Many Dads, Moms At Loss On Kid Safety

Many parents are not in the habit of taking child safety precautions, and many don’t know what precautions to take, a survey released Thursday suggested.

The survey of 1,560 parents, released by the National Safe Kids Campaign, found that only 18 percent of parents say they consistently practice a fire escape route with their children, while almost half believe they should.

And although 56 percent of parents with 5- to 14-year-olds say their children wear safety gear when in-line skating, 24 percent say their children are skating without protective gear.

The survey also found that only 48 percent of the parents questioned always have their child ride in the back seat of the car. Less than half of the parents surveyed had syrup of ipecac in their households in case a child ingested a poisonous substance.

The National Safe Kids Campaign released the survey to kick off National Safe Kids Week, in which the organization tries to call attention to the importance of child safety habits.