Author: Katie Martin

Having a baby is both the most wonderful and terrifying thing in the world. In the first days of a newborn’s life, parents rely heavily on nursing staff for their expert knowledge and care, especially if a baby ends up in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

No parents expect to find out that their infant has been injured while in a nurse’s care, but that’s exactly what happened to Kelsey Bond and Kyle Keller. Their infant son Kieran’s skull was fractured when a nurse fell asleep and dropped him during a nighttime feeding.

Bond and Keller were told that their son had been examined by a pediatrician and was fine, but a subsequent ultrasound showed that Kieran developed an acute subdural hematoma, a brain bleed at the base of the skull.

While Kieran is recovering, Bond plans to sue the hospital for the negligent behavior that could have resulted in her son’s death.

A similar incident gained national attention when actress Eva Amurri Martino’s son, Major, was dropped by a night nurse after she fell asleep while caring for the infant.

Like Kieran Keller, Major suffered a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain. Major has also recovered with no permanent damage, but Amurri Martino suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the incident.

Dropping infants is one of the most common causes of newborn injury, but other shocking incidents have occurred as a result of hospital staff negligence.

Nurse severed newborn’s toe.

Devante Hogue, born prematurely at 29 weeks, has several serious medical issues that caused him to remain hospitalized after his twin brother, Delante, was released. After more than eight months, Devante remained in the NICU, where his mother, Erica, trusted the nurses she had come to know well with his care.

Erica was shocked when she was notified that a nurse accidentally cut off Devante’s pinky toe as she tried to remove surgical tape from the infant’s foot. Doctors tried to reattach the infant’s toe, but were unsuccessful.

Although the hospital did apologize for the nurse’s negligence, the Hogue family is considering legal action.

Unfortunately, accidents involving newborns and infants occur more often than parents realize, as nurses are often overworked, sleep deprived, and stressed on the job. In fact, the American Nursing Association blames a chronic nurse shortage on the extreme fatigue and burnout nurses face at work.

Nurse administered fatal dose to newborns.

It’s no wonder then, that medical errors are the third most common cause of death in the United States. Although most of these medical errors are the result of accidental negligence, in the truly shocking case of nurse Genene Jones, dozens of children and infants were administered fatal overdoses on purpose.

Jones is currently serving consecutive life sentences in the deaths of two children after giving them fatal injections. It is suspected that Jones may be responsible for the deaths of more than 60 other children and babies since 1981.

Switched at Birth

Not every incident involving nursing negligence results in physical harm to a child. It may sound like the premise of a Lifetime movie, but sometimes a nurse’s negligence results in the wrong baby being taken home.

Most hospitals now require Mom, Dad, and Baby to wear matching ID bracelets to prevent such mistakes from happening. Despite such safety precautions, babies are still accidentally switched at birth.

Karin Tanabe gave birth to a healthy baby girl and allowed her new daughter to be taken to the nursery so she could rest following the birth. The next morning, her daughter was brought back to her later than she’d expected. T
he nurse told the shocked mother that her daughter had been briefly given to the wrong family.

Tanabe’s new daughter and the other mother were wearing their ID bands, but the nurse misidentified the numbers, leading her to assume that she’d given the right baby to the right parent.

While the situation was rectified quickly, the nurse’s negligence almost caused Tanabe to unknowingly leave the hospital with someone else’s child. Fortunately, the number of babies who are switched at birth does remain relatively small.

Baby Kidnapped Just Hours After Birth

Even scarier than the thought of bringing home the wrong baby is the thought of a newborn being abducted from the nursery. That’s exactly what happened in 1998, when a woman posing as a nurse kidnapped hours-old baby Kamiya.

Shanara Mobley, Kamiya’s mother, thought the woman was a nurse, and the nursing staff who interacted with her thought she was a family member.

Mobley sued and won a settlement against the hospital for negligence after her daughter’s disappearance. All leads in the baby Kamiya case ran cold for 18 years, until law enforcement tracked down Gloria Williams, who was identified as the kidnapper.

The good news is that Kamiya is a normal teenager in good health and is working on building a relationship with her biological family.

Keeping Newborns Safe

Nursing negligence is most often accidental. Exhausted nurses are just as likely to drop a newborn as a sleep-deprived new mother is. 

Overworked hospital staff with several patients under their care are not likely to notice every visitor in the maternity ward.

Parents can take several precautions to keep their newborns safe while they are under hospital care. If your baby is healthy, request to “room-in” rather than send the baby to the nursery.

Rooming in allows Baby to stay in the room with Mom and Dad until it is time to go home. This ensures that babies are under the watchful eye of their parents during any procedures.

If rooming in isn’t an option, parents can still be proactive about ensuring their newborn’s safety during a lengthy hospital stay. Check your hospital’s Leapfrog scores to see how they compare with other hospitals in the area.

Does the hospital have a NICU on site? What is the doctor/nurse/patient ratio? Fewer newborn accidents occur in the NICU with specially trained nurses equipped to handle the needs of high-risk babies. In addition, the lower the staff to patient ratio, the more likely that your baby will receive the attention and care they need.

Hospitals too are working to ensure that fewer accidents involving newborns and infants occur. Well-rested nurses are more alert and attentive, resulting in fewer incidents of negligence.

In 2016, nurses in Washington state won their case against Tacoma General Hospital, resulting in more rest breaks that do not burden other nursing staff or require the nurse on break to be on call during their break.

In addition to matching ID bands, one hospital in Idaho has added extra security measures in the maternity ward. At Portneuf Medical Center, security checks are done weekly to ensure all equipment is properly functioning, and all maternity staff participate in at least nine security drills per year.

In addition, babies are fitted with an extra security band that will sound an alarm if it gets too near an elevator or door.

Even though hospitals are working toward reducing nursing negligence, parents should always trust their instincts. Kelsey Bond, the mother of Kieran Keller, said she “had a gut feeling everything wasn’t ok.” She was right, and her actions may have saved her son’s life.

Raising children might just be the world’s toughest job. Science shows that good parenting has a lot to do with how kids turn out. With all the conflicting parenting advice available today, it’s hard to know if you’re making the right choices.

Has your latest decision just set your kids up for a lifetime of success or doom them to live in your basement forever? One action probably won’t bring about either of these extremes, but there are parenting behaviors that seem to help kids thrive. Take some of the guesswork out of parenting with these 11 ways to raise [linkbuilder id=”6498″ text=”successful kids”].

1. Praise effort over achievement.

When your kid brings home a stellar report card, a parent’s natural inclination may be to praise the achievement itself, with something like, “You’re so smart! I knew you’d make all As!” However, this kind of praise may set your child up for failure later in life.

Instead, parents should teach their kids to have a “growth mindset.” Children who learn to focus on the process of achieving goals instead of the achievement itself are often more successful. Rather than praising your kid for being so smart, focus your praise on the effort he or she must have put in to making good grades.
When parents value effort over achievement, children learn to appreciate setbacks, using them to overcome obstacles rather than be defeated by them.

2. Assign chores.

It might seem easier to just take care of chores yourself instead of supervising your children as they wash dishes, clean their room, or take out the trash. But having your kids complete chores is actually instrumental to their success.

Studies show that when kids have regular chores, they are more likely to be responsible, do well in school, and have fewer discipline problems than kids who did no chores at home.

3. Teach early math skills.

Most parents read their children nightly bedtime stories, but how many focus on bedtime math equations?

It turns out that kids who learn early math skills are not only better at math once they reach school age, but they also develop better reading skills. They have higher rates of college enrollment too.
Children who learn early math skills are successful later in life for several reasons. Kids who are focused on math from a young age tend to make better grades and thus feel more confident in their overall abilities, which leads to success in other areas.

Early math skills may also help children improve executive function skills, which help people organize and complete tasks efficiently—a hallmark of successful adults.

4. Get involved academically.

In addition to learning early math skills, children are more successful when their parents are involved in their education.

Kids are more likely to have better social skills and behavior, get better grades, and attend college when parents are actively involved in their academic life.
Parents can engage in a child’s academics in a variety of ways:

• Regularly attend parent–teacher conferences
• Participate in school fundraising with children

• Volunteer in the classroom or at school events
• Continue learning activities at home

5. Teach kids healthy habits.

The most successful adults practice healthy habits. The earlier kids learn about healthy nutrition and exercise, the more likely they are to stick to these habits as adults. Kids who eat a healthy diet have improved brain function. A healthy diet also improves school attendance, behavior, and test scores.

Parents can lead by example when teaching kids healthy habits. Get kids moving on a family bike ride or hike, or prepare healthy meals together to teach kids the basics of nutrition.

6. Lead by example.

Kids are incredibly empathetic and are susceptible to emotional contagion, a behavior in which one person’s emotions affect the behaviors and emotions of another. For example, if you’re stressed by a work situation, you may be more distant and irritable at home.

Your kids see your actions and may begin to mimic your emotions and behaviors. If these are negative and unproductive, children’s grades might slip or they may withdraw socially.
Parents can lead by example when it comes to managing stress. When your stress level is reduced, your kids will benefit too.

7. Practice mindful meditation.

In addition to stress management, parents who teach meditation to their kids can have positive effects on a child’s attention span, grades, and overall mental health.

Individuals who meditate are generally happier and less anxious. Meditation is often not an option in an already jam-packed school day, but parents can set aside time at home each day for kids to meditate. Institute a family quiet time before dinner each day for kids to totally unplug from devices, take a break from homework, and generally relax.

8. Take a step back.

Although coined in 1969, the term “helicopter parent” just gained widespread notoriety a few years ago. It refers to parents who are overly focused on their children, hovering over them like helicopters.

Although parents might think being involved in all aspects of their kids’ lives is proactive, it may do more harm than good.
For kids to be successful, parents should actually take a step back. Allow kids to make mistakes, take risks, and work through situations on their own. Of course, this doesn’t mean parents shouldn’t be involved; obviously parents should intervene if a child is in a dangerous situation.

But when parents limit their involvement in certain areas, kids learn to be self-reliant, a key tool for success.

9. Let kids follow their passions.

Kids dream of being everything from a rock star to the first farmer on Mars when they grow up. Instead of squelching their dreams, encourage kids’ passions, however outlandish they might seem.

Parents often measure their child’s success in terms of exclusive college admissions or high-paying careers. However, when kids are allowed to pursue their dreams, they are much more likely to be successful in their chosen field. After all, a kid who wants to be the first farmer on Mars might just be the first scientist to discover life on other planets.

10. Build a community.

Humans are not meant to be solitary creatures. Children especially thrive when they have a strong sense of community. Kids who develop strong ties to others have stronger social skills. They are also better at overall communication and problem solving.
There are many ways parents can help children build community bonds. Here are just a few ideas to get started:

• Have your kids volunteer once a month at the charitable organization of their choice.

• Get them involved in a recreational sports team or a club at school.
• Have them participate in community cleanup efforts.

11. Get advice from parents of successful kids.

Sometimes it’s nice to get advice from parents who have raised successful kids. Some parents set high academic expectations. Others allow children to pursue their natural talents. One family might have a weekly family meeting for better communication. Each [linkbuilder id=”6499″ text=”parenting style”] is different.

The one thing these parents have in common? They all agree there is no “right” way to raise successful kids. But these tips can help parents raise self-reliant children who are at a greater advantage academically, are socially adept, and care about their community.
Ann Landers, the iconic advice columnist, summed it up perfectly when she wrote, “It is not what you do for your children but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings.”