September is National Baby Safety Month

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

JC Jones MA RN

So there's a new baby in the house! No doubt you already child proofed your house prior to baby's arrival, but September is a good time to look around and go over your safety plan for children.

• Make sure your car seat, stroller and baby carrying apparatus are appropriate for the baby's age: babies don't have neck control until about six months so you need to protect them.
  
• Set your water heater temperature to 120 degrees F and keep baby's bathwater around 100 degrees F. Never leave a baby in a tub unattended.
  
• Anchor bookshelves and any other unstable furniture that a curious child might want to climb. Thousands of children are injured every year by heavy furniture.
• Keep cribs, beds and chairs away from windows and window coverings.
  
• Keep chemicals, cleaning products and solvents stored properly and out of reach
• Check the references of baby sitters and caregivers carefully
• Never leave a baby in a high chair unattended.
  
• Take a CPR class so that you know what to do in an emergency
• Crawl around your house on your hands and knees to check for any potential hazards you may have missed
• Never leave animals and infants unsupervised together.
  

Thank you Alina for use of image of Newborn baby.

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