Precautions Help Fight Sids

Mon., March 20, 2000

Tina Carey Staff writer

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is a frightening fact of life. It happens more times than we realize.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the number of SIDS cases has decreased by more than 40 percent since the organization recommended in 1992 that babies be put down to sleep on their backs instead of their stomachs.

The organization, however, does report that the figure is leveling off, and more can and should be done to help the decline continue. The new AAP recommendations and reminders include:

* Infants should not be put to sleep on waterbeds, sofas, soft mattresses or other soft surfaces, and should not have soft materials or objects such as pillows, quilts, comforters or sheepskins in their cribs.

* Soft materials such as pillows or stuffed toys can obstruct the airways of infants, even those lying on their backs.

* Infants should get some tummy time while awake to foster good development and to avoid flat spots on their head.

* Devices designed to maintain sleep position or to reduce the risk of rebreathing should be avoided, since none has been sufficiently tested for safety or effectiveness.

* Storytime: The National Education Association’s third annual “Read Across America” celebration was held earlier this month, celebrating Dr. Seuss’s (Theodor Geisel) birthday.

Organizers circulated a reading list compiled the year before by schoolchildren, who were asked to list their five favorite books. Some of the top picks were:

1. “Harry Potter” (series) by J.K. Rowling; 2. “Goosebumps” by R.L. Stine; 3. “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Seuss; 4. “The Cat in the Hat” by Dr. Seuss; and 5. “Arthur” (series) by Marc Brown.

Other top choices include: “The Giver” by Lois Lowry; “The Boxcar” by Gertrude Chandler; “Ralph S. Mouse” (series) by Beverly Cleary; “Clifford the Big Red Dog” (series) by Norman Bridwell; “The Berenstain Bears” (series) by Jan and Stan Berenstain; “American Girl” (series) by Susan Alder, Valerie Tripp, Connie Porter, Janet Shaw; “James and the Giant Peach” by Roald Dahl; “Brian’s Winter” by Gary Paulsen; “The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton; “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Joffe Numeroff; “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH” by Robert C. O’Brien; “Magic Tree House” (series) by Mary Pope Osborne; “Tuck Everlasting” by Natalie Babbitt; “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” by Judy Blume; “Garfield” (series) by Jim Davis; “Love You Forever” by Robert N. Munsch; “Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown; “All About Sam” by Lois Lowry; and “Sarah, Plain and Tall” by Patricia MacLachan.

For more information about Read Across America, visit www.nea.org/readacross on the Web.

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