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Miami car accidents are a special risk during Halloween, since children are out and about trick-or-treating at the same time as cars are driving around. Miami sees a lot of car traffic, making it especially risky for childhood car accidents, especially during Halloween. Children who are trick-or-treating can get overly excited about the candy they are getting, and this can make them less cautious about running in front of cars or about crossing the street. To ensure that your children are not affected by Miami pedestrian accidents this Halloween, make sure that you:

1) Choose costumes carefully. Costumes should be highly visible, and should include flashlights or reflective strips. Any props, such as guns or swords, should be clearly made of foam and should not look too close to the real thing. Ensure that your child’s costume does not prevent them from walking safely. This means ensuring that there is nothing dragging on the ground when your child walks in his or her costume.

2) Make sure that your child can see correctly. Avoid costumes that cover the face, and costumes with masks that inhibit visibility. Where possible, use face paint rather than masks for your child’s Halloween costume. Also be wary of costumes that require capes or hoods, as these can affect peripheral vision and can make it harder for your child to see oncoming traffic.

3) Set out a route for your child’s to follow. Make sure that your child is accompanied at all times by an adult. The route that your child uses for Halloween should be well lit, and should have relatively little traffic.

4) Go over pedestrian safety rules with your child in the weeks leading up to Halloween. Make sure that your child is repeatedly told look both ways before crossing the street and to always cross at corners. When your child is out trick-or-treating, he or she should visit houses along one side of the street, cross at the corner, and then continue to visit houses along the other side of the street. Make sure that your child does not crisscross the street to get to different houses, crossing from in between parked cars.

5) If you live in a high traffic area of Miami, consider taking your child to a Halloween party rather than having them trick-or-treat. This ensures that your child is safe indoors rather than risking injury outdoors. This can also help protect your child from Miami drunk driving accidents, which unfortunately can be a concern on a night when many Halloween parties are serving alcohol.

6) If a younger child does want to trick or treat, consider sending them out early. This way, the child will be back home before dark. Have extra Halloween candy at home so that he or she is not disappointed with fewer treats.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

If your teen is a new driver this fall and is looking forward to driving to school, work, or after-school activities, you will of course want to ensure that your teen is driving safely. There are many ways you can help your teen avoid a Florida car accident or truck accident:

1) Help your teen find a safe car. Whether your teen is saving up for their first car or whether you will be gifting a car to your child, make sure that the car is safe. Have it inspected by a trusted mechanic and consider adding some safety features – such as a security system that lets your teen get in touch with a live operator in the event of a problem. Alternatively, make sure your teen has a cell phone so that they can call for help if needed.

2) Establish rules about drinking and driving and distracted driving. Your teen has already heard the message in driver education, but this is one message that needs to be stressed again and again. Make sure that your teen has several options for getting home safely without drinking and driving. This may mean that you need to agree that your teen can always call you for a ride with no questions asked and no lectures or punishment for underage drinking. An agreement like that can help prevent one more Florida drunk driving accident, however. As well, review the types of activities that constitute distracted driving and ensure that your teen agrees never to engage in those activities.

3) Limit the number of passengers your teen can have in the car – at first. Even if your teen promises never to drive distracted, passengers are one of the most distracting things for a new driver – and, inevitably, once your teen has a license many unlicensed friends will want a ride. At first, limiting the number of passengers your teen is allowed to take can ensure that distractions are kept to a minimum. As your teen gains confidence and experience behind the wheel, you can consider relaxing the restrictions.

4) Consider additional training. Private lessons, defensive driving courses, and even racing school, can help address any bad driving habits before they set. Additional training with a qualified instructor can also give your teen additional guided experience on the road – an important factor in preventing car collisions.

5) Take frequent drives with your teen. Being a passenger when your teen drives can reassure you about your teen’s driving. It can also help you to see whether additional training and restrictions are needed.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series on helping children cope with death. Age birth to 6 is addressed

Successful grieving after the untimely death of a loved one is an extremely difficult task. We would like to tell our children that the world is fair and just, but it is not so. Adults and children alike must realize that painful things happen. It is impossible to live without hurt because no one is immune from danger.

Many things influence children’s views on death. Age, religious beliefs, cultural or ethnic values and their relationship to the deceased are important factors that affect their understanding. The reactions of the surviving parent or caregivers are of primary importance in determining how children will cope with death. Understanding how children conceptualize death within the context of their prospective age ranges may help parents and caregivers in coping with this process.

Infants can sense when something is amiss following the death of their primary caregiver. Although a death in the family may affect an infant, the absence of the mother causes a clear biological reaction. However, this can be remedied very quickly if another caregiver assumes primary responsibility for the infant’s care. Passing infants from caregiver to caregiver, however, may cause anxiety due to the fluctuation and inconsistency of care and is not recommended.

Older infants are beginning to see themselves as separate from their parents or caregivers, and this separation can be frightening. They can only experience the presence or absence of another and may grieve for a lost relationship through anger, crying, searching, lack of appetite and quiet resignation. Two-year-olds can feel grief and anxiety in their surroundings and will require frequent, large doses of tender loving care: holding, cuddling and stroking. Explanations of death are meaningless. What one does is far more important than what one says to a child this young.
At 4 to 6 years old, children also have a great need for physical nurturing and the security of knowing who will care for them. They are learning to express themselves verbally, but are most effective in expressing themselves through play. Although significant events such as birthdays, holidays and the first day of school are major milestones to young children, they tend to have a limited concept of time and space.

“Magical thinking” is an important characteristic of 4- to 6-year-old development. Children at this age are capable of a variety of fantasies based on something they have seen or heard, even though it was misunderstood. Viewed through their limited conception of time and death, bereaved children may expect the deceased to be alive again soon. It’s best to explain death in physical, concrete terms; for example, “His heart stopped beating and no one can make it start again. We won’t be seeing him move or talk any more.”
For children raised in traditions that believe in an afterlife, concepts such as heaven may be difficult for them to grasp. They will see a discrepancy between burial of the body and the description of “going home” or “going to heaven.” While the young child probably cannot grasp this idea, you might address the distinction, as “the part that we loved, the part that smiled, laughed and loved us, is the part that has gone to heaven.”

In the event that the deceased is cremated, don’t used the word “burned” in explaining this process. According to Carleton Kendrick, a family therapist in private practice, children may be told that “cremation means (the body was) put in a room that was very, very hot until (it) turned to soft, powdery ashes … Be very careful to make sure that (they) understand that their (loved one) was not hurt by this process.”

Invite children to be present at the funeral, memorial service or scattering of ashes. Although they should be encouraged to attend, children should never be forced. Likewise, they should not be required to view, kiss or touch the deceased, although it is perfectly all right if they wish to do so. It is important for children to say goodbye in their own way.

By Lois Harvick
For The Register-Guard
Appeared in print: Sunday, Feb 22, 2009, page E2

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