Like a Mama Bear, parents will do everything they can to keep their children safe. I know because I am one of those parents. For the last 7 years, I have been protecting my babies bears. Now I’m not going to suggest that we’re not going to worry any less but there are many thing we can do to keep our kids safe.
Since children like to put everything in their mouths it is very important to keep the small objects away. An easy way to know if an object is too small is to see if it would fit through a toilet paper tube.
There is a brand of toys that my daughters play with that are remarkably larger than the version I played with as a child. Their’s don’t fit through the tube where the ones that I had do.
Baby gates are excellent for keeping kids in areas that are safe for them and away from stairs. But they are also great for keeping pets out. We have a dog and even though she is very tame and friendly, she is still an animal with instincts. As much as pets need to learn how to behave around children, children need to learn how to treat a dog.
See things from their level
Crawl on the floor to see what they see. What can they reach? What could potentially hurt them? As you find things, you’ll move them up out of the way.
Be sure to secure heavy objects like TVs and bookshelves so that they cannot be pulled over onto the child.
As children are very curious, be sure to put child proof handles on all doors Just like with gates, you want to keep kids in the areas where they will be safe. We had these on all the door leading outside as well as on the doors leading to stairs.
Drowning is the second leading cause of death in children. Too many parents walk away from the kids “for just a minute” and that is one second too long. Children can drown in less than 1 inch of water.
Register all of your children’s equipment with the manufacturer.
There are so many items that children need that come with a registration card: car seats, strollers, jumpers. It is important to register these incase the manufacturer issue a recall. Manufacturers are constantly safety testing their products to make sure they aren’t going to hurt anyone. If they happen to find something that needs to be adjusted, repaired or replaced, you need to know. They will contact you to let you know if your product needs some attention.
I hope that you find these tips useful! What do you recommend to other new parents?