It takes time and ongoing effort, but properly baby proofing your home means you greatly improve your chances of avoiding a visit to the emergency department. Saunders is coordinator of Safe Kids Greater Dayton, a coalition led by Dayton Children’s of fire, police, and health departments and schools in seven counties united by the goal of preventing accidental injuries to kids.
“The No. 1 killer of children ages 1 to 14 is accidental injury,” Saunders said.
With older children, parents can take steps to instruct their children on ways to stay safe, but for infants, that’s not really an option.
“Parents may say we can train a child, but an 18-month-old can’t really understand,” Saunders said.
There is a lot parents can do to make their homes as secure as possible. “With childproofing, the biggest thing is to create a safe environment for our children,” Saunders said. “We see so many injuries that can be prevented.”
Kitchens
Try to keep kids out of the kitchen entirely, mainly because of the heat sources found in a kitchen. “At Children’s, we see so many scalding burns,” Saunders said. Stoves are a danger, but so is a hot cup of coffee if it’s within reach of tiny hands. “Keep them out of the kitchen or at least 3-feet away from the stove,” Saunders suggested.
Key problem areas:
Don’t cook while holding your child.
Keep sharp objects away from reach.
Ensure that all power cords to appliances like toasters, blenders and coffee pots, are up and out of reach.
Lock away all cleaning products, or better yet, put them out of reach.
Bathrooms
Bathrooms are also spaces where you want to closely monitor your baby. “We see a lot of accidents from the bathroom,” Saunders said. Some might not be what you’d expect: ER doctors at Children’s treat a lot of burns caused by curling irons. “You really want to watch the cords,” Saunders said.
Key problem areas:
Never leave your child alone in the bathtub. They can drown in less than an inch of water in a matter of seconds.
Closely monitor the temperature of bath water to avoid scalding your child.
As in the kitchen, keep cleaning products locked away, or well out of reach.
Bedrooms
For bedrooms, many issues center around the crib, where your child is left alone for long periods of time.
Although bumpers, pillows and stuffed animals may look pretty and cute, don’t leave them in a baby’s crib. “They can all be suffocation hazards,” Saunders cautioned. “Once a child can roll into soft material, he can breathe it in and suffocate.”
Some parents attach soft bumpers onto the side of the crib to protect the baby from bumping her head. It’s incredibly rare, however, for a child to hit her head hard enough to hurt herself. The risk of suffocating is much greater for children younger than 1 years old. “In Montgomery County, every six weeks we see one death due to unsafe sleep practices, from a baby suffocating or co-sleeping,” Saunders said.
Drop-sided cribs are no longer considered safe. New standards from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, effective in June, mean that drop-side cribs will no longer be sold in the United States. Since 2000, drop-side rails were associated with at least 32 infant suffocation and strangulation deaths nationally. Because of the high number of recalls, experts recommend always buying a brand new crib.
Take great care when assembling a crib to be sure all hardware is used properly and that all parts are in good repair. Check the mattress to ensure there isn’t a gap of more than two inches between it and the sides of the crib. No matter what kind of crib you have, always check it regularly to make sure nothing is loose or broken. Keep cribs away from windows, where curtains and blind cords can present strangulation risks.
Throughout the house
Even if your baby isn’t quite mobile yet, it’s a good idea to baby proof all areas of the home that your child will spending time in.
Key problem areas
Anchor all furniture, including bookcases, wardrobes, dressers and buffets, not to mention televisions, firmly to walls. “We see tons of kids go up to flat screen TVs and pull them over and get injured,” Saunders said. “You’d think a child isn’t strong enough, but you’d be surprised.
Use gates at staircases and to block off rooms or areas of the house you don’t want your child to enter. It’s best to screw gates into the wall, rather than pressure-mounting, especially at the tops of stairs.
Install smoke alarms throughout the house and carbon monoxide alarms outside sleeping areas.
Use outlet covers to prevent electrocution and keep cords bundled and out of reach. A variety of products are available for these purposes at retailers.
Protect your child from sharp edges on furniture by using pads on corners. You can find pads for sale at hardware stores and big box stores.
Outside your home, be sure that pools are protected by a fence. If using a baby pool, always drain and turn it over when finished.
Other concerns
Not all baby proofing involves installing or locking something. Parents need to be vigilant at all times, both in the home and beyond.
Car seats are essential for keeping your baby safe in the car, but be sure to use the seat wisely when in the house. Never place a baby in a car seat on top of a table or counter. Even very young infants can cause a seat to rock and fall.
With so many baby products getting recalled, it’s important to keep up with recalls. “When you get baby products — swings, car seats, cribs — be sure to fill out the registration cards. It’s peace of mind to know you’ll be contacted if it’s recalled,” Saunders said.
Carefully watch the interaction of your pets with your baby. “Never leave a child alone with a pet, no matter how trusted,” Saunders said.
Toys should be kept in good repair and should be designed for your child’s age. Toys have to be labeled what age they are designed for. Even if a toy looks safe, if the box says it’s for an older child, it’s best to follow that guideline. If there are older children in the home, try to store their toys in a separate location from the baby’s.
Post and program into your phone the National Poison Control number, (800) 222-1222, and your pediatrician’s phone number.
Remember that visitors may not be as careful as you are. “If Grandma and Grandpa are coming to visit, make sure they know not to leave medicine on the nightstand or a purse within easy reach,” Saunders said.
Supervise
Well done if you’ve taken the precautions above and created a safe space for your baby to grow up in. However, all the locks, pads, covers and gates in the world can’t compare with the protection that your own eyes, ears and arms can provide your child.
“You can’t 100 percent baby proof your home,” Saunders said, “so you always need to have adult supervision.”
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