Baby Safety Continued
Angela Oswalt, MSWCar Safety
Make sure infants are always buckled in safely in an approved car seat when a car is moving. The safest place for infants to ride in a car is the middle of the back seat. Parents may prefer having babies in the front seat so that they can watch and soothe their babies, but this is a very dangerous spot for infants in case of an accident. Babies and children under the age of twelve should never ride in the front of a car with activated air bags. It's safer for parents to pull over to console a crying baby than to bring them up front while continuing to drive.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Commission reports that 80 percent of car seats are used or installed improperly. Caregivers should be careful in reading car seat installation and use directions, and can go to any police station to have the car seat installation and use checked for accuracy. Children will need different car seats as they grow taller and gain weight.
Safety on the Move
As babies become more mobile and start to develop their gross and fine motor skills, they will want to grab, climb, put into their mouth, and play with anything they can. Parents and caregivers need to childproof their homes to prevent the baby from having access to poisonous substances, items that could burn them, items they could choke on or otherwise hurt them, and objects they could trip over while walking. For more information on childproofing a home for children of all ages, see the see childproofing article for more information.
Preparing for the Worst
Even when parents take all the precautions possible, accidents do happen, and they need to be prepared for those times as well. It's better to be prepared and never use certain skills than to be unprepared and not have certain skills when they are needed. Keep a list of important phone numbers by the phone at all times, such as the Poison Control Hotline, emergency medicine, the pediatrician, and other important caregivers or family members. Parents and caregivers should be certified in infant and child CPR and First Aid so that they can provide rescue breathing and CPR, dislodge items from the airway of a choking child, and provide basic first aid. Both the Red Cross and the American Heart Association provide these certifications. While these techniques save lives every day, they can also be harmful if done incorrectly. It's important to take a course ahead of time in order to learn and to practice correct techniques before they are needed and to have to depend on a diagram and intuition in the stress of a life-threatening event.
Resources
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Articles
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Infant Development: How Your Baby Grows and Matures
- Infancy Introduction
- Infancy Physical Development
- Infancy Physical Development: Motor Development
- Infancy Physical Development: Gross Motor Skills
- Infancy Physical Development: Fine Motor Skills
- Infancy Physical Development: Average Growth
- Infancy Cognitive Development
- Infancy Cognitive Development Continued
- Infancy Cognitive Development: Language Development
- Cognitive Development: Language Development Continued
- Infancy Emotional/Social Development: Emotional Expression and Understanding
- Infancy Emotional/Social Development: Temperament
- Infancy Emotional and Social Development: Social Connections
- Infancy Sexuality and Body Awareness Development
- Infancy Conclusion
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Infant Parenting: Keeping Your Baby Healthy and Happy
- Infancy Parenting Introduction
- Holding and Physical Support
- Facilitating Growth and Movement
- Feeding and Nutrition
- How Much to Feed
- Breastfeeding
- Selecting and Preparing Bottles
- How to Feed
- Burping and Spitting Up
- When and What Solid Foods to Introduce
- How to Feed Solid Foods
- How Much to Feed Toddlers
- Weaning
- Elimination and How to Diaper
- Penis and Cord Care
- Sleeping
- Bathing
- Other Baby Hygiene
- Dressing Baby
- Soothing a Crying Baby
- Well-Baby Checks and Immunizations
- Common Baby Medical Concerns
- Common Baby Medical Concerns - Teething
- Common Baby Medical Concerns - Colic
- Common Baby Medical Concerns - Coughs and Colds
- Common Baby Medical Concerns - Fever
- Common Baby Medical Concerns - Diarrhea and Vomiting
- Nurturing children
- Discipline
- Baby Safety
- Baby Safety Continued
- Conclusion
- Infant Safety: Keeping Your Baby Safe
- Infant Enrichment: Stimulating Your Baby
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Infant Development: How Your Baby Grows and Matures
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Questions and Answers
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Links
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Videos
- What Your Baby Sees
- Safe Sleep for Babies
- Safe Sleep for Infants
- Button Batteries Sending Kids to the ER
- Uncovering Top Causes of Diaper Rash
- Holiday Travel - Child Safety Away from Home
- Safe Seats for Baby
- Vaccination: A Key Piece of the Puzzle
- Babies on the Move: Protecting Babies with Vaccination
- The Breast Feeding Boost
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12 more
- Skin to Skin with your Newborn
- How to Get Your Baby to Sleep
- Diaper Rash Dos & Don’ts
- Sunscreen Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers
- When Breastfeeding Doesn’t Come Naturally
- Diaper Dilemma: Baby Powders & Wipes
- Breast Feeding and Gluten Introduction: What Research Tells Us
- Dealing with Diaper Rash
- Strategies for Encouraging Your Child's Speech and Language Development
- Is it Baby Babble or a Sign of Speech Problems?
- Infant Hearing Loss
- Household Poisonings and Childhood Dangers
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More Information
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