Chris Marlo ICCE, Childbirth Educator, Renown Health
The task of childproofing can be overwhelming to new parents and each year thousands of kids come into the ER with injuries that could have been prevented with proper supervision and safety measures.
5 simple ways to help keep your child safe:
- Never leave your child in the car unattended, not even for a minute. Cars can get extremely hot in a very short amount of time and can cause major health concerns
- Avoid burn injuries by turning the handles on your pots and pans towards the back of the stove while you’re cooking.
- Until about the age of 4, avoid giving your child foods such as hard raw vegetables and fruits, nuts, hot dogs, hard candies, marshmallows, spoonfuls of peanut butter, gum and large chunks of meat as these foods have a very high choking risk.
- Water safety is very important. Any amount of water, even a pets water bowl or a toilet, can be a serious drowning risk. There are very few child or baby proof pet water bowl options, and in this heat it is too hot to restrict your pets from water, so if your child has access to areas with your pet’s water bowls, be sure that the child is always heavily supervised. Also, never leave your child in the bath unattended, not even for a minute.
- Another common cause of injury is furniture items or wall décor not being securely fastened to the wall Be sure that any item your baby could use to pull themselves up on as they become more mobile, or could potentially climb, is secure to the wall.