The Most Important Baby Safety Tips

If only our little bundles of love came with a handbook. Well there are handbooks out there; yet, we sometimes still do not understand the importance of ensuring baby's safety. Some people are overly protective of their little tykes. You know the ones who are afraid to put the baby down because of a crazy fear the infant will miraculously jump up and do a couple of flips. Then we have the people who are so afraid of baby's fragile appearance that they will literally do whatever it takes to keep from handling the baby. And of course, we have the person who thinks the baby is invincible. They throw the newborn up a few feet in the air while shouting, "WEEE". And then we have the everyday mom or dad who wants the baby to always feel safe and secure in their arms.

Understanding the importance of baby's safety is very vital when it comes to parenting. In this article we will discuss some simple methods of making sure that baby stays as safe as possible.

Driving Safety: Car seats are very important when it comes to baby's safety. You should always place baby in a car seat that is properly installed. Not only is baby's head not strong enough to withstand a casual car ride; baby definitely cannot withstand a car accident. If you are not sure how to properly install a car seat, your local fire department should be able to give you assistance.

Never drink and drive, especially with baby in the car. You will be amazed at how many people will get behind the wheel after having a couple of drinks. If they don't care about their own lives, what makes you think that they will care about the baby's? Not only can you harm your child's life but you can harm your own, other passengers or drivers. Be smart, never drink and drive, especially with baby in the car.

Bathing Safety: If you do not have a baby tub and you have to place baby in the big tub, you should place a small sized towel under the baby to prevent any slipping from occurring. You can also place baby in the kitchen or bathroom sink because they are much smaller and easier to give baby a bath in. It would also be a good idea to place a towel under the baby in the sink to prevent slipping.

Never leave the baby unattended. A phone call, your favorite show just came off of commercial break, or you have a knock at the door are not as important as baby. If you have to leave during the bath time, then you have to be ready to grab baby out of the tub and take them along with you. Drownings are very common when it comes to infants and small children because a parent or person of trust left them alone. A drowning can happen in an instance, you could turn your back for a few seconds and baby could be choking for air. So always remember no matter how important something is, nothing is more important than baby.

General Safety: You should never leave the baby unattended on the couch, changing table, bed, chair, ect. Babies can roll off of a surface so quickly you may not have time to catch them. Even if the baby is not in the rolling stage, the baby could stretch or move suddenly and cause their entire body to fall to the ground.

Do not leave baby in a car seat on top of a table unattended. Once again you could turn your back and baby may just flip over and fall off.

Do not even leave baby in the middle of the bed unattended, especially where there are pillows or large covers. Baby could suffocate.

Do not have small toys, money, or other small objects around where baby can pick them up and put them in their mouth and choke. Keep small objects out of baby's reach at all times.

Do not leave the baby alone with the family pet. Even if you have the best-well trained K9 in the entire world, do not leave the baby alone with them. An animal is an animal. Some animals take a liking to babies and others began to behave in strange or even dangerous ways once baby is in the picture. You never know how your pet will respond after you leave them alone with your infant, so do not take the risk.

Children under 5 years old should not be left alone with baby. A funny game of peek-a-boo can result in a pillow being placed over baby's face; or if the child decides to pick the baby up and accidentally drops them. Children this young do not understand their strengths and how it can affect the baby.

Never leave your baby with a baby sitter under the age of 14 whom you do not know very well. A young girl may believe that she can handle a 3-week-old infant. But when it comes down to it, she may panic or possibly harm the baby. I am not saying that this will definitely happen, but it is best to leave the baby with a responsible adult who you know well.

Do not shake the baby. Shaken baby syndrome can be deadly to an infant. If you are overwhelmed with the crying of the baby or you just cannot handle the pressure of being a parent, you need to get help immediately. Talk to a doctor, a family member or friend, but do not let the pressure build up to the point that you shake the baby extremely hard.

Never toss the baby up into the air. This could be dangerous. The baby's neck is not strong enough to withstand a large toss into the air; and God forbid you accidentally drop them.

Never leave the baby in the house alone. You never know if a fire will start or if there is Carbon Monoxide seeping through the walls. Never take the risk, even if it is something simple like going to get the mail, do not leave the baby alone, besides it is illegal.

Very important...never, ever, leave a baby in a car alone, especially in hot weather with the windows rolled up. I cannot count the number of times I have heard about someone leaving their infant in the car in the middle of July only to find the baby had suffocated and died. It breaks my heart every time that is why it is so important to discuss this. Not only due to the fact of leaving a baby in a hot car to suffocate, your car could also be stolen with baby inside. Even if you are going to go pay the gas attendant at the pump, take the extra seconds to take baby inside with you.

Do not leave baby unattended in a stroller. If you are at the mall and you walk away for a little while to look at a nice dress, or you go to the park and leave baby left alone, the baby can become an easy target for a kidnapping. It is no myth that strangers take babies. Keep your eyes on your baby at all times, especially in public.

Avoid strings that can be easily wrapped around baby's neck. If the baby has a toy with a long string, cut it or do not let them play with it. Necklaces, belts, telephone cords, and other long strings do not make good toys. Keep all things like this out of baby's reach.

Balloons. Never let an infant play with a balloon, especially unattended. If the balloon were to pop and the baby began to chew and swallow the rubbery substance, the baby could choke. Even the strings tied to the balloons are dangerous, as I have already indicated.

Keep plastics away from baby. Do not have trash bags, grocery bags or any other type of plastic bag anywhere around baby. Babies love to play peek-a-boo and hide their faces; a plastic bag would be an extremely dangerous peek-a-boo toy.

Never place baby by an open window, the baby could fall out, or the baby could be abducted. Whatever the case do not risk it, keep baby far from the window.

Make sure you have smoke detectors installed properly in your home.

I hope that God willing this article will be of some benefit to you.