Discover Parenting 2015 Student Project Awards
Take a look at the following Powerpoint presentation of 2015 USEP-OHIO Discover Parenting Project entrants and winners.
The 2015 Discover Parenting entrants in both the Photo and Action Project categories, chosen by their teachers and Ohio school students to participate, include a wide range of subject matter. They reflect both new issues, urgent messages of safe and thoughtful parenting and recent research crucial for parents to know how to protect their children 24/7 at home, in the community and on our streets and highways. Every entrant’s offering is thoughtful and teaches responsibility and safety.
First Place Winner
"Oh! Daddy, Don't Forget Your Safety Belt!"
Lindzy Pullins
Benjamin Logan High School, Bellefontaine, OH
Teacher – Lois Stoll
Lindzy’s photo touched on a very important and interesting element not always recognized in a child’s development. According to developmental theorists, children reach recognition at various points of their development, that places them in a new relationship with their parents. They love and value them, have learned from their teaching and modeling, and channel their caring into a desire to protect their parents from harm. This great photo shows an intense youngster, correctly seated and belted, according to Ohio law, who is giving a clear message to her daddy that he must belt himself – in order to be safe. We also realize that even if a child is correctly seated, having the parent/driver inadequately restrained, multiplies the risk for parent, child and other passengers to be placed in harm’s way!
“Oh, don’t forget your safety belt!” is what we hope all youngsters learn to say to parents, siblings and other passengers! It only takes a moment of carelessness to make a child vulnerable. Unbelted drivers may lose control in the event of a crash or a distraction on the road. Seat restraints enable the driver to maintain or regain control of their vehicle. Belting your children only partially protects them. You may save their lives by belting them and then properly belting yourself! It may help you save the lives of all those you drive. Seat Belts Save Lives!
Second Place Winner
"Smiles for Safe Miles"
Deanna Mannion
Mahoning County Career and Technical Center, Struthers, OH
Teacher – Julie Pagnotta
This engaging little child elicits a smile from anyone viewing the photo. That sweet smile embodies the feelings of safety and security and perhaps the promise of an adventure with mommy, daddy or grandparent. The photo also clearly illustrates the correct equipment and seating of a young child and demonstrates how to “do it right”. Life is good for our little passenger, and this photo reflects that. Parents who need instruction in safe seating skills are encouraged to consult their local Child Passenger Safety experts about seat selection and installation.
Third Place Winner
"I'm Loving My Safe Ride!”
Georgia Van Hoose
Xenia High School/Greene County Career Center, Xenia, OH
Teacher – Nancy Myers
Another happy little face…This great photo of a child in a safe seat reflects a certified seat that meets the standards set by NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). American youngsters spend increasing amounts of time safely seated in the family automobile as they travel to and from caregivers, school, errands and family trips. Traveling with their children is a privilege and can be a great pleasure for parents. And a happy youngster with a safety conscious parent is one of the blessings of our freedom to roadway access. Nancy Myers and other Family and Consumer Sciences teachers help students learn the skills of safe parenting.
Third Place Winner
"Swing Into Safety"
Stephanie Bryant
Upper Valley Career Center, Sidney, OH
Teacher – Bev Holthaus
This little swinger illustrates the new technologies in playground equipment, designed to be accessible and keep the child safer, supported and more comfortable. New, soft but resilient materials are illustrated here and engineered with the parent and child’s needs in mind. Tough but soft, the seat holds youngsters with more restraint but carefully allows for easy entrance and egress. Easy in and easy out enables both parent and child to be safe with ease. Parents should consult Safe Kids and other organizations who specialize in providing research and new product information when choosing to install or planning to visit local playgrounds.
Honorable Mention
“Avoid the Dread - Protect Your Head”
Sydney Butler
Benjamin Logan High School, Bellefontaine, OH
Teacher – Lois Stoll
Sydney Butler caught this youngster at a calm and peaceful moment on his bicycle and wearing his protective helmet! A lovely thing to see in this busy world – a happy youngster enjoying the yard at home on a bike! “Avoid the Dread” is the positive side of a frightening thought. There are still way too many vulnerable children at risk who are not properly protected with certified helmets as they ride bikes, play sports, skate or skate board in Ohio. The Brain Injury Association (BIA) research tells us that children are often brain injured when playing at or near home and not properly protected. Safe Kids and Healthy Kids organizations can provide good information for certified equipment and accessories that help protect children at play.
Honorable Mention
"Mommy and Me Were Meant to Be For All Eternity"
Taylor Edington
Newton High School, Pleasant Hill, OH
Teacher – Patsy Burnside
Taylor’s photo captured the wistful look portrayed in this child’s face, while holding on for security. It tells the story of every child who wishes to be independent, but gratefully welcomes the beauty of dependence upon an adult who is trustworthy and caring. Every child deserves the security of a loving parent who will love them forever…”for all eternity!”
Honorable Mention
"Rub a Dub Dub...Safety is Important...Even in theTub!"
Keyli Murphy
Upper Valley Career Center, Sidney, OH
Teacher – Bev Holthaus
Keyli Murphy’s bathtime photo is not the first “rub a dub” we have had in Discover Parenting Exhibits. But this engaging child typifies the vulnerability of the youngster in water and the joy of the tub! Moments of simple daily care are the humble but precious commodities that define the best of parenting. Knowing the simple skills of safely bathing your baby are no less important that the many complex skills required to successfully parent. Patience and the interplay of talk and touch produce magic moments in the peace and calm of a nurturing parent-child relationship.
Discover Parenting 2015 Project Information:
GRADS – Graduation Reality and Dual-Role Skills is a class offered in Ohio schools, taught by trained Family and Consumer Sciences teachers to pregnant and parenting teens. Keeping these students in school greatly enhances their ability to learn the skills needed to parent a healthy child and to acquire career skills that lead to successful employment.
Click here to find a printable PDF with the latest Car Seat Recommendations for Children
Since the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended all babies should be placed on their backs to sleep in 1992, deaths from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome have declined dramatically. But sleep-related deaths from other causes, including suffocation, entrapment and asphyxia, have increased. Read more!
See our Newest Information and Laws In Our State for more regarding the AAP and NHTSA information. Go to CAR SEAT RECOMMENDATIONS for more information. Parents can be fined $25 to $75, plus court costs, for a first offense. Children from 4 to 8 years, who weigh more than 40 pounds and are less than 4 feet 9 inches tall must be in a booster seat. They can still use a car seat, rather than a booster, at the older age, if the seat has been approved for the child’s weight. Younger children must be in car seats under Ohio law, and older children and adults in seat belts. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for children age 4 to 8 in Ohio, according to AAA. Eighty-nine were killed and more than 21,000 injured in auto accidents between 2002 and 2007 in Ohio alone. Their chances of being harmed in an accident dropped by 59 percent if they were in booster seats and seat belts, according to one study.
Additional Notes on the 2015 photos
We celebrate having to add to two categories with additional winners in ranking entrants for Discover Parenting – 2015. Several photos merited recognition, so in two categories you will find more than one winner. We added an additional Honorable Mention Winner and there are two equally rated Third Place Awards. All have earned the ranking and prize awards. We appreciate and applaud the many students whose photos were not chosen for an award. We want to congratulate them for being creative, thoughtful, original, and for the critical thinking they have done in creating their entries. They represent safety in the home, safe handling by their parents, and even areas we have not represented in the past. With changing times, better technology and more research, the ideas and responsibilities of safe handling change and need to be altered in daily parenting practice! This has often affected child restraints in the automobile, head gear and other devices, playground equipment, and home environment. We thank the teachers who have thoughtfully prepared their students for the task of being safe, responsible parents. Their guidance has helped prepare students for balancing home and family, and organizing their lives to accommodate others, beyond their own needs. This project was used by the teachers to help fulfill the Ohio Content Standards required for their classes.
All of the 2015 photos are on display in the Riffe Center for the Arts in the Statehouse Complex through June 8, 2015 and will be displayed in several venues, including the NAWHSL (National Association of Women Highway Safety Leaders) Conference in Nashville, and the OATFACS (Ohio Association of Teachers of Family and Consumer Science) both in August 2015. The 2014 Discover Parenting Exhibit was on display this week at the Kalahari Conference Center in Sandusky, Ohio during the all Ohio Early Childhood Education Conference.
Congratulations to all! We hope your school, your community and local papers and newsletters will help you tell the story of your participation in Discover Parenting – 2015.