There seems to be a daunting list of safety issues
that confront you when you have a child. I felt
bewildered when, on top of all the practical things
to organise and buy, I was confronted by more
general concerns about my child's safety within
the home.
It is hard to identify all the potential risk
areas in your home and those that you don't find,
your child will probably find for you.
There are however some basic things to look out for:
Sleeping
- leading healthcare professionals
recommend that you ensure that your baby is
placed to sleep on their back, in the 'feet
to foot' position, i.e. with their feet close
to the foot of the cot. You also need to be
conscious of the temperature of your baby as
small babies are not very good at controlling
their own temperature.
For more detailed information about reducing
the risk of cot death visit www.sids.org.uk/fsid/question.htm
Sharp corners
- e.g. on furniture, kitchen units, door handles. I've found these a constant
problem. In our house as soon our son was tall
enough to avoid one set there was another just
at his new head height. We've found that the
plastic covers you can have helped reduce the
number of bruises!
Stairs
- don't wait until your child
is walking before fitting good stair gates.
You will never be able to predict exactly when
your baby will decide to tackle the stairs so
be prepared and buy them well before theiir first
birthday. We chose to have one at the top and
the bottom of the stairs for added safety.
"I didn't want one of those metal gates,
we had so many toys, nappies and change mats everywhere
that I decided that a big gate across the stairs
was one bit of clutter I could live without. We
bought a retractable one and it worked very well
for us."
Kitchen
- e.g. washing machine, fridge,
kitchen units. To be honest it is best to fit
locks to all these and then you can safely lock
up all your best china household chemicals,
medicines in one room. If you think of the kitchen
as your 'safe house' then you will be less inclined
to leave cleaning fluids etc in the bathroom.
We left one cupboard unlocked and filled it
with all the plastics from about the kitchen,
bowls, beakers, dishes. Our son then had one
cupboard that he could rummage which he found
Things you love!
- move the things you love, e.g. ornaments, CDs, flowers, candles,
to higher shelves or put away completely. Don't
leave it to chance. You may have a child that
respects the words 'No, you do not touch that',
but they are rare and so for a while, at least,
remove the temptation.
Bathroom
- never leave a baby or small
child unattended in the bath. For babies you
can now buy bath seats that help stabilise a
baby in the bath. For older children always
used a bath mat to stop them slipping.
"When I got Sarah home, I was so worried
about bathing her. She was so slippery and I can
be so clumsy! I was especially worried when we
transferred her from the baby bath to the main
bath. She loved it in there, but I was a nervous
wreck! The bathing pad was a good buy for me."
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