Bartlett Regional | House Calls | Fall 2020

Gun safety is always an adult responsibility. With all of us spending more time in our homes these days—and fall hunting season underway—it is important to recommit to safely storing guns. Kids will be kids. They won’t always make smart decisions about their own safety. Curious or impulsive kids may find and handle an unsecured gun, even if they’ve been told not to—and a bad decision can quickly become a fatal one. Every year, nearly 260 American children ages 17 and under unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else when they find an unlocked, loaded gun. Nearly 600 more die by suicide with a gun each year. In 2018, the Anchorage Daily News reported that 38 Alaskan children had died from unintentional gunshots since 2003. Alaska also has the third highest rate of gun suicide in the U.S. SMART adults protect children and other vulnerable people from gun accidents by storing guns—locked, unloaded and separate from ammunition—and by making sure children are never in the presence of unsecured guns without a responsible adult present. Remember, hiding a gun is NOT the same as safely securing a gun. About 73% of children under age 10 living in homes with guns know the location of their parents’ firearms and 36% admit they have handled them. Nearly a quarter of parents did not know that their children had handled a gun in their house. Safe gun storage saves lives. It is simple to Be SMART! Don’t skip protective vaccinations Families are focused on staying healthy during the pandemic. And that’s the right thing to do. But health experts have an important reminder for parents. COVID-19 prevention shouldn’t mean skipping your child’s vaccines. Vaccines help protect kids of all ages from serious diseases. Those include diseases like whooping cough and measles. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends children get many of their shots by age 2. Despite that recommendation, it seems that fewer kids have been getting their shots during the coronavirus crisis. Schedule your child’s vaccines Health care providers are taking steps to keep their patients safe during checkups and vaccine visits. If you think you may have fallen behind on your child’s immunizations, talk to their health care provider. They can fill you in on vaccine recommendations for your child. Preteens and teens (ages 11 to 18) X HPV. X Meningitis. X Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis). Preschoolers and school-aged kids (ages 3 to 10) X DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis). X MMR (measles, mumps and rubella). X Chickenpox. X Polio. Infants and toddlers (birth to age 2 years) X DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis). X MMR (measles, mumps and rubella). X Chickenpox. X Pneumonia. X Hepatitis A and B. X Polio. WHEN IT COMES TO KIDS’ SAFETY, we are all in this together! Visit www.BeSMARTforKids.org to learn more. Be SMART about gun safety 12 House Calls Fall 2020