Little Known Baby Hazards to Think About When Baby Proofing
Baby Hazards to Think About When Baby Proofing
When you think of baby proofing – you may think of a mad dash around your home covering up anything sharp, closing everything open and seeing potential dangers lying around every room. While most of these can be taken care of with baby safety products, there are tons more of other hazards – less obvious ones- that many parents over look. The result is that a lot of baby’s are either hurt, visiting emergency rooms, or being fatally wounded by things in their environment that parents overlook! So what are these dangers? Some you may have expected, but others are not so mainstream! Take a look and you too will get a glimpse of some of the dangers that lie ahead of your baby in everyday situations.
- Tissues, toilet paper and napkins are choking hazard. Because they absorb saliva they are difficult to cough up or spit out. Watch your kids at restaurants too!
- Balloons! The latex balloons are very dangerous choking hazards for children. The reason is because the pliability of the material causes it to be inhaled and exhaled yet it never clears the airway. Allow your kids t to play with balloons under supervisions and as soon as they show wear, get rid of them!
- Each year thousands of kids fall out of windows. Some 2nd story, others higher. Install window locks on your window so that they will not open wide enough for a child to fit through. Never rely on screens and never place furniture near windows.
- Space heaters and fans are dangerous. Not only can the heaters ignite house fires but they can burn children in a flash. Small kids are naturally curious about fans and get hair and fingers easily tangled.
- Hot dogs or other sausage types of food can seriously choke children. Remember that hit dogs should be cut long way s and any foods with skin like coverings need to be cut very very well.
Your kids watch you plug things in all the time. All the outlets in your home should be covered with outlet covers. Small children easily plug things that do not belong in cutlets and can get seriously shocked.
- The rubber doorstops in homes are for some reason fascinating to young minds. Unfortunately the plastic cover easily comes dislodged and ends up in a baby’s mouth. Put them up high or use ones that do not have removable parts.
- Baby dolls, Barbie, Build a Bears all come with socks. The socks and shoes from these toys are pretty big choking hazards.
- All of the grown up things in the shower can be dangerous to a baby. They can accidentally reach for a razor; get soap in their mouth etc. Make sure before the baby goes in the tub- the whole area is free of anything that can hurt your child.
- Hardwood and ceramic floors however pretty can cause severe head injuries. Some ingenious baby products have been introduced that give your crawler extra padding and traction. Check them out and keep throw rugs (with non slip backs) around to ensure they don’t fall.
- Not just your purse, but everyone’s purse is like a bag of magic for babies. The problem is that many of the things that lurk in a purse are lethal and dangerous for babies. Keep your purse up and don’t let Grandma allow the baby to play in hers either.
Article provided by Iggy from Child Proofing Tips
