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 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.
