Baby

Your love and attention are what your baby needs most. That’s why you should be sure your home and the things you buy and receive for your baby are safe. This article will help you create a safe and sound nursery for your precious baby.

Always put your baby to sleep on his or her back in a safe crib, removing all soft bedding to reduce the risk of suffocation. Remove all quilts, comforters, sheepskins, pillows and other pillow-like soft products from the crib until your baby is one year old. If using a blanket, be sure to tuck it around the crib mattress, allowing it to reach only as far as the baby’s chest, and make sure your baby’s head remains uncovered during sleep. Make sure the crib meets current national safety standards and in good condition.

Never leave a baby unattended on a changing table and always use the safety straps to prevent falls and other serious injuries to your baby. All needed items should be within reach.

Remove crib gyms and mobiles from the crib when your baby begins to push up on hands and knees. No strings should dangle into the crib and position cribs away from window blind cords. Keep toys and balloons with small parts away from your baby to help prevent choking or suffocation.

Several rattles recently sold as novelty items or decorations for cakes, gifts, floral arrangements do not meet the basic safety requirements, being small enough to enter an infant’s mouth and become lodged in the back of the throat. Rattles should be large enough so that they cannot enter an infant’s mouth and be constructed so they will not separate into small pieces which can be swallowed or inhaled.

Keep plastic bags away from children, and do NOT use them as a mattress cover. Do NOT allow your baby to play with uninflated balloons without supervision and immediately collect the pieces of broken balloons and dispose of them out of the reach of young children.

Baby walkers must be too wide to fit through a standard doorway and they must have features, such as a gripping mechanism, to stop the walker at the edge of a step.

A swimming pool should have a barrier or fence surrounding all four sides with self-closing gates. If the house is part of the barrier, all doors leading from the house to the pools should be protected with an alarm.
NEVER leave your child unattended near water!

Install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in your home and remember to change the batteries regularly. Use anchors or angle braces to secure the furniture to the wall. Consider using safety latches on cabinet doors and lower drawers to ensure they can not be opened by children. You may want to use a baby monitor to keep your baby within earshot, but always make sure that you can get to your child within a few seconds if you have to. Safety-proof your home with safety latches, baby gates, and outlet covers.