From Attic to Basement and Beyond: Top Safety Tips for Every New Parent

Becoming a parent is one of those magical moments in your life and it is perfectly understandable that you immediately become very protective and want to make sure that your home is safe and ready to welcome your new baby.

Buying a family car like the Dodge Grand Caravan might be on your agenda in order to cope with transporting your special cargo with a good level of comfort and safety, and there are a number of things that you may need to look at when making sure that your home is also a safe environment.

A safe place to sleep

Your new baby will be doing a lot of sleeping and you want to ensure that their crib is not only comfortable, but it is safe. When you are looking at buying a crib for your baby, your priority should be to ensure that it meets current safety standards, and check that the slats are spaced no bigger than 2.5 inches apart, so that the baby won’t be able to get their head through the gaps, if they move around at any point.

Traveling with your baby

You will still have to frequently travel around in your car despite the demands of parenting, and you will want to ensure that your child is transported as safely as possible. Every time you get into your car with your baby, you want to know that they are secure and as protected as possible in the unfortunate scenario of a collision. It should be remembered that every child will have a head that is disproportionately larger than their equivalent body size while they are at the early stages of their development, and this needs protecting in the right way.

You should be keeping your child in a rear-facing car seat until they are at least one year old, and some experts consider that you should carry on well beyond their first birthday, for maximum protection. You might also want to consider a car seat that becomes a carry-cot, so that you can lift them safely out of the car at the end of the journey, with waking them from their sleep.

Protecting them from falls

If you live in a family home with stairs, make sure that you block access to your staircase with an appropriate baby gate. There are thousands of children who end up in an emergency room every year as a result of a falling-related injury, and a stair gate is an absolute necessity so that you can control your child’s access and prevent them from a dangerous fall.

Also think about where you position your changing table and how to secure your child when using it, so that they are not at risk from a fall, which can happen in such a brief moment when you are temporarily distracted.

The threat of burns and shocks

Children are naturally inquisitive, but that curiosity could spell danger unless you prepare your home and address any potential safety hazards. Make sure you cover up electrical outlets with caps or plugs and always be vigilant in the kitchen, making sure that your child is not in danger from anything like a hot pan tipping over from the cooker top.

Spend some time going around your house and make a list of all of the potential safety hazards, so that you can get them fixed before it becomes the source of an unfortunate accident.

[info_box type=”pale_box”]Chelsea Douglas is on maternity leave waiting for her 2nd daughter to arrive into the world. This time of rest is leaving her mind free to reminisce over the birth of her first daughter, and in inspiring her to have a go at writing some parenting articles which she has had in mind for quite some time![/info_box]

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