Jr Secre- tal will its how e home, will be to have once a the ade which ing sat- of the id plans 1 by the business Seasonal Themes and How to Use Them in a Home Safety Program 9 Promptness in beginning and closing is essential. The chairman must keep speakers within their allotted time. As soon as each month's campaign is finished, a complete file is made for refer ence in the corresponding month of the coming year. Sponsoring groups are encouraged to use the media most accessible to them. In order to avoid duplication of pressures on press and radio, however, the sponsors are asked to refer to the safety council manager or the vice-president for home safety. The safely council submits the theme and names of the current sponsors to the Los Angeles Newspaper Publishers Association and Southern California Broadcasters Associa tion. They in turn give the "go" signal to all metropolitan newspapers and radio sta tions, who then accept releases without question. Evidence of Public Interest Although it may take a decade of monthafter-month, year-after-year educational promotion to result in a substantial reduc tion of home accidents, there are already same hopeful signs in Los Angeles area as well as in other cities of the United States. Among these evidences of an awakened in terest are: The excellent coverage of accidents by the press. The gift of time by radio stations. KRKD--weekly 15 minute program. The steadily increasing call for speakers on home safety. The offers of help by individuals, by clubs and by business firms. (One busi ness firm printed 150,000 of the National Safety Cbundl's check list on home acci dents.) The Red Cross mimeographed hundreds of copies of "52 Against You." The Los Angeles Advertising Women offered help in securing paper, printing and art work for leaflets. .The Executive Secretaries and the Na tional Secretaries Association offered to type letters and scripts. The President of the Southern Cali fornia Industrial Safety Society provides a secretary to record proceedings of "Op eration Home Safe Home* meetings. The business firms and stores have given space for exhibits. Service groups, sororities, garden clubs, and similar types of organizations are asking for suitable safety material for their publications. The Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles arranged for the sponsors and other key persons to see the children who were hos pitalized by avoidable home accidents. The Coordinating Council of Greater Los Angeles releases the current months safety helps to channel home safety materials to all of the 96 coordinating councils. The Health and Safety Departments of the Los Angeles public schools are active the school year round in getting safety education into homes. The Los Angeles City Health Department reaches parents in the clinics by leaflets, talks to clubs and on the radio, and in Stork News, its monthly newspaper. A city^health staff member prepared an excellent outline on community organization for safety. (Available on request of Los Angeles Safety Council). The Womens Division of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce has safety chairmen in each of its 15 districts. These chairmen are invited to monthly safety meetings and are given outlines for talks and for com munity organization. They receive the theme promotion literature each month. The womens divirion has for several years spon sored a Clean Up Week for the Gty. They have now added sponsorship of cleaning hazards to their program for the month of Hay. The Los Angeles Fire Department sends a representative to monthly meetings. The excellent film on fire protection produced by this department is available to all groups in this area. The Junior Chamber of Commerce pre sents special demonstrations on fire preven tion during October. As we look to the future of "Operation Home Safe Home," we are confronted with many problems: How can we make the five million resi dents in Greater tos Angeles conscious of their individual responsibility to practice safety? We can reach a fair proportion of the population by press, radio and dub contact How to reach the many who do not have access to these media of communication ? ! ' 10 Home Safety How can home safety programs be ade quately financed? What are the best methods of getting safety education into every home? How can statistics on home accidents be obtained for year after year evaluation of the Home Safe Home program? Suggestions and Conclusions Since accidents kill more than other pre ventable causes of death among those en titled to legitimate life expectancy, it has been suggested that we require safety inoc ulation just as we do for smallpox, scarlet fever, plagues etc.! Our efforts today to make the public conscious of its indifference, discourtesy, ignorance and heedlessness may someday arouse sentiment to a point where safety education from infancy to old age is ac cepted procedure. Until that time there must be safety in struction and supervision in business, in industry, in schools and in all other organ ized groups. There must also be adequate training of leaders, teachers, executives and agency per sonnel. If our school children throughout the en tire United States could take home just one home safety thought each day of the school year, it would surely result in reducing home accidents. There needs to be education of all who are capable of an approach to reason that it is human error and human behavior which cause accidents--not the inanimate objects we dub as hazards. The individual creates the hazard, not the inanimate object. Until we can help persons to recognize their personal responsibility towards the cause and prevention of accidents, we must continue to point out the contributing causes --careless use of equipment, neglect, and thoughtlessness. We need an active heme .safety program in every city and rural community. We need financial support for home safety just as we have now for other types of safety education. Money is needed for a full time secretary or manager especially in large cities and for purchasing leaflets from the National Safety Council in quantities sufficient for effective distribution. We need to gather statistics through such agencies as: the public health department, the coroner's office, hospitals, surveys and spot maps. These statistics are hard to get. Care should be taken to avoid duplication of effort in securing such data. There should be several places (especially in large cities) where safety literature is available to sponsors, speakers, script writ ers, reporters and laymen. There is a wealth of fine home safety literature now available from the National Safety Council, insurance companies. Red Cross, health departments, magazines, and from cities with programs in operation. Collections of this literature should be placed in each city at: the safety council headquarters, main and branch libraries, health and welfare headquarters and school libraries. The challenge to lower the number of deaths and injuries from home accidents is the business of us all. Especially must we search for leaders to carry out a long range program as im portant and as philanthropic in its implica tions as are those of other agencies con cerned with human life. Club Contests Summary of a Talk By MRS. GEORGE W. JAQUA Safety Chairman, General Federation of Women's Clubs, Winchester, Ind. There are all lands and varieties of contests, and no single rule can apply to all local situations. Contests can be used for campaigns in the progressive sense or they can be more limited. The important thing is to deride the length of time you are going to devote to them, The prizes given for contests can be anything from a slip of paper to something having considerable monetary value Some- auses , and vf ^ safety es of for a illy in from ntities 1 such tment, s and Care effort ecially ure is t writ- safety ational s. Red s, and ion. uld be council wanes, school her of ler ^ ders to as immplicaes con- L you are be anyimething . Some- The American Red Cross Program 11 times, however, a certificate offers more mental satisfaction than the more expensive prizes. Contests can be held on different bases. Question and answer contests are always received with enthusiasm. Contests can be held on a no-accident period basis and adapted for school, community, industry, or business organizations. One can have a Main Street type of contest, business-wise, or an inter-business one: Scope of these contests is limited only by the scope of individual imagination. Sponsorship plays an important part in the field scope of a contest A national organization can use state or local units. You can start with the state organization and work to local communities. Or you can start with communities and develop interdub contests or can even have "inner-dub" contests within their own membership. An honest confession session is a good one for this type of contest In order to develop a contest, you must have the facts settled to start with. Then must stimulate community interest, awaken ing of value and need. Encourage organi zational action. Enlist all your interests. After the community has become aware of the need for a contest, furnish groups with information and assistance. Maintaining in terest is a job of the planners. They must collect reports and evaluate them. However, the method of evaluating them must be de termined at the beginning. One might have a safe homes plan con test for local architects, a good driver award. The subject, range and extent or limitation of the contests must be planned beforehand. A contest, however, is' not worth the effort unless out of it comes some sort of continuing development It is not necessarily an end in itself but is primarily a stimula tion for continuing progressive action in this field. The American Red Cross Program By W. K. SWANEY Assistant National Director, Accident Prevention, American Red Cross, Washington, D, C. Someone has very properly referred to child safety as the problem child of the safety movement There is this much to be said, however, for this particular child--it has not been spoiled by too much attention. In comparison with industrial or highway safety efforts, attention to child and home safety has lagged decidedly. True, some organizations, such as the National Safety Council, public health departments, youth organizations, schools, the American Red Cross and others have been actively pro moting child safety, particularly in the past 10 or lb years. But the people, individually and collectively, have been slow to accept their responsibility for this problem child. TJiose of us who are aware of the in trinsic need and value of efforts toward child safety and who are in a position to do something about it must continue to in crease our efforts to arouse the people to the situation, to inform them of the need, to take leadership in community organiza tion and to inspire communities and .the nation as a whole to make a determined effort to reduce the number of accidents among children. We face a grave problem. We do not have the organizational responsibility nor the dollars and cents facts of industrial safety promotion. Nor do we have the dramatic appeal nor the laws and regulations that,are available in meeting the traffic safety problem. How then are we to accomplish our task? I do not pretend to know the whole answer. But today I want to tell you what contribu tions the American Red Cross is making and how our chapters can help in a united and concentrated effort. We believe, on the basis of our long experience, that one of the most direct and successful approaches to- safety--for chil dren or adults-- is through systematic edu cation. Each individual child must have individual contact with safety education and must learn to accept, early in life, a per sonal responsibility and desire to take risks wisely. He must learn to avoid needless accidents that will cause harm to himself or someone else. 12 Home Safety At the same time, we must remember that which was one of the most successful in the the safety of the child, particularly in pre history of the program. school years and continuing throughout childhood, is closely related to the attitudes of parents. Even -though the home does not have as great an influence upon the child as it did in the past, we still must depend upon parents to provide as safe an environ ment as possible and to cooperate actively in establishing a pattern of safe living. Accident prevention is the principal that permeates every phase of the safety serv ices. However, in 1935 it became apparent that more direct attention was needed on the prevention of accidents in the day-by dayactivities in the home, on the farm, and among children. ` As a result, a new pro gram, Accident Prevention, was developed. Supplementing a program of direct educa tion, we in the Red Cross also realize the value and widespread accomplishments which can be made through public educa tion. By this I mean the utilization of all possible media--magazines, newspapers, ra In 1942 this program was furthered by or ganization of courses. In the comparatively short time that this program has been in operation, more than 200,000 certificates have been issued for courses completed in this subject dio, posters, movies, talks, pamphlets, dis Each program. First Aid, Water Safety plays, and so forth--not only to inform and Accident Prevention, is related to the people of the problem and encourage their prevention of accidents to children. We participation in safety movements, but also have learned, through the years, that first to teach them how they, individually, can aid training not only prepares individuals help prevent accidents. to give proper emergency care to the in The American Red Cross has had a long history of interest in safety. By our very charter, granted to the organization by Con gress in 1905, the Red Cross is charged with devising and carrying on measures for pre venting sufferings caused by "great national calamities." And what greater calamity' do we face today than the accidents which are taking 100,000 lives every year and which are the leading cause of death among children. jured,, but also definitely contributes to the prevention of accidents by making individ uals more safety-conscious. Results in in dustry indicate that when employees are trained in first aid, as a part of the safety program, the number of lost-time accidents is cut by more than 50 per cent The Amer ican Tdephone and Telegraph Co., for ex ample, has been teaching first aid to em ployees for about 20 years. They have found in control studies that the first-aid-trained individuals are 50 per cent less prone to me Our initial step into the safety field oc accidents than those untrained. curred in 1910, when a first aid program First aid training for adults, especially was started in response to demands for parents, has a residual benefit in preventing training in emergency care of the injured, child accidents because parents so trained particularly in industry. Gradually, interest are more likdy to maintain a safer home became more widespread and the program environment And, too, parents so trained expanded to schools and to the public as are better prepared to give care in case of a whole, innce that first start in 1910, accidental injury. The concern of accident nearly 12,000,000 certificates have been is prevention in the Junior First Aid program Vt:-. sued by the Red Cross for courses com is reflected in the foreword of a recently pleted in first aid. published American Red Cross First Aid Interest in aquatics and concern over the large number of drownings led to creation of the Lite Saving Service of the Red Cross in 1914. As the program developed, it became evident that one of the best ways to prevent drowning was to teach people how to swim, and as a result, courses in swimming as well as life saving were offered to the public. Certificates for this Textbook for Juniors, which says in part: "At the Junior level, the most important objective of first aid teaching is accident prevention, applied safety-mindedness." The great objective of all health education is improved beha.vior in every-day living. If the teadiing situation conforms closely to the real-life situation, the carry-over may be good. program, now called Water Safety, exceeded A large part of the water safety program the 6,000,000 mark during the last year. is quite naturally dedicated to young people. in- the Opt } K J Mi on y day , and proloped. y ortively en in icates :ed in iafety o the We first idoals le in:o the dividin ins are safety idents Imer>r ex> emfonnd rained me to sd } ent*-0 rained home rained tse of cident jgTam centiy t Aid part: ortant rident * The ion is ig. If dy to may 3gram leople. The American Red Cross Program 13 Few people realize that drowning- is the second cause of accidental death among persons from 5 to 24 years of age. This, of course, is partly because interest in swim ming is greatest for young people. Every year hundreds of thousands of children and adults are- learning the fundamental dolls of swimming and self-rescue, and approxi mately 100,000 more are being trained in skills of life saving. In recent years, the primary emphasis in the accident prevention program has been on the youth of the nation. A definite course in junior accident prevention for chil dren in grades seven to rune, or for boys and girls from 12 to 14 years of age, is steadily gaining in popularity. The accept ance of this certificated program, "Youth on Guard Against Accidents," is indicated by a report from one metropolitan 'chapter which has been asked to train about 15,000 teachers in connection with use of Red Cross accident prevention materials. To meet the need for material which will help reduce accidents among children, the Red Cross two years ago developed "Sug gested Guides for Safety Instruction," for use by teachers in the primary and elemen tary school grades. Provided for use on a monthly basis is one set of nine lessons for grades 1 to 3, another set for grades 4 to 6. The Guides give teachers information, sug gested games, posters, and other material to be used in acquainting the child with safe habits and attitudes in daily living. These attractively illustrated Guides have been exceedingly popular among educators throughout the nation. In fact, the demand has far exceeded the supply. Our report now shows that approximately 2,000,000 children received instruction through the use of the Guides during the last school year, and it is expected that these aids will be used to even a greater degree this year. Another device used among elementary school children is the Child Safety Check last This attractive brochure not only gives pupils a graphic reminder of safe habits, but since the child is instructed to take it home, also provides parents with information on safety for children. All of the programs mentioned are di rected toward the conservation of human life and are provided to' communities through the approximately 3,750 local chap ters throughout the nation Each Red Cross chapter represents a resource which is avail able to every community. The extent to which these programs are carried on in any community depends upon the need and de mand of that particular locality. "Need" is the basis on which all Red Cross programs are based. These particular safety programs are not super-imposed upon the community. In fact, it would be impossible to do so, since their very operation depends upon public-spirited and conscientious citizens who are willing and able to participate in the many activities offered by the chapter. Let me emphasize that it is against our fundamental policy to duplicate existing efforts. We are traditionally a cooperating agency, available as a resource to indi viduals and groups in the community to strengthen the program of others or to solicit cooperation in meeting a community need. Consequently, you will find that there is a good deal of variety in the programs of the various chapters throughout the na tion.- However, every chapter, backed up by the national organization, can be of help when the demand indicates the chapter is needed. At the same time, the fact that a program is needed is not always readily seen by a community. Consequently, we as an organi zation, feel a definite responsibility for acquainting people with the needs of the community. I have said earlier that it is up to every organization that knows the problem to cooperate in an effort to arouse the people to the tremendous child accident problem which is facing us today. Too few people realize that we kill more than 14,000 chilren every .year in accidents. Too few know that there are agencies, like the Red Cross and others, which can give help. Too few have a desire to really work toward improving the situation. I have outlined in general the various pro grams which the Red Cross has to offer. How then do we carry these out in the local chapter? Our instructional program is based on the participation of volunteer instructors--in dividuals who wish to contribute to their community and who look to the Red Cross for guidance. Instructor training courses, conducted through local chapters by field representatives throughout the national or ganization, are available to anyone who wishes leadership training in any one of the three programs. lit. JLM, ) Borne Safety Standards for these instructor courses are set by the national organization! Many schools, industries, government units, civic groups, youth organizations and others are participating in the Red Cross program by selecting individuals within their organiza tion for instructor training. These instruc tors, in turn, utilize their training to spread instruction among their groups. During the summer months, in response to demand for instructor training, the Red Cross conducts about 30 national training schools. These 10-day camp schools offer at a nominal cost leadership training for those individuals who wish to become quali fied instructors in any of the three phases of the program. Realizing that not every person can be reached with information and training through formalized courses, the Red Cross also carries on a vast program of public education. The elementary school safety guides are a sample of this type of planning, these are available, through local chapters, to teachers who wish to use them. Many local chapters also extend safety knowledge through displays, demonstrations, newspaper and magazine articles, and various other public media. With the exception of textbooks, there is no charge made for the instruction of fered. Instructor courses and other serv ices maintained by the Red Cross are paid for by the voluntary contributions made to the Red Cross by the public each year. And the cost of these safety programs is rela tively low since the major portion of the work b done by volunteers--individually or within their organization. What I want all of you to realize b that the Red Cross is a resource which can be called upon by any individual or organiza tion interested in the problem of child safety. Because of its well-recognized or ganization and ability to utilize volunteers, it b in a unique position to be of help. The chapter in your community has rich re sources and stands ready to cooperate in fighting one of our most serious problems today--child accidents. A State Health Department Takes Hold By EDITH R. DOANE Director, Child Safety Education, Massachusetts Safety Council, Boston, Mass. On March 25, 1948, Massachusetts initi ated a constructive program in accident pre vention under the leadership of Dr. Vlado A. Getting, State Commbsioner of Public Health. resulting from such consolidation would be many times more effective. Also, such a pooling of ideas, purposes and projects, sendees and programs would tend to elim inate over-lapping and duplication of efforts. On that date he called together a group Dr. Getting explained this objective to of representatives of state-wide . agencies thb first gathering and amplified his thesis and organizations for the purpose of draw that it was thoroughly appropriate that our ing up a plan for the establishment of an state department of public health should action committee which would correlate the realize its responsibility to promote the efforts of these several groups in one over safety of the citizens as' well as their health. all program to help reduce the toll of acci Thb sentiment was unanimously approved dental deaths and injuries in Massachusetts. by those attending the meeting and before Ben Franklin's well-known bundle of sticks may well serve as the illustration for the soundness of this move. If the numer its conclusion the Massachusetts Advisory Committee on Accident Prevention had been organized. ous state and private agencies, representing In selecting -the personnel to be invited independent and heterogeneous safety cam to thb first organization meeting, no at paigns, could be packaged together through tempt was made to indude a representative the consolidating influence of the State from every dvic and voluntary agency, Department of Public Health, Dr. Getting every adult group or every department of believed that any and all action programs,. the state Rather a selection was made whi dep it v mitt it v sub sim T one low Far part labc ton, coir dul He vert heal tiou sett Pul T sent safe grai mot don edui max sud higi atio F gest proj safe dusi A tees sde wor suband M beer raee as* thei com mitt obta rush pub! eacl ture edge aper ther ofervpaid e to And elathe ir or that i be lizahild or:ers. The rei in lems 1 be h sets, limMts. : to wsis our 3uld the ilth. ved fore sory teen ited at- .tive ncy, ; of lade A State Health Department Takes Hold 15 which would represent the type of group or department This served two purposes; first it would keep the central, or steering, com mittee down to a reasonable size; second, it would permit recruiting membership for subcommittees from other organizations of similar types. Those at this initial round-table included one or more representatives from the fol lowing types of groups; women's clubs. Farm Bureau, American Legion, state de partment of education, state department of labor and industries. Archdiocese of Bos ton, Community Recreation Service, city commissioner of health, a men's service club, American Red Cross, Massachusetts Medical Society, a large co-educational uni versity, city park commissioner, industrial health consultant, Parent-Teacher Associa tion, casualty insurance company, Massachu setts Safety Council and Department of Public Health. This group did not include any repre sentative of any state department of highway safety because, in Massachusetts, this pro gram is administered by the registry of motor vehicles. It has a sizable appropria tion and staff and carries on an excellent educational and enforcement program. It maintains its own state-wide contacts on such an extensive scale that adult and child highway safety have become major consider ations here. Four major fields of activity were sug gested, and adopted, for initial study and program development These were: home safety; rural areas; recreation areas; in dustry. A chairman of each of these sub-commit tees was appointed and charged with the selection of the personnel of his respective working group. The personnel of these sub-committees is constantly being revised and increased. Meetings of the steering committee have been held at two-month intervals, whereas meetings of sub-committee groups are held asu frequently as necessary at the call of their chairmen in between these times. Sub committee chairmen attending steering com mittee meetings report activities, plans, obtain approval of specific projects and fur nish data and news to form the basis for publicity releases. In addition to reports, each steering committee meeting has fea tured some guest speaker who gives an in teresting and authoritative message on some phase of accident prevention. At one of these meetings we were fortunate to have Dr. John E. Gordon of the Harvard School of Public Health, who gave his illustrated lecture on the "Epidemiology of Accidents." By Fall of 1948 it became dear to the steering committee that, while this mythi cal bundle of diverse energies had been tied together by one motivating idea, the several sticks making up its whole were sort of bunched together and needed more perfect aligning for greater strength. It was then that a major dedsion was taken: to make the primary purpose of the advisory committee to obtain statistical data concerning the kinds and seriousness of acci dents and accidental deaths that were hap pening to the people of Massachusetts. .This information was declared to be absolutely necessary before any specific educational program on accident prevention could be undertaken. In other words, we had to find out what our problem was here before we could take steps to solve it at the state level. From here on, the advisory committee began to make more definite progress. The recreation sub-committee was the first to get under way with its fact-finding program. It studied the standard student accident reporting system forms issued by the Na tional Safety Council for school use and created new but similar forms for the re porting of all lands of accidents happening to children in public playground areas. When the appropriate data has been filled in for any accidental injury or death, the reviewer will be able to know who had the accident, what happened, what part of the body was injured, how extensive the injury was and what possible action had been taken by the director to avoid the repetition of another similar accident These reporting forms were sent out to about 123 playground directors with the request that the monthly summary forms be returned to the Advisory Committee on Accident Prevention, in care of the State Department of Public Health. Because this was a new program and in volved one more set of monthly statistics, playground directors were a little slow to co-operate in the first few months but gradually their co-operation increased and 16 Home Safety became more prompt Monthly summaries are now being studied by the recreation sub-committee. It is their opinion that this sampling of recreational accidents to children will point the way to a specific educational pro gram, to oe planned and readied this com ing winter for activation before another season starts next summer. This sub-committee has undertaken four more continuing projects: 1. Study of existing printed materials on playground and recreational accident pre vention and safety, duplication of subject matter, adequacy of treatment, etc, pre liminary to possible issuance of new printed material over the name of the Advisory Committee 2. Promote inclusion of some questions on safety in the state civil service examina tions for playground supervisors. 3. Work for more integration of accident prevention programs in meetings of recrea tion supervisors. 4. Seek means of introducing basic safety rules in leisure playtime activities of older people This was partially accomplished through the enclosure of a sheet of accident prevention suggestions in kits of play equipment rented to adult groups by the Community Recreation Service of Boston, whose director happens to be chairman of this sub-committee. The home safety sub-committee, whose chairman was the chairman of the Division of Public Health and Safety of the State Federation of Women's Clubs, was a little slow to get up its own steam, although the chairman could report many worthwhile projects being undertaken by the Federation itself. Following the decision to proceed on a fact-finding basis, a group was selected to study existing home accident report forms and to create one which would indude the best points of each one and also a ques tion or two concerning what had been done to correct the unsafe practice and avoid the repetition of a similar accident. It was felt that many of the existing'forms were only for the purpose of reporting a home accident and that not enough was done to provoke thought and action in eliminating causes of recurring similar accidents. This form was referred to the steering committee and finally adopted. Every at tempt was made to keep it as simple as possible in the realization that such a form would, in the majority of cases, be made out by some member of a household and not by any trained health worker. The steering committee voted to promote a total of 10 surveys of home accidents in test areas throughout the state, selected to represent types of urban, rural and manu facturing communities. These were Lynn, Fall River, Lowell, Brookline, Westboro, Pittsfield, North Adams, Springfield and the Nashoba Health Unit serving several adjacent rural areas. In addition, the data bring accumulated by the board of health in a home accident survey of Wellesley, is to be included in the final summary. This has now developed into a joint proj ect of the home and the farm safety sub committees. It will be started early this winter, as. soon as the forms have been printed and the various health workers in the selected districts have been briefed on the purpose and the procedures of the sur vey. The first approach locally has already been made with the chairmen of the boards of health whose assistance was required to sponsor and carry through surveys in their communities. The State Department of Public Health has also pledged its assistance in underwriting these surveys, both in cost and in personnel. *A continuing project of the home safety sub-committee is that of contacting manu facturers of certain lands of home articles, machines and equipment to induce them to furnish printed instructions on how to use the article or device safely. The sub-committee on industry has de veloped its own fact-finding project It surveyed a group of 96 different manufac turing plants to determine the extent of their systems for reporting home accidents resulting in on-the-job absenteeism. Seventyone, or 74 per cent of the questionnaires were returned. Out of these only 19 re ported keeping records of off-the-job acci dents but several indicated their willingness to incorporate such data in employee health records in the future. The data obtained was projected to form a statistical pattern for state industry as a whole and the re sulting figures showed an estimated 10,500 lost-time; off-the-job accidents of which 76 were fatalities in 1947. It was also esti- uu IS! 00 tw eu pri ere de ao ao wl inj on of de is re: pu all po wa me tal me foi wi de. am ch inc to it ku wl ms po we hei itq ry atple as loan def ^ id ; ornate ndents dected manuLynn, itboro, 1 and evcral e data health ley, is : projf subf this been ers in ed on e surIready ioards red to i their nt of stance n cost safety m? ti cm to to use is dert It lufacnt of idents ventynaires 19 re acdigness health tained attero be re10,500 ich 76 esti- Responsibility of the Public Health Nurse 17 mated that, these accidents caused the loss of As I review our deliberations and actions 159,200 man-days of labor and over $1,- of the past 18 months, I can point to no 0001,000 in loss of earnings. spectacular accomplishment We are pro This sub-committee is now working on ceeding slowly but, we believe, soundly. two continuing projects: We know that the future health of the 1. An education program with industrial people of Massachusetts depends to a very employers to encourage them to initiate sizable extent on the prevention of illness procedures for obtaining data from their and injuries resulting from accidents. We employees concerning their off-the-job acci have accepted as fact that if home accidents dents. be a primary problem of community medi 2. An investigation of the feasibility of cine, then it is reasonable to apply to its accumulating data concerning off-the-job solution the techniques upon which all com accidents from those insurance companies munity health practies are based. We are which write group policies for sickness and attempting an epidemiological analysis of injury. the broad problem before directing a focal attack where the condition is determinably The steering committee has taken for its most pronounced, through specific educa own fact-finding project, the accumulation tional techniques and the demonstration of of all kinds of accident statistics and acci preventive measures by public health work dent prevention educational material. This ers in people's homes. We are attempting is being placed in a special section of the to define accident patterns as they represent reference library of the state department of a combination of forces of origin. Five public health and is coh&antly available to years from how an evaluation of our ac all committee members. A particularly im tivities should, and we believe, will, show a portant addition to this reference library good many items on the accomplishment was secured from material obtained from side of the ledger. membership in the National Safety Council, taken out in the name of the state depart ment of public health. The steering committee is also responsible The contribution of the Massachusetts ' Department of Health to this better-health- through-safety program is significant. for the release of publicity through state 1. It has sponsored the program at the wide channels. This is furnished to health top level, through the commissioner. department news writers, who polish it off 2L It has contributed some of its top and distribute it through state-wide news channels. But it has a problem which is constantly increasing in importance. It needs funds to carry on its several projects. Up to now personnel to committees. 3. It has donated quarters and equipment for meetings and programs. 4. It has absorbed incidental expenses. it has functioned without a budget of any 5. It has approved of the several sub kind. It is now trying to evolve some plan committee projects, thus insuring wide whereby specific funds may be allocated or spread acceptance by the people and their made available to it. co-operation. Responsibility of the Public Health Nurse By MRS. ELIZABETH H. McCREARY Superintendent, Infant Welfare Society of Chicago The Infant Welfare Society of Chicago is a public health organization serving the poorest districts in the city of Chicago. We were organized in 1911 'to improve the health of the coming generation tty beep ing the baby well before his birth by caring for the mother and after his birth by teach ing her how to feed and care for her child. Living conditions in the districts served by our society are inimical to the health of children; a counter agent Is imperative, not only for the sake of the individual 18 ,, Home Sajety child, but also for the benefit of society as a whole. j We give direct service to expectant mothers and well children up to six years of age in families where they are unable to pay for health supervision in twenty-one districts. Our task is to keep the well child well. If the child needs medical care, he is sent to a private doctor, dispensary' or hospital. Through the work of our doctors, nurses, nutritionists, and mental hygiene service, we have been able to raise the health levels and lay a foundation for better citizenship. Public health in the United States has made greater strides in the past thirty-five years; childhood mortality has decreased 80 per cent in that period and contagious disease has dropped 90 per cent. In 1903, 109 Chicago babies died out of every 1,000 before completing their first year. In the year of 1948, we lost eleven out of 2,956--or an approximate death rate in 1903 of 10 plus per cent 1948 of 58 of one per cent The reduction in the mortality rate of children has brought us face to face with the prevalence of accidents among children. In 1947, we had eight deaths out of 6,350 preschool children or 12 per thousand, which is twice the mortality percentage of infants. Four of those deaths, or 50 per cent of the total, were due to accidents. For the past two years, accidents have been the greatest cause of death in the pre school group. In January, 1948, when Dr. Heyworth N. Sanford, our medical director, spoke at our annual meeting he said: "I believe the time has come for this society to begin an active campaign for accident prevention. Since 1943, accidents have been the leading cause of death of all children from one to nineteen years of age in the United States. It has been generally recognized that accidents seldom `just hap pen'. They are nearly always caused by definite factors. Ninety per cent of all acci dents are preventable, and four-fifths of all accidents of children under four years of age are due to errors of omission or com mission by adults." In March of 1948 we started our cam paign to try to teach our mothers how to protect themselves and their children from common accidents, to make the mother aware of the hazards in her own home. We decided to use a check list, which we were able to secure from Mr. Gearhart of the National Safety Council. When the nurses go into the homes on new cases, this list is given to the mothers and explained fully. She is asked to check it and return it to the nurse on her next visit. The nurse goes over it carefully and gives the mother such advice as is needed. However, we find that the mothers are quite conscious of the hazards after going over the lists. Many of the fathers have made many repairs be fore the lists were returned. Later we made a check list of our own to better fit our own needs. We also developed a plan of all nurses reporting all accidents at once to our main office. We worked out a form for these and at the end of nine months' recording, the National Safety Council checked them, over .from a statistical standpoint; then we had a conference with Mr. Gearhart and Mr. James. These were some of the im portant findings reported: There were 143 accidents reported--32 of vvhich occurred where there was no super vision at the time of the accident and 40 occurred where there was supposed to be adult supervision--making a total of 72 out of 143 where adult supervision was lacking or faulty. -The child of one year of age was the victim of more than any other age group and falls were the greatest in number. Of these accidents by falling, 12 were from baby buggies or strollers; 12 from falling down stairs; 6 from beds and 5 from chairs. One child of 18 months was sitting on a common kitchen chair near a coal stove. She fell and hit her head on the stove and sustained a skull fracture, which caused her death. The different centers of our women's auxiliary group volunteered to supply us with posters, which were made by art students in different schools. These posters are in our stations on display. We feel that the students, who did this work, benefited themselves, too. We all realize that the public health nurse is in a strategic position. She is a friend to the mothers in her district, and they gladly accept with interest the advice given concerning accidents. an >01 mi pr< an< ma of get sec tag itu Te Lo ing sta am wi! poi edt wa do: the cat the am on) ma sid shi ers yoj pn it da scf Ion str jec yoi nother te. ar en s, this ilained return nurse nother 'e find of the Many rs be made it our nurses main these >rding. them en we t and e im- -32 of supernd 40 to be 2 out tcking is the grpno <) fro../ ailing fairs, on a stove, e and ;d her mens ly us y art osters 1 that lefited health : is a ; and idvice The Parent-Teacher Association and Child Safety 19 The Parent-Teacher Association and Child Safety By MRS. HENRY S. PIERSON Safety Chairman, Illinois Congress of Parents and Teachers, Evanston, EL The objects of the P. T. A. movement are: To promote the welfare of children and jouth in home, school, church, and com munity. To raise the standards of home life. To secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth. To bring into closer relation the home and the school that parents and teachers may cooperate intelligently in the training of the child. To develop between educators and the general public such united efforts as will secure for every child the highest advan tages in physical, mental, social, and spir itual education. The National Congress of Parents and Teachers has more , than 2,600,000 members. Local parent-teacher associations, number ing approximately 28,000( are found in all states of the Union, and in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rica These members all joined willingly; they all think schools are im portant; they are all concerned about the education of their children; and they all want to help. If some of them are not doing their best, it is probably not because they are insensitive or apathetic. It is be cause too few of their leaders have taken the time or made the effort to inform them and enlighten them as to what they can do. The Parent-Teacher Association is the only organization in America today that makes "indusiveness" an important con sideration in the selection of its member ship. It welcomes fathers, mothers, teach ers, and all other friends of children and yojpth, without regard for social, political, professional or religious status. Because it recognizes no social barriers the asso ciation gives a sense of belonging to the school and to the teacher a means of be longing to the community. It unites the strength of its members nfxrn a single ob jective: the well-being of children and youth. In order to maintain this objective the bond between parents and teachers must be very dose. Mothers and Dads should make every effort to know their child's teacher and to tell of his best and weakest points. The teacher should welcome the opportunity of knowing the parents and discussing with them the things she has observed at school. It is only through cooperation and under standing between parents and teachers that the child will develop into the kind of citizen that we hope will take over our country in the future. How does this all tie in with safety? In just this way: if the child is ever to reach the age of maturity he must be pro tected from dangers until he is old enough to learn how to protect himself. Parents are teachers from the very beginning of a child's life. How good a child you have depends on how good a teacher the parent has been. All children are mimics from the time they learn to copy the wave of your hand in saying "goodbye" to the time he copies how you drive the family car. Recently there has been a strong feeling that a greater emphasis be placed on the pre-school child. The P. T. A. has organized a pre-school section and has furnished the leaders. For those of us interested in safety this has been a tremendous step for we lave felt that a child's safety training should start in the crib. In various com munities safety representatives have gone before these parents of pre-school children to show them the dangers of unlocked medi cine chests, playing with sharp-edged tools and toys, the dangers that are ever present in everyone's kitchen. Last year in Evanston a member of the Accident Prevention Bureau spoke to the pre-school parents. The greatest accident toll in that city was to children of pre school age who darted out into the street from between parked cars. Every effort has been made to impress on these parents that it is their own responsibility to teach their children to stay out of the streets. When you make a statement like that some : \ 20 Home Safety one always says "there is nowhere else to school for three hours the kids feel like play but in the street in the apartment birds that have just been let out of a area." In some cases this is absolutely true cage when the bell rings. Their pent-up but every effort is bong made by the steam bubbles over and there is the usual P. T. A. all over the country to force the running, yelling and hitting. The crossing communities to buy up vacant property and guard of patrol boy at the crossing is a to convert it into "tot lots" and play symbol that they should be careful These grounds. patrols are not altogether made up of boys. Most of our cities have grown up like Topsy without a real plan in mind--con sequently it will take longer to get what Girls are used in many communities and they do a grand job. Just one girl on a patrol will usually keep the boys in line. we need. The P. T. A. has assumed the responsibility of furnishing leaders for these playgrounds--a person educated in the right techniques of playground behavior and a person responsible for the safety of the children using the grounds. The schools also have a group of children that act as fire marshals, who each day see that all doors are unlocked and open easily. They are ready to help with fire drills. Fortunately, there have been very few fires in the schools but think of die tragedy if Until pre-school units are formed the there was one and just one door stuck or child's first formal safety instruction starts was locked. with his first day at school. In most cases, in the urban communities, he encounters a junior patrol boy. These boys are selected for their leadership and scholarship and are real examples of safety for the children to follow. These boys direct the safe crossing, rain or shine, of the pupils. They stand on the curb with outstretched arms to bar the children from running out into the path of The P. T. A. has helped with the licensing and testing of every school-child's bike. In some cases it has taken as long as four years or more for a community to pass a bicycle ordinance. Some people may think the checking of a bike is unnecessary. Well, is it? Isn't your son or daughter a future automobile driver? an oncoming automobile. In order to keep Parents will dash off to the nearest ga the junior patrols at a high level, it is up rage if a little squeak develops in the to the parents, as well as the tochers, to family car, but we will let our children hold them in respect and to point out the ride bikes without coaster brakes, with honor there is in the wearing of the white broken chains and loose seats. Parents Sam Browne belt Children need a word of must change their attitudes and recognize praise for the job they are doing, and that a bike is a means of transportation they should be made to feel that what they which is subject to all the hazards of the are doing is worthwhile. automobile. And a child on a bike is sub The P. T. A. has cooperated with the motor dubs in sponsoring junior patrol courts where the pupils are tried for vio- ject to all traffic laws the same as his Dad. He must use hand signals and obey the traffic lights. .lations of a safety rule and are. sentenced by one of their own classmates. The patrol boys have done a magnificent joh, and it is not unusual to hear it reported that no acci dent has happened to a school child at a comer guarded by a patrol boy.- Of course, there are some people who would like a patrol boy on every comer where their child must cross. This is im possible for the responsibility of seeing In Evanston, we call children "bicycle drivers" instead of bicycle riders. It places tire responsibility on the child's own shoul ders. In some communities Scotch-lite Tape has been used on the bikes as a safety measure for riding after dark. It costs only 15c to do a real job with Scotch-lite on the fen ders, forks, and handle bars. that your child gets safely to and from From bikes, the next step is the auto school is an individual problem--the school mobile. It is just a step but one that most responsibility holds only for things taking parents dread and put off as long as pos place on school property during school sible. The teen-agers have it all over hours. It is a courtesy to have crossing their parents when it comes to learning how guards and patrol boys. After bring in to drive. When we were old enough to *1 like l of a per^o rosauig ig is a These if boys, ies and i on a me. Jiildren day see i easily. drills, rw fires gedy if tuck or censing s bike, as four pass a Y think . Well, future est ga in the rhildren with Parents cognize art' e, is is Dad. >cy the "bkyde : places i shoul- ape has neastire 15c to he fen- t autoat most as pos1 over ng how iugh to The Parent-Teacher Association and Child Safety 21 drive we learned by watching our parents. These high school kids have the opportunity of learning how to drive and take care of a car correctly in driver training classes spon sored by die motor dubs. They furnish the cars, usually equipped with dual control, to any high school which will furnish a qualified teacher. Very few parents are capable of teaching their own children to drive. If you don't bdieve that, try it, and see what it does to your nerves. So if you have a teen-ager give him the chance to learn to drive cor rectly and safely. Under the direction of a competent instructor, whose nerves have proven to be shatter-proof, he will learn the rules of the road and courtesy along with his algebra and Latin. There is a movement to present to all teen-age drivers the Man-to-Man Agreement between father and son and the Dad-to-Daugbter Agree ment between dad and daughter. The P. T. A. is behind this idea. It definitely pledges these youngsters to careful, safe driving for the privilege of using die family car. It also puts the parent on the spot by stating that the child will drive the car as carefully and cautiously as his dad. "Safety" at the high school level - centers about driving and traffic rules for by the time a child enters high school, if the ele mentary schools and his parents have done a good job in safety training, he should know how to take care of himself at home and on the street. At high school he is taught his responsibility to his community. Parents and teachers alike encourage him to voice his opinions and help direct the activities and policies of Ins school. If youth can help plan his future, it will be a safe one for yonth wants to live. We have seen how the P. T. A. has encouraged communities to learn how to take care of youngsters, how to teach them to stay out of the streets, and how to make their homes a safe place to live in by spon soring pre-school groups of parents. We have taken a most active part in building a ijond between the teacher and the parent so that the child as a "whole" will receive the best possible training--not to have one method taught at home and a different one at school. We have kept the parents and the teachers informed of the latest in safety devices. We have shown-'them that the safety of their children depends on early training and constant checking of their safety habits. At the high school level when the kids are allowed more freedom we have been behind driver training. Safety doesn't apply only to traffic and road hazards but also to the health and well-being of the child. In safeguarding the health of the child we are safeguarding the lives of our future citizens. In recent years the P. T. A. has sponsored the "Summer Round-Up." Few people know what this project is. Its object is to see that all new pupils have a physical examination, dental examination, and various immunizations and vaccinations made during the summer months. Sometimes certain physical defects are discovered that can be remedied by exercises taken at school under the direc tion of a competent school nurse or physical director. In some instances when a child has been suffering from malnutrition, the P. T. A. has borne the expense of free milk to the child. Some P. T. A.'s have instigated the Hot Lunch Program. Where they have not been able to serve a complete meal they have seen that at least one hot dish was served to supplement the usual cold sandwiches. With the welfare and the safety of the child always foremost, the P. T. A. has been interested in laws governing child labor. P. T. A. has no political affiliation and is opposed to lobbying. But those of you who read the article in the Saturday Evening Past about the P. T. A. will re member that while it is opposed to lobby ing it has made use of various "legislative techniques." Any politician is familiar with these "techniques" and they have only just begun to be felt The P. T. A. is a "natural" when it comes to child safety and education. Our national and state publications reach every local unit monthly. Our membership can be reached easily, and our influence for good is known all over the nation. In our teaching of child safety we have made use of the materials published by the American Red Cross, the Motor dub, and the National Safety Council as well as the information put out bv the various insurance companies. I have given you only the safety angle of an organization which really readies the grass roots. So go to the next P. T. A. meeting in your community and lend your support to the work your own local unit is doing. Officers of the HOME SAFETY CONFERENCE NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL 1949-50 National Safety Comcil Vice-President for Homes--DR. DONALD B. ARMSTRONG, Second Vice-President for Health and Welfare, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York, N. Y. Chairman--TYLER S. ROGERS, Assistant to the Executive Vice-President, Owens-Com ing Fiberglas Corp, Toledo, Ohio. Vice-Chairman--MRS. GEORGE WELLES. JR, Duluth, Minn. Secretary--THOMAS FANSLER. Director, Home Safety Division, National Safety Council, Chicago, Illinois. Chairman of Comtnittee on Research and Technical Studies--DR A. L. CHAPMAN, Assistant Chief, Division of States Relations, U. S. Public Health Service, Washing ton, D. C Chairman of Committee on Education and Public Information--DR I. JAY BRIGHTMAN, Assistant Director, Division of Medical Services, New York State Department of Health, Albany. N. Y. Chairman of Committee on Community Resources and Services--MRS. GEORGE WELLES, JR Chairman of Committee on Membership--W. GRAHAM COLE, Assistant Secretary, Safety, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co, New York, N. Y. Conference Representative on Board of Directors, National Safety Council--MISS KATHARINE FISHER Director, Good Housekeeping Institute, New York, N. Y. Conference Representative on Board of Directors, National Safety Council--DR. G. FOARD McGINNES, American National Red Cross, Washington, D. C Conference Representative on Board of Directors, National Safety Council--TYLER S. ROGERS. 23 OTHER VOLUMES in this Series f Users of this volume will find much value in its companion volumes. Here is the list: TITLE VOLUME Mo. General Sessions and Detailed Index to all Volumes............................................................ 1 Aeronautical Industries ............................................................................................................. 2 Air Transport Industry........'................................................................................................... 3 Automotive and Machine Shop Industries.................... 4 Cement and Quarry Industries...................................................................................... 5 Chemical Industries.................................................................................................................... 6 Coal Mining Industry................................................................................................................ 7 Construction Industry................................................................................................................ 8 Electrical Equipment Industry .................................................................................................. 9 Farm Safety................................................................................................................................. 10 Food Industry..................................................... 11 Glass and Ceramics Industry..................................................................................................... 12 Home Safety................................................................................................................................. 13 Industrial Nursing ............................................................................................. 14 Industrial Subject Sessions (Sponsoredby ASSE).............................................................. 15 Maritime Industries (Marine Section)................... 16 Meat Packing, Tanning and Leather Industries....................................................................... 17 Metals Industry.......................................................................................................................... 18 Mining Industry....................................................... .................................1............................... 19 Motor Transportation Industry (Commercial Vdiide Section)..................................... i.. 20 Petroleum Industry........... :.......................................................................................................21 Power Press Operations............................................................................................................... 22 Printing and Publishing Industry........................................................................................... 23 Public Employment (Public Employees Safety Committee).......................... :.................. 24 Public Utilities Industries........................................................................................................... 25 Pulp and Paper Industry..................................... 26 Railroad Industry ...................................................................................... 27 Rubber Industry.............................................................................................................-...........28 School and College Safety........................................................................................................... 29 Textile Industry............................................................................................................................30 Traffic Safety............................................................................................................................... 31 Wood Products Industries.................................................................... 32 Here's to Your Talking (Early MorningSessions)................................................................... 33 (The Transit Section did not hold its usual Congress meeting because of the Section's par* ticipation, as a co-sponsor, in the National Transit Safety Conference. Copies of these Pro ceedings have been distributed to members of the Transit Section.) . PRICES OF EXTRA COPIES OF INDIVIDUAL VOLUMES TO MEMBERS VOLUME 1 to 9 copies SIZE Each Less than 24 pages-- $0.25 24 to 48 pages-- JO 49 to 96 pages-- .40 Over % pages-- .60 10 to 99 copies Each $020 25 J5 J5 100 to 999 copies Each ' $0.15 20 JO JO 1000 or more Each $0.15 20 JO JO Complete set of Transactions (33 volumes)--$6.00 NON-MEMBER prices are double member prices, except volumes 10, 13, 29 and 31. NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL 20 N. WACKER DRIVE CHICAGO 6, H.L PRINTED IN tl.S.A. 24 l}00--150--WHP