JENNIE: Baby expert Shannon Usher talks summer safety with your little ones
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF)– From reminders about babies and hot cars, to water safety, and choosing the right sunscreen, we're talking about keeping your little ones safe in the summer heat.
And our baby expert, Shannon Usher, MSOT, OTR/L, CNT, NTMTC is back today! Shannon is a certified neonatal OT who specializes in developmental concerns for babies from birth to one year. And she has a lot of advice for parents when it comes to babies and summer safety.But first: the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says heatstroke is one of the leading causes of non-crash vehicle-related fatalities among children. From 1990 to 2023, Kids and Car Safety reports more than 1,000 child hot car deaths across the nation – 45 of those in Georgia.
Even when it's not that hot outside, temperatures inside a car can rise to a dangerous level. The heat poses a greater risk for children — their bodies heat up 3 to 5 times faster than adults according to the American Academy of pediatrics.
Dr. Emily Thomas, from Consumer Reports, suggests keeping something of yours in the backseat so you won't forget they are there.'Whether it's your jacket or your purse, a laptop bag, something of yours that at the end of the trip you have to go to the backseat to go retrieve. Then when your child is with you, it's already part of your brain's memory and part of your habit to do so. And so you will check the backseat at the end of the trip.'Experts also say parking in the shade or cracking a window is not enough — and if you see a child alone in a car in the heat, call 9-1-1 to help get them out.
Shannon Usher specialized in babies and the NIC-U for nearly 15 years. She has recently moved to Augusta and opened her own practice called Peaceful Infant. She shares tips about summer safety with babies, including water safety, bathing suit colors, and what parents need to know about sunscreen.
'The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn't recommend sunscreen on babies less than six months just because their skin isn't as thick as it will be as they grow, so they're more susceptible to absorb any chemicals that are added to the sunscreen, as well as just you just don't want them in the sun. And sometimes there's this artificial sense of safety because they have sunscreen on, now a baby can go in the sun.'Sunscreen Guide: ewg.org/sunscreen
Skin Deep Database (with scoring system):
You can check out Shannon's website at bottlesonpurpose.com… and follow Peaceful Infant on Facebook.
Contact Shannon at 719.678.1133 or email shannon@peacefulinfant.com
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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