Baby safety is so important for the first year of a baby’s life as the baby goes from an unmoving child in a blanket to a crawling and walking child at risk for many types of injuries and dangers. It’s almost as if you cannot turn your back on a baby. They can move so fast and can get into almost anything. You need to think about baby proofing your house before your baby learns to crawl. You need to get down to a baby’s level and think like a baby for baby safety to become a reality. We’ll look at some baby safety basics so that you can begin the process as soon as it becomes necessary.
What you need to know about Choking and Suffocation
When you put an infant on an adult bed, the child can slip between the bed and the wall and can suffocate. You should never sleep with an infant and the baby should always sleep on a firm mattress I a crib, without toys, pillows or fluffy blankets. Always put the infant to sleep on its back as this is preventative against SIDS. The bars of the crib should be no wider than 2 3/8 inches; cribs manufactured later than 1974 meet these standards. Make sure that the mattress fits snugly within the crib so that no gaps exist for the baby to fall through. Good baby proofing means that you keep toys with strings or cords that are long away from baby and from younger children. Cords can get wrapped around the child’s head and can strangle the baby. Don’t connect a pacifier to a string and don’t hang anything with a long string over the crib.
The baby’s crib should be away from any windows, especially those with pull cords or other hazards. All stairwells should have baby proofing gates on the top and bottom of the stairwell. Do not use the accordion style baby gate or any that have large openings for baby’s to fit their head through. Pay attention to the foods you feed your child, especially under the age of two. Avoid foods that a child can choke on like popcorn, pieces of hot dog or hard candy. Raw vegetables can be a problem as well. Don’t let any child eat or suck on any food or toy while lying on his or her back. Never let children of any age eat or suck on anything, such as hard candy, while lying down. Keep any small objects like coins or small rubber balls and small batteries away from baby. Deflated balloons can be a hazard to baby safety.
Different ways to avoid Burns and Falls
Always avoid anything but mixture faucets in tubs and showers so as to prevent scalding injuries. Go down and set the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120 degrees or less. Measure the temperature of a baby’s bathwater and note that it should be about a hundred degrees. Alternatively, use your wrist or elbow to ascertain that the water in the tub isn’t too hot. Never let a child or baby into a hot tub, Jacuzzi or whirlpool bath as these are much too hot for young ones. It is just good baby proofing practice.
Make sure children know that matches are not toys and are for adults only. Never light a match or lighter in front of a child so they don’t learn how it works. Keep matches and lighters up and away from the reach of young children. Never smoke, drink hot liquids or use a match while holding and infant and don’t leave burning cigarettes where children can get to them. Pay attention to this fact of baby safety: Radiators, fireplaces, stoves, hot water taps and heating vents are not always hot so a baby could easily touch them on one occasion and not get burned but could become severely burned on other occasions. Make sure you cover all unused electrical outlets with plastic covers and keep electrical cords away from babies and toddlers, who could chew on them or get strangulated on them if they are out at easy reach.
The Pitfalls of Drowning
Always stay in sight of a bathing child and if the phone rings, wrap the child up and take him or her with you. Never leave a youngster alone with a bucket of water, a wading pool, toilets or other container of liquid. Swimming pools are especially dangerous and drowning often happens in the absence of a cry for help or splashing. Most drowning happen between the ages of 1-3 years old and are boys thought not to be near a pool at the time of the drowning. Baby proofing a pool is difficult and you need to completely fence in the pool with self closing or self latching gates that are equipped with special exit alarms. Do not ever prop a pool gate open. If you are in the vicinity of a pool, keep your eye on the child at all times and don’t count on a inflatable device, even water wings, to keep your toddler or child safe. If you own a pool, take classes in swimming, first aid and CPR.
If it appears that that there is a lot of baby proofing to do before your baby arrives—you’re right. Read our other child safety advice articles to stay vigilant about baby safety and do everything in your power to keep your little one safe during these exciting, yet dangerous, years.
