Keeping your baby safe is one of the greatest concerns for all parents. There are a lot of things we take for granted that are hazardous to your baby. You need to make changes around your home to make it safe for your baby, especially around the time they are beginning to crawl or walk. Don’t find out the hard way that dangers are lurking around the home. Below are some tips to remember. This isn’t a full list of baby safety tips as each home is different, but hopefully, these tips will help you get started in the right direction.
Cleaning your home:
Make sure all cleaning products are out of reach of the baby when they are stored. Using baby locks on all cabinets and drawers will give you peace of mind but remember to store your products away after each use.
It’s all too easy to get side-tracked when cleaning. You don’t have to turn your back for long before they get into something dangerous. When mopping the floors, I use the sink instead of a bucket. Your baby can drown in less than 2 inches (6 centimeters) of water, not to mention whatever product you have in the water may be harmful to them.
Furniture:
Make sure all your furniture lamps, and/or decorations are secured, as these can easily tip over. Keep their highchair away from walls and other surfaces as they can use these for leverage to push it, possibly tipping it over. Also, make sure there is no furniture that has chips or paints peeling off, these should not be allowed in the house with your baby.
Remember to check out all the rooms in your house often and make sure to check them from your baby’s point of view. Get down on your hands and knees to their level and look for possible hazards. We can’t always see them from where we’re standing.
Your Handbag:
Babies love to play with the things found in a handbag, whether it’s yours or someone else’s. Some of these things can be very dangerous to your baby, like keys, medications, pens, nail files, small objects, cosmetics, and other small objects.
A lot of Moms, especially those who breastfeed, like to have their babies sleep in the bed with them. Keep in mind the following safety tips when doing this.
- Don’t put a baby into an adult bed alone to sleep. They can become trapped between the bed and the headboard or the wall. They can crawl to the edge of the bed and fall off, and babies can also suffocate in soft bedding.
- It is always important to place your baby on their back to sleep and not their side or tummy. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome may have something to do with placing babies on their tummies or sides to sleep.
- Don’t use comforters, pillows, thick quilts, or blankets for babies under the age of one year. They stand a high chance of suffocating themselves. Securely fitting crib sheets are the safest way to go.
- Make sure your baby can’t fall out of bed. Using a bed rail is a useful item to have or place one side of your bed up against the wall. The baby should sleep between the mother and the bed rail, not between the parents.
- Make sure the bed surface is firm. Never let your baby sleep on a beanbag, deep mattress, waterbed, featherbed, beanbag, waterbed, or other surfaces that are too soft.
- Never put your baby to sleep in your bed if you are under the influence of alcohol or on medication that could make you drowsy and groggy. If you are drowsy and groggy, you pose a danger to your baby.
- Do not use too many pillows, blankets, or stuffed animals like these can increase your baby’s risk of strangulation or suffocation.
- Never fall asleep on a sofa, overstuffed chair, or couch with your baby. Babies can get wedged between cushions and suffocate.
- If you share sleep with more than one child, make sure there is adequate space for both comfort and safety. Never put too many bodies into a bed with a small baby.
