Bringing home a new baby is an exciting time for parents, and families must plan ahead and prepare the home and nursery before an infant arrives. To help ensure the safety of your youngest children, follow Home Safety Councilís guidelines to select and maintain a crib for your new baby:
- Find out if cribs, especially older models, have been recalled. Visit the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) website for recent updates.
- Make sure crib hardware is strong and secure.
- Remove soft bedding, pillows, toys and stuffed animals from the crib.
- Use sleepers instead of blankets.
- Follow the product guidelines for crib toys and discontinue use at the recommended age. If toys attach to crib railings, hang these on the wall side of the crib.
- Make sure the crib sheet and mattress fit tightly to avoid entrapment and suffocation.
- Remove bumper pads to deter children from climbing out easily.
- Keep cribs away from windows and window blind cords.
- For metal or wooden cribs, make sure slats are 2 3/8 inches apart or less. Corner posts should not be over 1/16 inch high. Avoid headboards and footboards with cutouts large enough that a baby’s head can become trapped.
- For mesh-sided cribs or playpens look for mesh less than 1/4 inch in size, securely attached to the top rail and floor plate. If staples are used, make sure none are missing or exposed.
As young children get older, they start to crawl and walk around the home. Parents can guard against possible dangers by conducting a home safety evaluation from the childís point of view. The Home Safety Council recommends that parents look at each room from their childís eye level and use the following tips to make homes safer for young children:
- Young children need constant supervision, especially around water
- Install baby gates at the tops and bottoms of stairs.
- Install child safety locks on cabinets to safely store chemicals, cleaners, medicines, cosmetics, and other toxic and/or caustic products.
- Purchase cleaners, household chemicals, medications and other potentially hazardous products with child resistant packaging.
- Post the national Poison Control Hotline (1-800-222-1222) and other emergency numbers next to every phone.
- Install toilet seat locks; turn over all buckets and store them up high, where they cannot collect standing water or be reached by children.
- Test faucet water at the tap and adjust water heater to 120 degrees F or below.
- If your home has a pool, surround it on all sides with installed fencing and a self-latching gate.
- Never leave a child unattended near standing water, even for a moment.
- Locate cribs, beds, chairs and other furniture away from windows.
- Install window locks or safety guards on above-ground windows. Be sure they have a quick-release mechanism in case of fire.
- Keep window treatment cords and sashes tied and stored up high overhead; purchase new mini-blinds that meet safety standards.
- Store matches, lighters, candles and other fire tools out of children’s sight and reach, preferably in a locked cabinet.
According to the Home Safety Council’s State of Home Safety in America (2002), emergency departments reported nearly 170,000 visits due to injuries related to toys at home in a single year. To help reduce the risk of serious injury, always follow safety guidelines when choosing toys for children. Before choosing toys and games for little ones on your shopping list, consider each child’s age, skills and abilities. Toys that are beyond your child’s age and developmental ability can be unsafe for him or her, so select toys that are appropriate rather than those children can “grow into”. Consider the following guidelines for selecting toys for your child:
- When purchasing toys for infants and toddlers, select toys, puzzles, rattles and teething toys that are too large to be swallowed.
- Read the labels and other packaging information and base your selection on age recommendations.
- Look for “washable/hygienic materials” or similar labeling on stuffed toys and dolls and “flame retardant/flame resistant” labeling on fabric products and costumes.
- Read assembly and use instructions to ensure the toy is appropriate for the child you have in mind.
- If you purchase stuffed toys, look for those that are rated safe for infants, which will ensure specific safety features, such as secure attachment of the stuffed toys’ eyes and noses and non-removable squeaking mechanisms.
- Avoid toys with long strings or cords, which could entangle and strangle a child.
- The Home Safety Council recommends against using latex balloons in homes with young children, as they can swallow an unfilled or broken balloon and suffocate.
- Remove and discard plastic wrapping and bags as soon as the toy is opened, as these items are a suffocation hazard to young children.
- Look carefully at infants’ toys and dispose of those with small broken parts that could be lodged in an infant’s throat.
- Motorized and electric toys and games and toys with heavy, sharp and pointed parts or edges can be especially dangerous for young children.
- Adult games, such as darts, should be stored up high, out of the reach of all children.
- Always supervise children closely. Don’t permit younger children to play with toys designed for older children or adults.
Small Parts Testing
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) bans products with small parts to be intended for use by children under three. CPSC considers a small part to be “any object that fits completely into a specially designed test cylinder 2.25 inches long by 1.25 inches wide…” To approximate the manufacturers’ test, use a common toilet paper roll (typically measuring 1.5-1.75 inches wide) to measure toy parts – if any toy parts fit inside the roll, choose another toy until your child is older than three.
Each winter, many residents are injured from exposure in cold-water incidents. Skaters and ice fishermen fall through the ice; boaters and canoeists overturn their crafts. According to the U.S.Coast Guard, each year there are over 7,000 drownings and 20,000 near-drownings in the United States. Over half of these incidents occur in cold water (water less than 70 degrees F.)
How thick is safe ice?
Ice on moving water in rivers, streams, and brooks are never safe. The thickness of ice on ponds and lakes depends upon water currents or springs, depth and natural objects such as tree stumps or rocks. Daily changes in temperatures cause ice to expand and contract, which affects its strength. Because of these factors, no one can declare the ice to be absolutely “safe”. The only “safe” ice is at a skating arena!
What to do if someone falls through the ice:
- Act quickly and call 911 for help immediately. Make sure properly trained and equipped rescue personnel are alerted to respond.
- Do not gout out onto the ice. Many times would-be rescuers become victims themselves.
- Reach, Throw or Row. Extend a branch, pole, or ladder to the victim. Throw them a buoyant object such as a life ring or float tied to a rope. If a boat is nearby row out to the victim or push it toward them.
How cold is cold water?
- Any water that is cooler than normal body temperature (98.6 degrees F.) is by definition “cold water”.
- Cold water drains away body heat 25 to 30 times faster than air!
- Cold water does not have to be icy; it just has to be colder than you to cause hypothermia.
What is hypothermia?
- Hypothermia is the excessive lowering of body temperature. A drop in core body temperature below 95 degrees fahrenheit causes shivering, confusion, loss of muscle strength, and if not treated and reversed hypothermia leads to unconsciousness and death.
- Safety experts estimate that half of all drowning victims die from the fatal effects of cold water, not the fatal effects from water-filled lungs!
Personal Safety Tips
- Always wear a personal flotation device (PFD) when boating, any time of year.
- Waterlogged clothing makes it difficult to keep your head above the surface of the water.
- Dress properly.
- Keep your head covered, 50% of body heat is lost through the head. Clothing that is made from man-made fibers does not protect the wearer for long when wet. Wool insulates better from the effects of hyperthermia when dry or wet.
- If you fall into cold water, get into HELP (Heat Escape Lessening Position). Bring your knees to your chest, hold your arms to your sides and clasp your hands, and cover your head if possible to protect your body from heat loss.
- DO NOT try to swim unless a boat, floating object or the shore is close by. Swimming causes “warm” blood to circulate to your arms and legs, where it cools off quickly and reduces survival time by as much as 35-50%!