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BABY SAFETY TIPS

12 Must Have Products That Will Keep Your Child 
Safe Around The Home

About 2−1/2 million children are injured or killed by hazards in the home each year. The good news is that many of these incidents can be prevented by using simple child safety devices on the market today.

You can childproof your home for a fraction of what it would cost to have a professional do it. And safety devices are easy to find. You can buy them at hardware stores, baby equipment shops, supermarkets, drug stores, home and linen stores, and through mail order catalogues. 

Here are some child safety devices that can help prevent many injuries to young children. The red numbers correspond to those on the image following the text. 

1. Use Safety Latches and Locks for cabinets and drawers in kitchens, bathrooms, and other areas to help prevent poisonings and other injuries. Safety latches and locks on cabinets and drawers can help prevent children from gaining access to medicines and household cleaners, as well as knives and other sharp objects. 

Look for safety latches and locks that adults can easily install and use, but are sturdy enough to withstand pulls and tugs from children. Safety latches are not a guarantee of protection, but they can make it more difficult for children to reach dangerous substances. 

Typical cost of a safety latch or lock: less than $2.

2. Use Safety Gates to help prevent falls down stairs and to keep children away from dangerous areas. Safety gates can help keep children away from stairs or rooms that have hazards in them. Look for safety gates that children cannot dislodge easily, but that adults can open and close without difficulty. For the top of stairs, gates that screw to the wall are more secure than "pressure gates."

Typical cost of a safety gate: $13 to $40. 

3. Use Door Knob Covers and Door Locks to help prevent children from entering rooms and other areas with possible dangers. Door knob covers and door locks can help keep children away from places with hazards, including swimming pools. 

Be sure the door knob cover is sturdy enough not to break, but allows a door to be opened quickly by an adult in case of emergency. By restricting access to potentially hazardous rooms in the home, door knob covers could help prevent many kinds of injuries. 

Typical cost of a door knob cover: $1 and door lock: $5 and up.

4. Use Anti−Scald Devices for faucets and shower heads and set your water heater temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to help prevent burns from hot water. Anti−scald devices for regulating water temperature can help prevent burns. 

Typical cost of an anti−scald device: $6 to $30. 

5. Use Smoke Detectors on every level of your home and near bedrooms to alert you to fires. Smoke detectors are essential safety devices for protection against fire deaths and injuries. 

Check smoke detectors once a month to make sure they're working. If detectors are battery−operated, change batteries at least once a year or consider using 10−year batteries. 

Typical cost of a smoke detector: less than $10. 

6. Use Window Guards and Safety Netting to help prevent falls from windows, balconies, decks, and landings. Window guards and safety netting for balconies and decks can help prevent serious falls.

Typical cost of a window guard or safety netting: $8 to $16. 

7. Use Corner and Edge Bumpers to help prevent injuries from falls against sharp edges of furniture and fireplaces. 

Corner and edge bumpers can be used with furniture and fireplace hearths to help prevent injuries from falls or to soften falls against sharp or rough edges. 

Typical cost of a corner and edge bumper: $1 and up. 

8. Use Outlet Covers and Outlet Plates to help prevent electrocution. Outlet covers and outlet plates can help protect children from electrical shock and possible electrocution. 

Be sure the outlet protectors cannot be easily removed by children and are large enough so that children cannot choke on them. 

Typical cost of an outlet cover: less than $2. 

9. Use a Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detector outside bedrooms to help prevent CO poisoning. A carbon monoxide (CO) detector can help prevent CO poisoning. Consumers should install CO detectors near sleeping areas in their homes. Households that should use CO detectors include those with gas or oil heat or with attached garages. 

Typical cost of a carbon monoxide (CO) detector: $30 to $70. 

10. Cut Window Blind Cords; use Safety Tassels and Inner Cord Stops to help prevent children from strangling in blind cord loops. Window blind cord safety tassels on miniblinds and tension devices on vertical blinds and drapery cords can help prevent deaths and injuries from strangulation in the loops of cords. Inner cord stops can help prevent strangulation in the inner cords of window blinds. 

For older miniblinds, cut the cord loop, remove the buckle, and put safety tassels on each cord. Be sure that older vertical blinds and drapery cords have tension or tie−down devices to hold the cords tight. When buying new miniblinds, verticals, and draperies, ask for safety features to prevent child strangulation. 

11. Use Door Stops and Door Holders to help prevent injuries to fingers and hands. Door stops and door holders on doors and door hinges can help prevent small fingers and hands from being pinched or crushed in doors and door hinges. 

Typical cost of a door stop and door holder: less than $4. 

12. Use a Cordless Phone to make it easier to continuously watch young children, especially when they're in bathtubs, swimming pools, or other potentially dangerous areas. 

Cordless phones help you watch your child continuously, without leaving the vicinity to answer a phone call. Cordless phones are especially helpful when children are in or near water, whether it's the bathtub, the swimming pool, or the beach.

Typical cost of a cordless phone: $30 and up.



Traveling With A Baby − A Checklist 

Traveling with a baby can sometimes mean that you are so consumed with ensuring that you have everything you need to care for the baby on the trip that you forget things you need for yourself. The best thing to do is to prepare a checklist of what you need and then check off each item as you pack it.

A sample checklist should include the following items: 
Diapers/ pampers 
Blankets 
Sleepers 
Baby wipes 
Baby lotion and soap 
Extra pacifiers 
Bottle 
Formula, food, water and/or juice 
Resealable plastic bags 
Extra clothes – at least one or two outfits per day 
Nightlight 
Car seat 
Portable crib 
Collapsible stroller 
Sun hat and sun screen Toys 
Plastic for use in changing the baby 
Any necessary medicines 
Extra shirt for yourself 
Burping pad 
Washable bibs 
Feeding spoons 
Kettle, if the hotel room does not have kitchen facilities

The packing for a trip involving a baby should start weeks in advance to ensure that no detail is overlooked. As you pack each item or article, check to make sure you have added extra in case of accidents. 

Simply go through a sample day at home and make a list of everything the baby needs when not travelling. Add extra to the list. Bring a camera and plenty of film or if you use a digital ensure that the memory card can store lots of pictures.


Car Safety Tips 

The single biggest threat to your babies life as documented every year by every relevant US government agency is the threat when they are travelling in the car with you, friends or family. 

Here are a few tips to make sure your baby will always be safe when travelling in a car. 

Car Seats 

When buying a car seat, make sure you look for; 

A label that clearly states that it meets or exceeds the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards 

That the car seat is setup exactly and will suit a child of your weight and height 

Really be that the seat you choose fits your child perfectly − Infants one year or younger and up to 20 pounds must be placed in a rear−facing seat, toddlers (older than 1 year and between 20 and 40 pounds) may use a forward−facing seat, and children who are between 40 and 80 pounds need to be placed in a booster seat. 

Check recent car seat recalls before making a purchase

Be aware of the type of seat belts your car has; all car seats are not compatible with all seat belts

Consider choosing a seat that is upholstered in fabric − it may be more comfortable for your child.


The Best Way to Protect Your Children
in the Car by Susan Dunn 

Car seats may be required but there’s one other thing you should be doing to protect your children in the car, because the best−constructed car seat in the world doesn’t insure they’ll live through an accident.

Prevention is the best cure, and driver error has been documented to contribute to over 90% of collisions. 

Your distractibility is crucial, and once again one of our best technological advances has proven to be a very mixed blessing. You might even say a very mixed curse. 

And what is that? 

It’s the conversation you’re having with your sister about the party next week. Or the quick call to verify directions or to say you’re running late. Or worst of all, an intense or complex relationship issue you’re discussing with your spouse. ON THE CELL PHONE WHILE DRIVING. 

It doesn’t matter whether it’s hand−held or mounted, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re dialing, chatting, intensely relating, or hanging up. It’s dangerous. 

According to the Fatal Analysis Reporting System, in one analysis of fatal accidents involving cell phone use, the cell phone−using drivers were all in what’s called “the striking vehicle.” This means they either hit a stationary object, or left their lane of traffic and struck a vehicle or obstacle. In these crashes, 75% of the drivers were engaged in conversation, 13% were dialing, and 13% were hanging up. 

And worse yet – of those engaged in conversation, 1/3 were using mounted phones in the hands−free mode. 

Risk of collision when using a cell is 4 times higher regardless of your age, driving experience, of experience with a cell phone, and – get this: the hands−free units offer no safety advantage. 

People using cell phones simply take longer to react, and miss things that would allow them to avoid collisions. Even when not at−fault, cell users were unable to avoid collisions with others. 

Your cell phone records can and will be subpoened in case of a lawsuit involving an accident, by the way. 

So why not, when you strap the kids into their car seats, lay the cell phone down on the floor beside them and turn off the ringer? 

Cell phones are great for productivity and personal safety. Just make sure you aren’t using yours to call the EMS after a car accident caused by the fact you were using yours while driving.



Crib Safety Tips

Crib Design 

Dispose of antique cribs with decorative cutouts, corner posts or lead paint. 

The space between the slats should be no more than 2−3/8 inches apart to prevent infants from getting their head stuck between them. Cribs manufactured after 1974 must meet this and other strict safety standards. 

The corner posts should be the same height as the end panels or less than 1/16 of an inch higher than the end panels. 

No cut−out areas on the headboard or footboard so a baby's head cannot get trapped. 

The top rails of crib sides, in their raised position, should be at least 26 inches above the top of the mattress support at its lowest position.

As soon as the child can pull himself to a standing position, set and keep the mattress at its lowest position. Stop using the crib once the height of the top rails is less than three−fourths of the child's height. 

Mattress 

The mattress should fit snugly next to the crib so that there is no gap. If two adult fingers can be placed between the mattress and the crib, the mattress should be immediately replaced. 

Do not use plastic packaging materials, such as dry cleaning bags, as mattress covers. Plastic film can cling to children's faces and should never be in or near the crib. 

Put your baby to sleep on his or her back or side in a crib with a firm, flat mattress and no soft bedding underneath. Talk to your pediatrician about which sleeping position is best for you child. 

Crib Hardware 

The drop side(s) of the crib should require two distinct actions or a minimum force of ten pounds with one action to release the latch or the locks to prevent accidental release by the child. 

The crib hardware should be checked for disengaged, broken, bent or loose pieces. Special checks should be made of the mattress support hangers and brackets so they cannot drop. The hardware and the crib should be smooth and free of sharp edges, points and rough surfaces. 

Crib Accessories 

Bumper pads should cover the entire inside perimeter of the crib and tie or snap in place. Bumper pads should have at least six straps or ties and any excess length of straps or ties should be cut off. Bumper pads should never be used in lieu of proper spacing between the slats and should be removed from the crib as soon as the child can pull himself to a standing position. 

Teething rails that are damaged should be fixed, replaced or removed immediately.

To prevent possible entanglement, mobiles and crib gyms, which are meant to be hung over or across the crib, should be removed when the child is five months old or when he begins to push up onto hands and knees or can pull himself up. 

Keep the crib clear of plastic sheets, pillows, and large stuffed animals or toys. These can be suffocation hazards or can enable youngsters to climb out of the crib. 

Any cloth or vinyl items that are loose or torn should be replaced or repaired immediately. 

Crib Environment 

Do not place crib next to a window. Drapery and blind cords pose an entanglement hazard and window screens are not intended to keep a child in, only insects out. 

Install smoke detectors. Follow the manufacturer's directions for placement. Check at least once a month to make sure battery and smoke detector are in good working condition 

Lead is a health hazard, especially to young children. It can be found in dust and soil off busy roadways, in old paint on walls, toys and furniture and sometimes in paint on new imported items. If you think your child has taken in leaded paint or soil, or you need help with identifying or removing lead paint, call the National Safety Council's.

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