Safety of Kids

When you bring home an infant from the hospital, the main concerns you might have with regards to his/her safety is the infant car seat and any medicines which the baby might need.  Childproofing your home may not be a concern yet since it will be a while before the baby is mobile. Yet childproofing the home is best done before the child becomes very mobile so that the necessary precautions are already in place.

Many things should be considered prior to your baby crawling:  plug outlets, and medicines, cleaning chemicals, and other solutions which might be poisonous if ingested should be stored out of reach of the child.  Plants should be removed from the crawling area.  Anything small, that might possibly be removed from something larger should be out of reach.  Gates should be put up to keep the crawler contained to safe areas.

Floors should be kept free of debris that a child might think looks interesting to eat. (Crawlers usually think everything looks like it should go in the mouth if it fits!)

For other useful tips and safety considerations in and around the home, visit Safety of Kids.

Another thing to keep in mind as parents is sun protection.  Protecting kids' skin from sun damage when they are young will be very important to them as they age, but nothing they'll care about when they're children.  That's why it's our job, as parents to help them with this!  They'll appreciate it later! Choosing  the best sunscreen, which includes knowing and assessing the sunscreen ratings, should be part of the plan.

Click here for more information on sun safety for kids.

Safety isn't something children think about much; very young kids don't have the ability to even understand consequences, so "safety" does not mean anything to them.  That's why, as parents, it needs to be on the front of our minds for our little ones.
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