Baby Proofing Safety Tips

Now that you have brought home your bundle of joy, your life is going to change in an exciting way. As a parent, you need to be more aware of what is in and around your home. If you are not prepared, your child’s curiosity could be dangerous or fatal. Baby Proofing your home and implementing these safety tips is an important step to help keep your baby and infant safe from preventable household accidents.Now that you have brought home your bundle of joy, your life is going to change in an exciting way. As a parent, you need to be more aware of what is in and around your home. If you are not prepared, your child’s curiosity could be dangerous or fatal. Baby Proofing your home and implementing these safety tips is an important step to help keep your baby and infant safe from preventable household accidents.

Did you know?

  • Each year in the United States, approximately 6,000 children die and another 120,000 are seriously injured or permanently disabled due to PREVENTABLE household accidents.
  • Every day, 39,000 children sustain injuries serious enough to require medical attention, totaling more than 14 million children each year.
  • Children are 7 times more likely to die from a PREVENTABLE household accident than from all childhood illnesses combined.
  • Each year, more than 2.5 million children are treated in emergency rooms for fall-related injuries.
  • The No. 1 cause of death among infants and toddlers are PREVENTABLE household accidents.
  • Help keep your child from becoming a statistic and PREVENT accidents before they happen!

Baby Proofing is not a one-time procedure but an adopted way of life. Your infant or baby is constantly evolving so it is important that spotting the next potential hazard becomes second nature. The best way to PREVENT accidents from occurring is direct adult supervision and childproofing your home.

Quick Child Safety Tips to get you started.

  • It is a good idea to get down on your hands and knees and look around from your baby’s perspective. This really helps spot potentially dangerous objects. For example, an ordinary plant can be poisonous if a curious baby decides to taste it. Even toddler toys left lying around by an older sibling should not be within baby’s reach. The most important place to have a safe environment is in your home.
  • When checking your home, it is also a good time to be sure baby does not have access to swimming pools, toilets, diaper pails, cleaning buckets, bathtubs, showers or hot tubs. It is possible for a baby to drown in as little as two inches of water. Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury related death among one to four year olds.
  • Medicines, bleaches, oven and drain cleaners, paint solvents, polishes, waxes, matches, cigarettes and lighters are also dangerous to your baby. These should always be kept out of your baby’s reach.
  • Make sure all alcohol is out of reach of children. It is extremely toxic!
  • Childproof safety locks for cabinets and drawers can be helpful to deter access to your baby.
  • Use child-resistant packaging as it can help save baby’s life. Keep the number of the poison control center near your phone so you can call for emergency first-aid advice.
  • NEVER line trash cans with plastic trash bags due to the choking and suffocation hazard it poses.
  • Water temperature should be adjusted to 125-130 degrees or less to help prevent scalding.
  • NEVER place children to sleep on pillows, cushions, waterbeds, beanbags or any other surface not designed for infant sleep.
  • Blind Cleats should be installed to keep blind cords out of reach of children
  • A secondary window lock or window guard should be placed on each window
  • Look for a changing table with straps that help prevent baby from falling. ALWAYS use these straps to restrain baby when the changing table is in use. Be sure any baby products you need, such as powder or wipes, are easily accessible. NEVER turn your back on baby when reaching for baby products.
  • Infants should always sleep in a crib that meets current federal and ASTM standards
  • Mobiles need to be kept out of reach of children and removed as soon as they can pull themselves up