Tips for Baby Safety Month

September is Baby Safety Month. While we don’t need an excuse to be extra careful about our babies’ wellbeing, this is still a great reminder for everyone. Let’s make sure we’re checking off all the boxes when it comes to their protecting our little ones.

At Child Safety Store, we consider it our jobs to keep you abreast of all-things-safety.  So it’s time to review some tips for Baby Safety Month!

Safe Infant Sleep

Providing a safe sleep environment for your baby is one of the most important jobs for a parent or caregiver.  After all, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are about 3,500 sleep-related deaths among babies in the United States each year.  Of course you want your baby to feel comfortable, but a baby’s crib or bassinet should be free of everything but a well-fitted mattress and sheet. Blankets, toys and bumper pads can increase the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Speaking of cribs, be sure that your baby’s crib meets safety standards set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, such as the size of your mattress and the distance between slats.

Babyproof the House

Before your know it, your newborn is rolling, crawling and walking. To avoid accidents and injuries in your household, you’ll want to think about all of the many ways your child could get hurt – and then help to prevent those things from happening.  Mostly, you can protect your family by childproofing or baby-proofing your living space.

Some key areas you’ll want to focus on include:

• covering outlets to keep tiny fingers away from electrical currents

• installing safety gates to prevent them from accessing the stairs or an unsafe room such as a kitchen that has the stove running

• locking appliances and cabinets so that a child can’t reach potentially harmful items like chemicals or medications.

Unsure of where to start?  Consider hiring a professional baby-proofer.  It is their job to assess your home for areas that can pose harm to your child.  The baby-proofer would then devise ways to make those areas safer for the whole family.

Protect Baby’s Body

Creating a safe living space for your baby is vital to their health. However, it is also important to make sure your baby is safe from any potential bodily harm.  For instance:

• When your baby is too young to control their movements, but flail their arms about wildly anyhow, consider a pair of scratch mittens. Since newborns’ fingernails can be quite sharp, this will prevent them from unintentionally scratching their own face.
• Heading somewhere that may get loud? Protect your baby’s hearing with a pair of earmuffs to drown out the loud decibels that can result in hearing loss.
• If you are out-and-about with your little one, be sure to shield their super-sensitive skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Sunscreen is not advised for children under six months of age, so you should find the shade and avoid the sun when possible.  For children older than six months, you can begin using sunscreen; however, remain careful. They are more prone to burns than adults, and only a few serious sunburns can increase your child’s risk of skin cancer later in life.