We all want to keep our babies safe. Most homes, pre-baby, are filled with physical and environmental hazards. Environmental hazards should be ideally removed from the home during pregnancy, as studies show that babies are being born pre-polluted with over 200 industrial chemicals found in their umbilical cord blood. Physical hazards should be remedied before babies start pulling up and crawling. Babies start crawling, on average, at around 8 months, although there are plenty of babies who start crawling before this, and may even be pulling up and walking by this time. It is essential to create a safe home space for babies to explore, and to also maintain your sanity so you can take a minute and get something else done while your baby safely plays. Here is a checklist for your sanity and your baby's safety.
Electrical Safety
- Cover all outlets with outlet covers
- Try to hide all electrical cords. Babies are inexplicably drawn to cords and like putting them in their mouths. Many cords also contain high levels of lead (christmas lights are extremely high in lead.) Be aware of your phone and computer chargers. They are easy to forget and leave out, and babies may decide to chew on them, or pull them and crash your computer or phone onto their heads, or on the floor.
Window Safety
- Make sure that you tie up or cut cords on blinds and drapes.
- Make sure your baby can not crawl up into window sill and push and fall through screens or open windows.
Fireplace Safety
- Move gas fireplace keys out of reach.
- Keep fireplace tools out of reach.
- Bumpers for sharp hearth corners
- Consider a gate to keep baby away from fire and hot wood stoves
Crib Safety
- Don't use soft, fluffy bedding or pillows
- Remove mobiles and hanging toys when baby learns to get on hands and knees.
- Put mattress in lowest position when baby learns how to pull up.
- Don't leave toys in crib when your baby is sleeping.
- Don't use crib bumpers or drop-side cribs.
Furniture Safety
- Attach corner and edge guards to sharp tables and other corners
- Secure furniture that can topple (bookcases, dressers) to the walls.
- Anchor TVs with safety straps so they can't fall on your baby.
- Keep heavy items that can topple on low, sturdy furniture, pushed back as far as possible.
- Secure tall, unstable lamps behind furniture.
Off Limit Area Safety
- Keep knives, breakables, heavy pots, and other dangerous items locked up or out of reach.
- Control access to unsafe areas (bathrooms, garage, basement, etc.) with door locks, safety gates, and knob covers.
- Install childproof latches on cabinets and drawers that contain unsafe items.
- Cover or block access to fireplace, wood stoves, radiators and floor heaters.
- Secure refrigerator and television with appliance latch.
- Pack up your tablecloths for a while — babies can pull them (and what's on them) down.
- Distract babies from forbidden places by keeping one cupboard unlocked and filled with lightweight, baby-safe items.
- Keep dog and cat food, water, and litter box out of reach.
Poison and Chemical Safety
- Keep cleaning supplies, medicine, vitamins, hand sanitizer, vitamins, toiletries, and other potentially toxic items out of reach
- Switch to non-toxic cleaning supplies, sunscreen, and toiletries. Babies easily absorb these carcinogens and hormone disrupters that are found in most shampoos, makeup, perfume and cleaning supplies, The rate of childhood cancer and learning disabilities has been linked to these environmental toxins. Avoid using products containing these ingredients.
- Get rid of toxic houseplants or move them out of reach.
- Eat organically, or avoid highly pesticide sprayed produce.
- Program the number for the American Association of Poison Control Centers' national emergency hotline, (800) 222-1222 in your phone
Basic Preventative Safety
- Have your carseat installed at the fire station, and keep your child facing backwards until at least age 2
- Take an infant CPR and first aid class
- Check batteries in smoke detector
- Check batteries in carbon monoxide detector
- Review your fire escape route and have a family meeting place outside of the home.
- Never leave your baby alone on changing table, or in any other spot they could fall from.
- Block openings wider than 4 inches on railings on porches, decks, and landings
- Use safety belt in strollers, high chairs and shopping carts
- Don't use baby clothes with drawstrings
- Don't leave babies unattended near a pool or other water.
- Erect fencing around pools with a self-closing, self-latching gate.
- Empty wading pools and after use.
- Use doorstops or door guards to protect your baby's fingers
- Always scan the area baby will be in for choking hazards.
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