Experts recommend going around your home on your hands and knees to see from a baby's point of view
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- Follow car safety rules. Babies should ride in the backseat in a rear-facing car seat. Prior to installing, read the instructions carefully. Your local police department can help too.
- Go for new baby equipment. Before you re-use any hand-me-down baby accessory, be sure it meets the most up-to-date safety standards and guidelines. Recently, the consumer protection agency has banned the use of drop-down cribs because of safety concerns.
- When your baby isn’t being held, make sure they are in a safe place such as a crib or pack and play. Remember babies become mobile very quickly so stay close when they are on the changing table, beds or couches.
- When they’re on the move, get those safety gates up. Babies begin crawling as early as 6 months old. Secure all staircases and close all doors where you don’t want your baby to venture such as bathrooms. There’s way too much temptation in there!
- Examine your home from a baby’s point of view. Experts recommend parents get on their hands and knees to go into each room andsee what baby can see. Think electrical cords, breakable decorations and sharp edges.
- Leave the cooking to the chef. It can be tempting to multi-task but never try to cook when holding a baby. Burns can happen easily. If it does, run cool water over it immediately and contact your pediatrician.
- Keep the small stuff away. Babies explore with their mouths and can choke on anything smaller than an opening of a toilet paper holder. Regularly check your home for objects that could pose a danger.
- Create a safe sleeping environment for baby. Place your baby on his or her back on a firm tight-fitting mattress in a crib that meets safety standards. You should not have pillows or blankets in a crib with an infant.
- Visit your pediatrician for well-visits. Pediatricians recommend that these visits occur seven times in the first year of life, three times in the second and annually throughout the school year.
- Buckle up. Don’t’ skip on fastening the safety belts in strollers, swings and other moveable playthings. Babies wiggle a lot.
