Caring for Your Baby and Young Child Reviews

Keep your young kid safety around the house

Injuries often result in emergency room visits and hospitalizations, and are the leading cause of death amidst children and youth in Canada. While many injuries amongst young children occur at home, the majority are preventable.

Be prepared and conceptualize injury risks

Consider your child's historic period and developmental stage.

• Is your baby too young to lift their head?
• Tin your child open a door on their own?
• Can your child move a chair or stool to the counter or stove?

Anticipate your child's new skills and make changes in your dwelling house to reduce their chance of injury.

• For instance, put locks and latches on cupboards earlier your kid can crawl.

Actively supervise your child.

• Although you'll teach your kid about safety, the best way to prevent injury is to be aware of where your child is and what they are doing at all times.

Suffocation and strangulation

Almost babies tin can't elevator their head until they are nigh 4 months erstwhile. And then if an object interferes with their animate, they won't be able to pull themselves away from it. That includes things in their crib, like bedding or toys. Brand sure to create a rubber slumber environment for your babe.

Items such every bit blind cords, necklaces and strings can go stuck around your child'due south neck and pose major threats to breathing – even if the particular is not potent.

• Secure pall and blind cords to the wall or beyond reach.
• Proceed the crib abroad from window blinds or cords.
• When possible, supersede corded blinds with cordless ones.
• Do non utilize bister necklaces. Utilize a teething ring instead to reduce pain.
• Use bibs with Velcro, not ties.
• Use a short ribbon pacifier clip. Don't hang a pacifier around your baby's neck.
• Utilize a neck warmer instead of a scarf, and mitten clips instead of strings.
• Avoid clothing with drawstrings at the neck or waist.

Choking

By 4 months of age, most babies offset exploring objects past putting them in their mouths.

Starting solid foods, teething and exploring new environments are all milestones that increase a infant's choking adventure. Some things to consider:

• A safe soother is made of one piece, with a shield to prevent your baby from sucking the nipple too far into their oral cavity.
• Use teething rings instead of amber necklaces to reduce teething pain. Babies can asphyxiate on the beads.
• When offer solid foods, call up about the size, shape and texture. Volition your child exist able to properly chew and safely consume the food? Nuts, popcorns, hot dogs, grapes, and raw carrots are common causes of choking in young children.
• Keep magnets and push button batteries out of your child's reach. Button batteries can exist constitute in unexpected places (e.g., musical greeting cards, flashing jewelry, candles, car keys, etc.) and can be hands removed past a child. These batteries tin pose serious threats to your child's abdominal walls. If yous call back your child has swallowed or put a push button battery in their nose or ear, go to the nearest emergency section (ED) immediately. Bring the battery leaflet with you lot if you lot have it. If your child is over 12 months of age, ingesting some honey may help prevent serious complications while on your way to the ED.
• Necktie plastic bags in a knot before putting them away.
• Use Mylar (foil) balloons instead of latex balloons. If a Mylar balloon breaks into small-scale pieces, it won't block a child's airway. Throw away broken balloon pieces immediately.
• If an item is minor enough to pass through an empty toilet paper coil, it is a choking hazard.

Falls

Babies can squirm and motility forth a surface long before they tin can plough over. Even a newborn can wriggle enough to fall off the modify table, bed or sofa.

• Always supervise your baby. Don't get distracted by people or objects (similar your phone) when your child is on a raised surface.
• Store everything you need to change a baby within reach, so y'all don't take to turn away. Keep one hand on your baby at all times.
• Avoid placing motorcar seats and infant chairs on raised surfaces similar piece of furniture, counters, or appliances.
• Brand sure your baby sling or front carrier is appropriate for your baby's age and size. Information technology should support their head and shoulders and have small leg openings, so that your baby can't slip out. If y'all bend over, hold your baby confronting yous with one paw.
• Brand sure the crib mattress is at an appropriate top level for your baby's age, size and abilities. Once your infant starts trying to climb out of the crib or reaches 35 inches alpine, consider moving them to a toddler bed.

As before long as babies kickoff to crawl, they will desire to explore their environment. Safety gates prevent your baby from falling down stairways or entering sure rooms.

• Install gates with vertical confined made of metal or wood. Set up them deeply to studs in the wall at the elevation of stairs. Pressure mounted gates are not safety at the meridian of stairways.
• Gates should meet current safe standards and exist labeled with the manufacturer's name, model proper name/number, date of manufacture, and a warning almost apply and installation. Follow instructions advisedly.
• Install window guards, or make certain windows are latched and so that they can't open up more 10 cm (4 inches). Window screens do not prevent falls, and they cannot hold the weight of a toddler.
• Keep article of furniture—including cribs—away from windows that open.

Burn prevention

Many business firm fires are caused by careless smoking or children playing with lighters and matches.

• Practise non allow smoking in your home.
• Proceed matches and lighters out of reach.
• Fume and carbon monoxide detectors should be installed on every level of the dwelling and exterior every sleeping surface area. Cheque them monthly and change the batteries as per the manufacturer's recommendation.
• Keep a fire extinguisher in your abode, ideally in the kitchen.
• Have a fire escape plan that your family regularly practices.

Burns and scalds

Babies and young children have very thin pare, which puts them at gamble of serious burns fifty-fifty later on quick exposure to heat. Be especially conscientious when children are around hot liquids, which can scald.

• If you lot are drinking hot liquids effectually your kid, use a cup with a tight-fitting lid.
• Never carry a infant and a hot drinkable at the same time. Go along hot drinks away from counter edges.
• Use plastic placemats instead of a tablecloth, because your babe could pull it down.
• Set your hot h2o heater temperature to 49°C (120°F) or put an anti-scald device on your faucets.
• Before bathing, check the h2o temperature with your elbow or wrist. It should feel warm, not hot. Bathe your child away from the faucets and remove them from the tub before running the hot water over again.
• Don't estrus breastmilk or formula in a microwave. Dangerous "hot spots" can burn a infant's mouth. Warm a bottle in a pot of hot water instead and test the milk on your wrist before feeding.
• When possible, use the stove's back burners. Plow pot handles in from the stove edge.
• Remove front end- or tiptop-mounted stove knobs betwixt cooking times, especially if you take a gas stove.
• Place fire-prophylactic barriers around – and at a safe distance from – space heaters, gas fireplaces and wood stoves. Position the barrier so that the everyman point of its top edge is at least 56 cm (22 inches) off the floor.

Poisoning

Medications are the leading crusade of poisoning in children.

• Store medications, cleaning supplies and other corrosive or poisonous household products (laundry detergent, dish detergent, bleach, pesticides) safely out of sight, out of reach, away from food, and in their original containers, ideally in a locked cabinet.
• Keep all cannabis and vaping products locked up and out of reach in child-resistant packaging or containers, just as you would medications and other potentially toxic products.
• Make certain visitors proceed their purses or numberless out of your child'southward reach.
• Cigarette and cigarette butts are poisonous to young children. Keep them out of reach and, ideally, out of the house.
• Make certain that batteries from watches, remote controls, toys, calculators, etc. are secured and just accessible using a tool, such equally a screwdriver. Push batteries can be constitute in unexpected places (e.one thousand., musical greeting cards, flashing jewelry, candles, machine keys, etc.) and can exist easily removed by a child. A swallowed battery reacts with saliva and lets off an electrical current that burns the tissue and can exist mortiferous.
• Keep pet food and water off the flooring betwixt feedings or in an area that your kid cannot admission.
• Remove poisonous houseplants or keep them out of accomplish.
• Keep your poisonous substance control centre's number close to the phone.

Electrical injuries

Electrical outlets are right at a young child'southward eye level. Dangling wires, a power bar or even empty wall sockets will attract the attention of a curious kid. Babies may want to chew on a wire and examine outlets with wet fingers.

• Put safety covers on all electrical outlets that are non in use.
• Use but electrical cords provided by the appliance or fixture's manufacturer and keep out of reach.
• Use extension cords that are the unmarried-plug blazon.
• Comprehend empty outlets with safety plugs.

Drowning

A child can drown very quickly and quietly in every bit little as 2.5 cm (one inches) of water. Supervise your child at all times when they are around water, including in the bath. Bathroom seats and rings requite parents and caregivers a simulated sense of security and should exist avoided. Create a safe water environment for your child past following the recommendations outlined in our water rubber handout.

Gun safety

The Canadian Paediatric Society does NOT recommend keeping firearms in the domicile. Children lack the experience and maturity to distinguish a toy gun from a real one. They also don't understand the consequences of handling a gun, so it'due south mandatory to ensure a safe firearm environs for your child if you choose to keep guns in the home.

Additional condom tips

• Install child-resistant door handle covers, particularly for rooms with hazards, and exit doors.
• Keep all abrupt (pair of scissors, skewers, knives), breakable or heavy objects in a latched drawer, locked cabinet, or out of reach.
• Anchor pinnacle-heavy furniture or objects (televisions, dressers or bookcases) to the wall.
• Tie up dangling cords and push button appliances or gadgets to the back of the counter when not in apply.
• Be careful when opening or closing doors and teach siblings to do the same. Little fingers often get caught in closing doors and pinch injuries are especially common in households with more than 1 kid.
• Reclining chairs have a infinite between the footrest and seat when the chair is raised. Lower the footrest when not in use. Young children should exist kept away when raising and lowering the footrest.

For more data on keeping your young child condom, visit Parachute Canada.

Reviewed by the following CPS committees

• Injury Prevention Commission
• Public Instruction Advisory Commission

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Source: https://caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/safety-and-injury-prevention/keep_your_young_child_safe