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Toy safety is major concern this Christmas
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ATLANTA — With the recent focus on toy safety and the holiday shopping season already in full swing, parents need to be aware of what they can do to make sure the gifts their children receive this year will not require a trip to the emergency room. Beyond poisoning from lead paint, some toys pose other dangers to children, including choking hazards and permanent vision loss.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated 202,300 children were treated in the emergency room for toy-related injuries in 2005, the most recent data available. And, 7,820 of those injuries were to the eyes. Eye injuries consisted of lacerations, abrasions and foreign bodies.   
Prevent Blindness America has designated December as Safe Toys and Gifts Month in an effort to provide safety tips to all those buying gifts for children this year. Toys, sporting equipment and even art supplies can be harmful to kids if they are not used properly.
“We all want to make sure our children have the best holiday ever and receive whatever gift they are wishing for. But, unfortunately, the toy that is on top of their wish list may not be the most appropriate for their age and development level,” said Jenny Pomeroy, CEO, Prevent Blindness Georgia. “We all need to make an effort to take every safety precaution to protect our kids.”
Prevent Blindness Georgia suggests the following tips to help make this holiday season a safe one for children:
• Inspect all toys before purchasing. Monitor toys that your child has received as gifts to make sure they are appropriate for your child’s age and development level.
• Gifts of sports equipment should always be accompanied by protective gear (such as a basketball along with eye goggles). The American Academy of Ophthalmology estimates there are 40,000 sports-related eye injuries each year.
• Any toy that is labeled “supervision required” must always be used in the presence of an adult.
• Make recommendations to family members and friends about gifts that you feel are appropriate for your child.
• Always save the warranties and directions for every toy.
• Avoid toys that shoot or include parts that fly off. BB guns and air guns should not even be considered toys.
• Inspect toys for sturdiness. Your child’s toys should be durable with no sharp edges or points. The toys should also withstand impact.
• Look for the letters “ASTM.” This means the product meets the national safety standards set by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).
• Don’t give toys with small parts to young children. Young kids tend to put things in their mouths, increasing the risk of choking. If the part of a toy can fit in a toilet paper roll, the toy is not appropriate for children under the age of 3.  
• Repair or throw away damaged toys. Keep toys meant for older children away from younger ones.
• Remain aware of recalled products. For further information on toy and product recalls, visit the U.S. Product Safety Commission Web site at www.cpsc.gov.
For more information, call (770) 266-0071 or visit www.pbga.org

Additional
Prevent Blindness Georgia was founded in 1965 as the state affiliate of Prevent Blindness America, the nation’s leading volunteer eye health and safety organization since 1908. Its mission is to prevent blindness and preserve sight for the residents of Georgia, which is accomplished through vision screening for children and adults, eye exams and glasses for indigent seniors and homeless and working poor adults, public education on eye health and safety to persons at risk for eye disease, and vision screening training.
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From the book 'Outliers' comes proof that good health is more than just genetics
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Friends Jim Young, left, Mike Natale, Jeff Natale and Ryan Kiernan were on Greenwich High School football team together and Jim and Mike were captains. Jim, who was the youngest in Sherry Young's family, was welcome in the homes of the other three boys who still had siblings around and grandparents near. - photo by Sherry Young
As I look back on my life and the lives of others, both personally and in the reading I have done, I am convinced of the necessity of positive human contact in our lives. We are doubly blessed when we are able to make good friends or are a part of a family where we are accepted and loved.

Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers tells of a time in the 1950s when Dr. Stewart Wolf met a physician who practiced in the area of Roseto, Pennsylvania. Roseto was settled by a group of Italian families from Roseto, Italy, who re-created their life again in America.

This was in the 1950s before drugs and measures to prevent heart disease became important. In their conversation the physician said, You know, Ive been practicing for 17 years. I get patients from all over, and I rarely find anyone from Roseto under the age of 65 with heart disease.

Wolf was surprised by these words as, It was impossible to be a doctor, common sense said, and not see heart disease.

Wolf enlisted the aid of a sociologist and friend John Bruhn to help him. They found, There was no suicide, no alcoholism, no drug addiction, and very little crime. They didnt have anyone on welfare. Then we looked at peptic ulcers. They didnt have any of those either. These people were dying of old age. Thats it.

They checked into diet, genetics and possibilities of something in the foothills of eastern Pennsylvania but nothing made sense.

What they found was that Rosetans visited one another, stopping to chat in Italian on the street, say, or cooking for one another in their backyards. (Researchers) learned about the extended family clans that underlay the towns social structure. They saw how many homes had three generations living under one roof and how much respect grandparents commanded. They went to Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and saw the unifying and calming effect of the church. They counted 22 separate civic organizations in a town of just under 2,000 people. They picked up on the particular egalitarian ethos of the community, which discouraged the wealthy from flaunting their success and helped the unsuccessful obscure their failures.

What they found eventually convinced the medical establishment to look beyond the individual and understand the culture people are part of their friends, families and town they came from. They determined that the people we surround ourselves with and the values of the world we inhabit have a profound effect on who we are.

Likely, this study could have been done with other ethnicities. However, my family's experiences with the Italian families in Connecticut ring true to the study. Our hungry and growing sons, especially our youngest son, Jim, who was left home alone with two beady-eyed parents, all had some memorable experiences being fed and loved in the Cos Cob multigenerational families. Proof of the African proverb, It takes a village to raise a child.

We live in an age when the contact we have with people often is on the internet, and many of us live among strangers. Unless we make the effort to reach out, we will become isolated, especially as we age. The Rosetan study is proof that reaching out and communicating may be good for our health.
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