Baby Proof Your House for Safety
There is more to baby proofing your house than merely putting your precious collectibles out of reach of a crawling or walking baby. The main point to baby proofing your living space is to make your home safe for the baby. As soon as a baby can crawl, he or she will be touring about your home, learning everything there is about your stuff by putting his hands and mouth on it.
First, look at the room from your baby’s perspective on the floor. When the baby is at an age to put things in his or her mouth, you will find that you need to pay attention to vacuuming or sweeping your floors more often than you usually do. Any little piece of lint or clod of dirt may end up in the baby’s mouth. Perhaps a more serious concern is an electrical outlet on the wall. Buy plastic safety covers to cover the unused outlets. For outlets that must be in use all the time with a lamp or television plugged into it, you may need to get more creative. You can rearrange your furniture so the outlet and trailing electrical cords are not accessible.
Other things to be wary of is furniture or anything heavy that could tip if the baby pulls or pushes on it. Some examples of these are standing floor lamps, table lamps, a tablecloth with things on top of it, book shelves, and drawers. Sharp corners on furniture can be covered with baby safety corner guards. Also be sure to put anything that may be poisonous up out of reach, such as cleaning supplies and medications, and know your local poison control telephone number. Give away any houseplants that may be toxic. Also be cautious of certain garage sale bargains or secondhand baby things passed on to you for free. Old baby cribs or play yards should not have slats with spaces greater than two and three-eighths inches. Old toy boxes with an ordinary hinged lid are very dangerous. Newer toy boxes use a safety hinge. A child car safety seat should not be used if it is more than five years old and if you do not absolutely know it could not have been in an accident previously. Toys should be age-appropriate to your child. For a child under the age of three, a toy should be too large to be a choking hazard. A rule of thumb is the toy should be too large to pass through a toilet paper roll. The toy should be very well assembled so no small parts can be pulled off. The best way to baby proof your child’s environment is with plenty of adult supervision. You will think you have picked up everything the baby could possibly get into trouble with, and then you will be amazed that he found something else. It is the rare child that does not make it through childhood without a scar or two, but with vigilance only minor mishaps will occur.
There is more to baby proofing your house than merely putting your precious collectibles out of reach of a crawling or walking baby. The main point to baby proofing your living space is to make your home safe for the baby. As soon as a baby can crawl, he or she will be touring about your home, learning everything there is about your stuff by putting his hands and mouth on it.
First, look at the room from your baby’s perspective on the floor. When the baby is at an age to put things in his or her mouth, you will find that you need to pay attention to vacuuming or sweeping your floors more often than you usually do. Any little piece of lint or clod of dirt may end up in the baby’s mouth. Perhaps a more serious concern is an electrical outlet on the wall. Buy plastic safety covers to cover the unused outlets. For outlets that must be in use all the time with a lamp or television plugged into it, you may need to get more creative. You can rearrange your furniture so the outlet and trailing electrical cords are not accessible.
Other things to be wary of is furniture or anything heavy that could tip if the baby pulls or pushes on it. Some examples of these are standing floor lamps, table lamps, a tablecloth with things on top of it, book shelves, and drawers. Sharp corners on furniture can be covered with baby safety corner guards. Also be sure to put anything that may be poisonous up out of reach, such as cleaning supplies and medications, and know your local poison control telephone number. Give away any houseplants that may be toxic.
Also be cautious of certain garage sale bargains or secondhand baby things passed on to you for free. Old baby cribs or play yards should not have slats with spaces greater than two and three-eighths inches. Old toy boxes with an ordinary hinged lid are very dangerous. Newer toy boxes use a safety hinge. A child car safety seat should not be used if it is more than five years old and if you do not absolutely know it could not have been in an accident previously. Toys should be age-appropriate to your child. For a child under the age of three, a toy should be too large to be a choking hazard. A rule of thumb is the toy should be too large to pass through a toilet paper roll. The toy should be very well assembled so no small parts can be pulled off.
The best way to baby proof your child’s environment is with plenty of adult supervision. You will think you have picked up everything the baby could possibly get into trouble with, and then you will be amazed that he found something else. It is the rare child that does not make it through childhood without a scar or two, but with vigilance only minor mishaps will occur.
Gabriella enjoys sharing family and parenting advice. She also builds websites including her latest at http://toddlerbedsheetsus.org and http://toddlerbedsets.org with information on toddler bedding for children ages eighteen months to five years. Also she has recent published http://toddlerbedfurniture.org about the furniture itself.
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Baby Proof Your House for Safety
Choosing Soft Toys for a Baby – Safety First
Parents with small babies usually shop for toys in the market so that the baby starts recognizing colors and shapes at an early age. Some parents start collecting toys even before the birth of the child. In a way this is good as they can shop for toys in a relaxed manner, as after the birth of the child both the mother and the father will be fully occupied looking after the child. Parents have to consider one important thing regarding safety before selecting toys from a shop. Parents should be extremely careful with respect to providing toys to the baby that will not harm the baby by causing allergic reaction on their tender skin, causing rashes. There are a number of branded soft toys available in the market that are perfectly safe for the baby. But there are soft toys in the market place that are colored with slightly toxic chemicals, which are harmful for the health of the baby. Parents should always opt for soft toys which are colored using organic and natural compounds rather than with chemicals. Before buying from the store, the parents need to cross-check with the sales person whether the toy is perfectly safe for the baby and that there are no chemicals used in coloring the soft toy. Parents also need to look at instructions provided in the tag of the soft toy and act accordingly. Most reputed manufacturers provide instructions along with the tag. Soft toys come in a variety of colors and designs. Some of the popular designs include animal and cartoon character shaped soft toys. Parents usually prefer animal and cartoon characters they had used in their own childhood. But the same animals may or may not be liked by their child. Babies will usually chew these soft toys within the first 6 months of their life. So parents should be doubly careful and keep a close watch when their baby is chewing these soft toys. These soft toys are also available in different colors. Some of the animal soft toys that may be loved by the baby include tigers, teddy bears, monkeys, polar bears, puppies, dolphins and kittens. The popularity of these animal toys is due to their facial appearance and expressions which the babies find interesting. They are fun to play with and friendly in nature, and can begin to spark a child’s interest in the world.
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Choosing Soft Toys for a Baby – Safety First
Good Baby Safety Checklist – Protecting Your Baby
General Safety Tips:
___ Place child-resistant covers on all electrical outlets.
___ Install safety gates at the top and bottom of the stairs.
___ Don’t use baby walkers because they have been known to have caused serious injuries to babies. Use stationary exercisers instead.
___ Keep all dangerous chemicals out of the reach of children.
___ Shorten curtain and blind cords.
___ Install smoke detectors on each floor of your home, especially near sleeping areas. * Be sure to change the batteries each year.
___ Keep all small objects away from young children. (This includes tiny toys and balloons.)
___ Use corner bumpers on furniture and fireplace-hearth edges.
___ Know the names of all plants in case a child eats one of them.
___ Be sure that furnaces, fireplaces, wood-burning stoves, space heaters, and all gas appliances are vented properly.
___ Place screened barriers around fireplaces, radiators, and portable space heaters.
___ Keep firearms and ammunition safely locked away.
___ Secure unsteady furnishings.
___ Check your house for lead and asbestos. If you detect either of these substances, contact a professional. Any house built before 1978 is at risk for lead paint.
Protect your kids rooms:
___ Ensure that your crib meets national safety standards.
___ Place guards on windows and stops on all doors.
___ Make sure your baby’s crib is sturdy and has no loose or missing hardware.
___ Make sure that the mattress fits snugly.
___ Be sure the crib sheet fits snugly.
___ Never put stuffed animals or heavy blankets in the crib with your infant.
___ Never leave your baby unattended on the changing table.
___ Remove mobiles and other hanging toys from the crib as soon as your child can reach up and touch them.
___ Place infants under one year of age on their backs to sleep. Mattress should be firm and flat with no soft bedding underneath. * Following this advice will reduce the risk of suffocation and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
___ Place night-lights at least three feet away from the crib, bedding, and draperies to prevent fires.
___ Check age labels for appropriate toys.
Keep the bathroom safe:
___ Put a lock on the medicine cabinet.
___ Lower the household water temperature. (It should be set at 120 degrees F or below to avoid burning your baby)
___ Always test the water first before bathing a child.
___ Never leave your child alone in the bathtub or near any water.
___ Secure toilet lids. Many young children are fascinated by putting objects inside.
___ Make sure that bathtubs and showers aren’t slippery.
___ Install ground-fault circuit interrupters on outlets near sings and bathtubs.
For the Kitchen:
___ Keep all knives, cleaning supplies, and plastic bags out of children’s reach.
___ If stove knobs are easily accessible to children, use protective covers to prevent kids from turning them.
___ Never leave your baby alone in a highchair. Always use all safety straps.
___ Replace any frayed cords and wires.
___ Keep chairs and step stools away from counters and the stove.
___ Remove all household cleaners from the bottom cabinets or put them in a cabinet that is out of your baby’s reach.
In the Yard:
___ Store tools, garden, lawn-equipment, and supplies in a locked closet or shed.
___ Don’t use a power mower when young children are around.
___ Don’t allow children to play on a treated lawn for at least 48 hours following an application of a fertilizer or pesticide.
___ Know the types of trees and plant life on the property in case children ingest berries, leaves, or other plant life.
___ If you have a swimming pool, install a fence that separates the house from the pool. ( Make sure that the gate is childproof)
This list is a general guide. For more in-depth information go to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission at
http://www.allhottips.com
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