Hand Sanitizer, I Do Not Like Thee

I can't remember exactly when hand sanitizers became all the rage.  Was it before or after the bird flu hysteria began?  I just can't recall.  Remember the good ol' days when the doctor actually washed his hands when entering the exam room.  Boy, those were the days.

If  I've said it once I've said it a thousand times.  Poop is poop no matter how much hand sanitizer you put on it.  Right?  And the CDC pretty much agrees with me.  See that photo?  See the bold line that reads "not as effective when hands are visibly dirty".  Yep, something to think about.

How many of you can honestly say that after leaving the playground your kids hands are not "visibly dirty".  And I don't want to think about their hands when leaving the bathroom.  I've heard enough horror stories about what kids leave in the bathroom to make me loose a months worth of sleep.  Seriously, talk to your school janitor, you will be scarred for life.

Now, take a closer look at the label on your hand sanitizer.  I was quite surprised to see a Drug Facts label just like you find on a bottle of medication.  Did you ever think of hand sanitizer as a drug?  Neither did I.  Now, take a closer look at the label on your hand soap.  No Drug Facts label?  Yea, my soap didn't have one either. 

I did a little online snooping and the CDC and Mayo clinic agree that hand sanitizer should be used when soap and water are not available.  I'd guess that 99.99% of places frequented in America have both running water and soap.  So why is hand sanitizer the go-to option in most situations these days? 

I began writing about this topic months ago, around the beginning of the school year, so imagine my surprise when a google search for the best iron-fortified cereal led me to a really great parent resource from a pediatric doctor's office with a page devoted to none other than hand sanitizer vs. hand washing!  Sue me, I was tickled pink.  There's actually a lot of really great information on their website, I'm very impressed and wish they were local for us.  But, back to the hand sanitizer debate. 

Hand sanitizer is equivalent to 124 proof alcohol.  Wow, just wow.  And how many bottles were you asked to send to your child's school this year?  Parents, shouldn't we be worried about this stuff?  It's passed around like crack, I mean candy, in the classroom, readily available to every child in a school, and is absorbed right into your child's delicate skin.  Wonder if you can get a contact buzz that way?  Could we be turning our children into alcoholics because thinking about the long term effect of hand sanitizer use? 

And did I mention that it probably won't kill that pesky virus that's always going around your child's school?  Antibiotics aren't the only thing germs are immune to, obviously they aren't afraid of hand sanitizers either.  Think about all of your children's sick doctor visits lately.  Do you hear more and more often that your child has a virus and antibiotics just aren't going to help?  But, do you know what might help?  HAND WASHING with real SOAP and WATER!!!

I do realize that hand sanitizer is leaps and bounds faster than good ol' fashioned hand washing.  Keep in mind that faster isn't always better.  And I concede that the illnesses which have kept my kids home from school, thus far, this school year would not have been prevented by good ol' fashioned hand washing.  But, this is the last week of November, right at the beginning of cold and flu season, and I believe the spread of communicable illnesses would be lessened by good ol' fashioned hand washing.  Don't you?

Reaching a New Milestone

Patty can get out of the car all by herself now! 

For the past three mornings, Patty has carefully opened her door and climbed out of the car at school.  With no incident, I'm happy to add.  I even got a thumbs up from Mr. W this morning.  And for the past three mornings I have pulled away from the school bursting with pride with a gigantic smile on my face. 

This milestone probably won't be on any list you'll find, but maybe it should be.  For me, it ranks right up there with first steps and first words. It's monumental. It's completely changing the way we do things. This milestone has been a really big deal for me. 

You see, we had an experience, way back when JT was a baby that frightened me nearly to death.  He opened his door in traffic one day, on a four lane high way.  He was barely one at the time, but I remember it like it happened yesterday.  All of a sudden the interior light was on and the ding sounded and I had one of those "what the...." moments as I  looked into my side mirror seeing his door opening.  I was scared to death.  I was able to pull over into a turning lane, thanks very much to the folks behind me who no doubt saw what was happening and slowed down to accommodate me.  And obviously he was safely buckled into his car seat and wasn't in a huge amount of danger.  I mean, his arms were short, he wasn't going to be able to get the door open very far.  But, that experience was scary enough to keep the child locks firmly in place for all the time since.

And for all these years, Patty has never bothered with the child lock on her door.  JT, on the other hand, learned months ago what that little switch is for and proceeded to flip it whenever he could.  Go figure.  Eventually, I gave up trying to keep his door on child lock.  We haven't had any incidents with doors opening in traffic, but I've had to scold him many times in parking lots.  It was definitely time to give Patty the same freedom.  I guess this is just one of the many fears I'll have to "let go" as the kids get older and more independent.  It's not easy.  It's really not easy.  But, if I didn't worry, what kind of parent would I be?

Better Security For Our Children

My heart broke this afternoon as I read about the school shooting in Connecticut.  I can not imagine what that community is going through right now.  And I hope I never have to find out.

Patty is in kindergarten, has twelve years of public school ahead of her, and I really don't want to spend those years fearing for her safety.  And that's not even mentioning that next year JT will begin school, too.  Boy, does homeschooling sound appealing right now.

I just have to ask, how many more school shootings have to occur before schools implement adequate security to protect our kids?  It's painfully obvious that the procedures adopted in the years following Columbine are not effective.  Having a door bell at the front entrance is not enough. 

But, then we have to ask ourselves, how much security is enough? 

Do we need armed security in our school buildings?  Armed faculty?  Frankly, the idea of an armed guard in my child's elementary school terrifies me.  But, I wouldn't cross it off the possibilities list.

Metal detectors?  Yes, please.  At each and every doorway.

As I write this I can't help but wonder where are all of the security companies in all of this?  We have a desperate situation so where's the guy saying, your school security is fallible and needs major improvements.  Where's the plan to make our schools safe? 

Do me a favor, on your next visit to your child's school, count how many doors there are leading to the outside .  For the heck of it, check to see if those outside doors are locked.  Count the security cameras, too.  Locked doors and security cameras will not keep your child safe if an armed gunman makes his way into the school and opens fire. 

Our schools are not safe.  And I think it's way past time for someone to do something about it. 

It's time to lock up our schools tighter than Fort Knox.  Our children are more precious than any amount of money.  Let's see our schools implement security similar to the banking industry.  Have you ever worked in a bank?  Banks are pretty serious about keeping their money safe.  Let's see schools treat our children in the same way.  There have to be better security plans that can be implemented.

Written On: Friday, December 14, 2012

Do Your Flu Research

Patty and JT caught the flu a couple years ago.
It was January.
Casey was in Afghanistan.
Fortunately, the flu itself wasn't too bad.

But, Patty ended up with a gnarly ear infection and the Tamiflu caused JT to throw up repeatedly.

After the vomiting began, I sat down at the computer and tried to determine how bad a mother I'd be if I just didn't give my kids the Tamiflu.

And you know what? I realized we'd never fill another prescription for it.

CPSC Recalls: Do You Get It?

Do you remember the lead paint scare circa 2007?  I remember it vividly.  That's when all of Patty's toys were teething type toys and I worried they were all laced with lead paint.  I so wish I had come across the Consumer Product Safety Commission's website five years ago!  If you look along the right hand side, just under the heading "get involved" you can sign up to receive product recall information by - you guessed it- email! 

Push Pins are Sharp People!

I am borrowing this picture from a teaching blog called Mrs. Lirette's Learning Detectives because I am writing this post on my net book since my laptop over heated and shut me down.  FYI:  I am planning to take off that borrowed image and replace it later.

I've been seeing this push pin activity for months on teaching blogs and Pinterest.  Can't remember what I was doing the other day, but I had an unsettling question come to mind.  Isn't putting sharp push pins in the hands of children a hazard?  I mean, are the teachers cleaning those pins with alcohol or something in the event that a kid pricks him/herself? 


Just something to think about!