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The story goes that Sonora Smart Dodd was attending one of the first official Mother’s Day services in 1909 at her church in Spokane, Washington, when she had an epiphany—if mothers deserved a day in honor of their loving service, why not fathers? Her father, William Jackson Smart, was a twice-married, twice-widowed war veteran and father of 14 children. Sonora dedicated her life to the creation of Father’s Day in honor of her devoted and selfless dad. President Woodrow Wilson, who signed a proclamation designating Mother's Day as a national holiday in 1914, celebrated the father-focused event in Washington state, but it was President Richard Nixon who designated Father’s Day as a national holiday in 1972. So in celebration of all fathers, male caregivers, and role models, we officially wish you all a Happy Father’s Day!
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In addition to June being recognized for Father’s Day, it is also National Safety Month. According to the National Safety Council In 2018, 167,127 people died from a preventable injury. Interestingly, the majority of these deaths did not happen in the workplace; they happened in homes and communities. The National Safety Council offers lots of tips and resources to help prevent injuries.
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As we highlight National Safety Month, we’re also reminded that June kickstarts summer when children are out of school. Depending on their age, they may be at camp, at home, or at a friend’s home. With more free time, and sometimes less supervision, the risk of injury goes up. Let’s consider two major safety concerns involving kids:
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Drowning - National Safety Council statistics point to drowning as a leading cause of death for young children--mostly due to children falling into a pool or being left alone in the bathtub. Of the 3,709 drownings in 2017, more than 12% were children age 4 and younger, according to Injury Facts. Bathtubs, toilets, and even buckets also can pose a danger for very young children. Emergency departments treat about 6,400 pool and spa injuries among children younger than 15 every year. Children with autism spectrum disorder are 160 times more likely to experience nonfatal and fatal drowning than their typically developing peers.
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Home Fires – The National Fire Protection Association reports that cooking equipment is the leading cause of home fires and fire injuries, causing 49% of home fires that resulted in 21% of the home fire deaths and 44% of the injuries. Leaving food unattended on the stove, even for a few minutes, can increase the risk of fire. About 300 people per year are killed and $280 million in property is destroyed in fires attributed to children playing with fire in the home. Just over half of child-playing fires in the home start in a bedroom, and bedding material is most often the first item ignited.
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Protecting Our Kids
Dads are natural providers and protectors. Although it’s not always possible to prevent injuries, there are some things that can be done to reduce risks. In addition to the resources available through the National Safety Council and the National Fire Protection Association, there are also resources available in your community.
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Water Safety
Children naturally gravitate toward water, especially in the summertime. Whether a family day at the beach or cookout by the neighbor’s pool, it’s important that an adult be designated to watch the children near water. Talk to children about water safety and establish water safety rules before you leave home when they’re less distracted.
Aside from always supervising children, learning to swim is the single most important prevention strategy. This goes for you and your children. The American Red Cross offers swim classes for infants, children, teens, and adults. Classes teach water safety and provide a safe environment for non-swimmers to become comfortable in the water. Additionally, Red Cross offers a free app that can help you stay motivated between classes and progress to more advanced swimming levels. Autism Speaks offers additional water safety tips for parents of autistic children, including letting neighbors know about your child’s tendency to wander off so they can be on high alert as well.
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Fire Safety
As the nation’s most frequent disaster, home fires have remained a constant threat during the COVID-19 pandemic as people have spent more time at home. From this past January to March, the Red Cross responded to nearly 17,000 home fires affecting more than 70,000 people across the country—an increase of 2,300 fires affecting nearly 9,000 more people than the same time last year. The reality is that you only have about 2 minutes to escape when there’s a home fire. There are obvious steps parents can take like talking about fire safety and setting rules about cooking, burning candles, and not playing with fire. To learn more about home fire safety planning and to pledge to prepare your family against home fires, visit SoundTheAlarm.org. They also offer a collection of resources for educating kids on fire safety and other emergencies and downloadable books like Prepare with Pedro. Pedro has a game that guides children through a set of 5 randomized activities, including practicing home fire safety skills, such as crawling underneath smoke in a fire and identifying the location of smoke alarms in the home, in addition to interactive activities and good old-fashioned penguin fun to keep children active and engaged. Each experience also ends with age-appropriate coping skills to teach children how to handle emergencies and other stressful situations. At the end of each challenge, children earn a virtual fire safety badge in the Alexa app. With 20 badges to collect, they will want to keep playing to earn them all! To get started, simply say, “Alexa, enable Pedro’s Fire Challenge!” or follow this link.
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Visit our #Dadication page to view our newest videos which highlight the diverse experiences of real dads who share a commitment to being there for their kids through parenting highlights and challenges. Our newest videos feature a military dad, a dad who overcame addiction, and many others. Be sure to check them out!
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We are available by phone.
If you need resources or support, give us a call on our
Parent Help Line at 1-877-4-DAD-411 (1-877-432-3411).
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For Programs
Practitioners working with fathers play a key role in helping fathers and families access information. This month we’re highlighting National Safety Month. We hope you will too. Consider having your local Red Cross agency come out and conduct a presentation about Water Safety, Fire Safety, or even Disaster Preparedness. Share information about their training programs such as CPR and swimming lessons. They offer courses for individuals and organizations. The Sound the Alarm Campaign not only promotes fire safety but also provides free smoke detectors. Click on the Sound the Alarm logo to view a video of a Portland Couple who suffered a home fire the day after Father’s Day. They share their story of how the Red Cross free smoke detectors saved their lives. You’ll also hear how the Red Cross was there to support them after the fire.
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Disclaimer: Reference to specific products, services, or companies does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the U.S. Government, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), or the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse. ACF is not responsible for the contents of “off-site” web page references or for any private, third-party, pop-up, or browser-integrated software or applications. |
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Upcoming Events
NRFC is monitoring events and will update our website and in newsletters if events are canceled.
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Our Mission: The goals of the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse are to provide, facilitate, and disseminate current research and proven and innovative strategies that will encourage and strengthen fathers and families and providers of services.
Our Resources: Visit the NRFC website for fatherhood topics and tools, news, and new publications, which can be found through the NRFC online library search.
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