Baby Safety Tips

We all want our babies to be safe. We try our best to ensure our babies' safety, but there are just so many dangers in the grown-up world! How are parents ever supposed to keep up and keep track of it all? Common sense is the first solution to this dilemma. Gathering helpful baby safety tips can't hurt either.

Baby Safety Tip #1: Hit the Floor

Pills look like candy. Rover's food looks yummy. And pens...um...chewy. Hey, what's that squiggly thing coming out of the TV? Oh, and what are those little holes in the wall? Hmmm...wonder what will fit in there? Everyday objects adults no longer notice are fantastical to babies. So, Mom and Dad keep your broom and vacuum handy. Tube up those wires and plug up those electrical outlets. Empty a top kitchen cupboard for your cleaning supplies and take all medicines standing right in front of the medicine cabinet. Hone your arm to a robotic state and set it on "reinsert automatically". Moms, if you keep medicine in your purse, then hail your purse on high. In fact, hail it anyway because lipstick and mascara look like chewy pens, only better. There's a reason just about every item in the world bears the insignia "Keep out of reach of children." And you're in the parenthood now. You're not behind a plow. Even if you were, you'd have to keep the baby away from the plow. So, hit the floor and give me one...inspection...that is. Crawl around and look for everything and anything that may be a risk to your baby's safety and eliminate it. As for Rover's food, don't leave it out and make sure baby is nowhere near Rover when he eats. Better safety than sorry.

Baby Safety Tip #2: Lockness Monster

Lock the car's back doors, just in case, even though baby's in a car seat. Lock the house's front door only with a lock set higher up than before. Lock the baby's bedroom window at night. Oh, and if it's one of those windows that lifts up and down, block it with a book or a piece of wood when it's open, even if it has a latch. Sooner or later baby's going to put his fingers on the sill, and we can't have the window come slamming down on his fingers if the latch doesn't hold. Ouch! Lock your computer in case baby starts to demonstrate her Chopin tendencies. Lock the basement door. Lock the garage door. And when it comes to your Winchesters, Remingtons, and Savages, lock, lock, lock 'em if you got 'em.

Baby Safety Tip #3: Disinfectant Dilemma

Of course you want to blast that bacteria and annihilate 100% of those ghastly germs that threaten baby safety. The question is: What's the best way to do it? There has been much debate lately about the safety of cleaning products for babies and the consequential effects on their health. So, do you go with the old standbys like bleach and Lysol? Do you go with natural products like baking soda and vinegar? Do you go with the new "green" products like BabyGanics, or perhaps a new-fangled steam cleaner? There are pros and cons to every one of these choices. Cleaners like Lysol have toxins. Natural products may not be strong enough for all of your cleaning needs. "Green" products are more expensive than traditional household cleaners and their effectiveness remains to be seen. Steamers are expensive to purchase, but it's a one-shot deal for they only use water. However, some reviews say they are not good for all cleaning jobs and have other drawbacks (See links in resource area). So, providing baby safety against ghastly germs is a matter of personal choice. Whatever you choose, hit the floor with it because everything at your feet is also at your baby's hands, face, and mouth.

Edible items, wires, electrical outlets, medicine, Rover's dish, door locks, windows, computers, guns, and cleaning products are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to baby safety tips. Parents have so much to worry about when it comes to their baby's safety and throughout a child's life it's a miracle they can cope. Is it worth it? You betcha!