Toddler Archives - Page 3 of 13 - Life with Gremlins

Dry Drowning and Secondary Drowning: Symptoms to Know for Bath Safety

I was right there in the bathroom with her. With my daughter that is. She was, for once, actually playing in the tub rather than screaming like she was being dipped in acid while I cleaned her as quickly as humanly possible. She splashed excitedly, slipped, slid, and went under the water. She was under for less than 5 seconds, but came up coughing. She seemed fine after a moment and didn’t appear to have inhaled water, but my mind immediately went to an article I’d read a few years prior about a baby who’d died after slipping underwater in the tub.

I couldn’t remember the right term, secondary drowning? Dry drowning? Delayed drowning? You can bet as soon as she was dry, clothed, and happily playing I went to researching the possible risks of a baby falling in the tub. If you find yourself in a similar situation, here’s what I learned.

The terms I was looking for were indeed dry drowning and secondary drowning (sometimes called delayed drowning). The two occur in a similar manner, but are not actually the same thing and have different timelines. Many mass hysteria click-bait pages have confused the two, and further confused realistic concerns for parents.

What is dry drowning?

Dry drowning, as far as timelines go, usually occurs just after your child has left the water. Dry drowning doesn’t actually affect the lungs directly by filling them with water. Water in the throat causes spasms which block the airway, as a result, your child can’t breathe. This is something you’re going to know about right away. Dry drowning is fairly common, but not often caused by things like bath tub slips. Swimmers, who say, cannon ball with their mouth open are the more likely victims.

What is secondary drowning?

Secondary drowning, on the other hand, usually occurs within 24 hours, but not immediately after water exposure, and is quite rare. In secondary drowning water has entered the lungs, just not so much as to cause immediate reaction. As the body attempts to remove said water, it actually creates more fluid leading to pulmonary edema (literally “lung fluid”) which then drowns the victim from the inside.

What are the symptoms secondary drowning?

Secondary drowning symptoms include:

-Cough
-Labored breathing or trouble breathing
-Feeling tired
-Chest pain
-Poor color
-Irritability

You’re basically looking for any sign that the body is not getting adequate oxygen. Obviously, if your child is showing immediate symptoms from dry drowning, you want to call 911 and get immediate care, but likewise, if your child shows signs of secondary drowning, even if not severe, you want to head to the emergency room.

Now, all that being said, I want to throw in that my baby was just fine, and I want to reiterate that secondary drowning is rare. In my opinion, it’s just a good idea to know the symptoms and keep them in mind if an accident happens and your child may have inhaled water. Rare or not though, bath tub accidents in general are very common in babies and toddlers. It’s estimated 60% of all bathtub injuries are children under 4, and in 50% of those children, injuries are to the head.

How can you prevent bathtub injuries?

-Always stay in the bathroom with kids under 4 while bathing.
-Install a non-slip mat and spout cover.
-Try to discourage standing in the tub until your child is an experienced walker (I know, easier said then done.)

Granted, you can’t bubble wrap your whole tub, and slips are bound to happen, some safety measures just, hopefully, will prevent serious injuries. If your child does fall in the tub, don’t beat yourself up, it happens, and you did what you could.

How to Remove Permanent Marker: The Truth

“Glorious,” I thought, staring at my newly repainted glisteningly perfect generic eggshell-white walls at 3 am—because I’ll sleep when I’m childless. I imagined to myself those walls might actually stay white this time. They would. They did for approximately 5 hours, until my children awoke and one waltzed down the stairs dragging a handful of markers as he went. “It’s a rainbow,” he screamed from timeout, and oh, I was over the rainbow. At this point I had one of those mom-brain moments where it seemed like a good idea to Google anything beyond pointless trivia—it turns out my walls either have marker on them or cancer, I’m not sure. If it’s marker, the Internet proudly informs, “No need to repaint! Just slather this long list of random shit on it and scrub until your arm aches!”

Okey, dokey.

It started with toothpaste, because that was already on the other walls in spots, but all I got was a newly minted rainbow.

Next, I popped it with Magic eraser, because what mom doesn’t have one of those. The smeared and only lightly faded result sneered back at me.

But that got me feeling artsy I guess, because next I tried tracing the masterpiece with a dry erase marker and wiping it away. It turned out twice as lovely, but don’t worry, the net has more solutions for how to remove permanent marker.

Bug spray! Hair spray! Lemon oil! WD40! Rubbing Alcohol! Nail polish remover! Aftershave! Windex! Coffee?!?

Vodka, for me I mean, because none of that worked, and I don’t think words have been invented to describe how that smells.

No folks, I have come to the conclusion that the reason people think such a long list of ridiculous things remove marker of any sort from painted walls is that they scrubbed so hard the paint came off and with it the marker. The next time you run into someone that suggests otherwise, politely ignore them, cause you know they’ve got some guns from scrubbing all that paint away. Once you’re at a safe distance, either learn to live with your new interior decorators work or suck it up, killz it, and repaint, because I promise that’s the easiest answer.

I found once I had recently painted all my walls, saving the paint mix codes made it easy to spot repaint.

On that note, what if it isn’t permanent marker, and it isn’t on a white wall? Then can it be removed? Maybe.

What’s the easiest way to clean marker, pencil or crayon off households surfaces?

Marker on sealed hard surfaces is actually the easiest to deal with. Drawings on things like televisions, counter tops, clear-coated wood floors, desks or other household items can be quickly removed with fingernail polish remover. If you don’t have any, rubbing alcohol comes in as a close second-best thing. Remember in either case to keep the area well ventilated as both options are a bit high on fumes. This does not apply to porous surfaces, such as unsealed wood or painted walls.

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser will also usually take washable crayons or non-permanent markers off of painted walls and some porous surfaces.

When it comes to marker on cloth surfaces, if you can’t throw the item in the washer, in cases like couches, you can try a bit of laundry spot remover and a rag. It really depends on the type of fabric your kiddo has chosen to draw on. As a side note, they sell spray on stain guards at most furniture stores that help fabric surfaces resist stains. These coatings also make it easier to clean art off, but then that’s a preemptive strike.

If you can’t remove marker on your couch by hand, you can rent a shampoo machine with an upholstery tool. However, if you have an avid artist or multiple children you may want to invest in buying one. The Bissell Little Green Machine, for example, costs around $70 to $90, and works excellent for couches and car interiors alike.

Finally, skin, how to get sharpie off skin. Your skin is a porous surface of course, and sadly, that means removing marker from it is very difficult. Please don’t listen to people who tell you to use rubbing alcohol or toothpaste or whatever. Again, the skin is a porous surface. If it’s a really small patch that might be doable, but as most kids do the head-to-toe act, you have to keep in mind their skin is absorbing what you’re putting on it–just don’t smother your child in nail polish remover, K? Washing with soap and water will fade it, and that’s about all you can do, frequent washing and long sleeves until it’s gone.

Toddler Rough Housing: Making Sure It Stays Play

My youngest son will come and sweetly kiss your nose, and then whack you in the face, giggle and do it again. He thinks hair pulling, yours or his, is hilarious. He head butts things for fun. He bites when you hug him. It certainly isn’t an indication he loves you any less. His older brother mastered the arm-bar wrestling move before he was 2 years old. Neither child is ever free of at least one bruise, bump, or scratch. I have little boys, perfectly normal, endlessly rowdy, rough-and-tumble, little boys, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Unfortunately, sometimes rough housing goes too far, and someone really gets hurt. Even regular rowdy needs regulation.

How can you tell regular toddler rough housing from unwanted aggression?

While aggression in toddlers isn’t abnormal, and is actually a sign of normal healthy development, it isn’t good when rough play turns into actual aggressive violence. As a parent, this makes it important to be able to tell the difference, so when your child isn’t just playing, you can act. Unfortunately, it’s hard to put into words how to tell violence from play. There isn’t just a list of signs to watch for someplace out there that you can catalog in your mind. Generally, over time, you’ll begin to notice certain traits or tics that show your child is escalating from play to anger. One of my sons, for example, will stick his tongue out and bite it when his intentions aren’t playful anymore. Naturally, if someone gets hurt, or if anyone involved is no longer having fun, it’s not a game anymore and it should stop.

How can you keep toddler rough housing all in good fun?

First, let the rules be known and stick to them. The most important thing with allowing rough-housing is to be clear on what is, and isn’t, OK. Just like with any other rule you present to your toddler, it may take time, but eventually they will learn and follow the rules if you are consistent with both punishment and praise. When your child does break a rule, let them see the natural consequence of their action coupled with your normal disciplinary system. If they hurt someone, let them see that.

Second, watch for signs that things are getting out of hand. It can help to turn settling down into a game of “freeze.” Anytime your child or children begin to get too excited yell, “freeze,” or “red light,” something to that effect that means, “stop!” By doing so you can reward listening, but also redirect attention to a new activity.

Lastly, introduce the idea of adaptability. What one parent sees as violence, may just be playing to another. What’s acceptable at home, may not be at school. Try to establish that rough play is for home only to help avoid complications.