10 Essential Baby Safety Tips
As a pediatrician, I place great significance on preventive medicine. So with all of the newborns and infants I've seen recently, I thought I'd take this opportunity to share some of my favorite safety tips for parents of the very young.
In no particular order, here they are:
1. Check your child's car seat. This might be a good opportunity to find your way to a certified car seat technician to ensure it's been properly installed.
2. Change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. And if you don't have both alarms, then please get them. This is relevant for any household, whether children are present or not.
3. Maintain safety in the crib. It's important to adjust the mattress level as your infant grows. And when he can pull himself up, it's time to remove the bumper.
4. Check out the stroller. At least once a year it's important to confirm the brakes and latches are in working order.
5. Place your baby on her back to sleep. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) has been reduced by 50% with 3,500 less infant deaths since implementing this measure.
6. Do not leave your baby unattended. By about 4-6 months of age, your child will be rolling around. But it is my recommendation to never leave your child unattended on a bed, couch, table, or any raised surface as you never know when the first roll may occur.
7. Know your poison control number. I'll help with this one and give the national number: 1-800-222-1222. Post it on your refrigerator. This is a wonderful resource for parents and physicians alike.
8. Secure your furniture. I'm referring to bookshelves, dressers, and similar pieces of furniture. You may be surprised how little effort it takes to move them.
9. Good pet care: With cats, keep the litter box in an area your crawling infant can't get to and also place your pet's food and water in a secure location.
10. Please take an infant/child CPR class. This is not something to put off. If you haven't take a class or it's been some time, please find one and sign up. Take grandparents and other caregivers as well.
I would love to hear suggestions from others.
Dr. Jeremy
Categories: Tips, Personal Opinion
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4
The Nicksmommy,
Great tips as well.
By DrJeremy June 17, 2008 12:54am
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also....do NOT place uneeded items in baby cribs, the experts even say not to use bumpers whatsoever.
Child proof your home, even if you think you have done it all, invite some toddlers over and watch them, they WILL find things you have missed. Keep the cleaning products and medicines secured away from curious hands!
Have an emergency protocol plan, include phone numbers of family and relatives in one place, do not rely on the cell phone to store these since it may not be charged when you need it.
By NickNicksmommykitkat June 14, 2008 7:49pm
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Hi Dr. Jer,
Thanks for the reminder. Would you know a good local place to take a CPR class? I should have taken one years ago but just kept putting it off. I wish there could be yearly brush-ups as well. Hope you're enjoying game. Maddy was my buddy today. Love, Maryls
By maryls June 12, 2008 10:58pm
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These are great tips. My cousin passed from SIDS, and your advice is such a simple way to decrease such tragic occurrences. I'm happy to report my wife and were recently certified in infant CPR. And I'm going to get a carbon monoxide detector this weekend for us and our upcoming little one.
By nicholas June 12, 2008 2:21pm