What to Expect the First Year (88 page)
Read What to Expect the First Year Online
Authors: Heidi Murkoff
⢠Keep wading pools and any other water catchments (ponds, fountains, birdbaths) inaccessible to babies, even if the water is only an inch or two deep. When they're not in use, keep wading pools overturned, stored away, or covered, so they don't fill with rainwater.
⢠Enclose a swimming pool with a fence that is at least 5 feet high on all sides, separating the pool from the house. Entrances to the pool should be kept locked at all times. Gates should open away from the pool and be self-closing, with a self-latching lock that is well out of reach of children. An alarm that signals the gate has been opened offers additional protection. Remember, too, to avoid leaving toys around or in the pool that might attract a baby or toddler.
⢠Be sure that outdoor play equipment is safe. It should be sturdily constructed, correctly assembled, firmly anchored, and installed at least 6 feet from fences or walls. All screws and bolts should be capped to prevent injuries from rough or sharp edges. Check for loose caps periodically. Avoid S-type hooks for swings (the chains can pop out of them) and rings or other openings that are between 5 and 10 inches in diameter, since a child's head might become entrapped. Swing seats should be of soft materials to prevent serious head injuries. The best surfaces for outdoor play areas
are 12 inches of sand, mulch, wood chips, or a shock-absorbent material, such as composition rubber mats.
Every year, some 1.2 million children in the U.S. accidentally ingest a hazardous substanceâand that's not surprising. Children, particularly very young ones, often explore their environment orallyâwhich means that anything they pick up may go right into their mouths. They don't stop to consider whether a substance or object is safe or edibleâor whether it's toxic. Their unsophisticated taste buds and sense of smell don't warn them that a substance is dangerous because it tastes or smells bad.
If your baby ever ingests something you think might be harmful (or you suspect that he or she might have), call Poison Control at 800-222-1222 immediately.
To protect your baby from accidental poisoning, follow these rules:
⢠Lock all potentially poisonous substances out of reach and out of sight of your baby. Even crawlers can climb up on low chairs, stools, or cushions to get to things left on tables or counters.
⢠Follow all safety rules for administering medicines (
click here
). Never call medicine “candy” or take medicine in front of your child.
⢠Purchase products that have childproof packaging, when possibleâbut don't rely on it to keep your baby from getting them open. Store them where baby can't access them at all.
⢠Make a habit of closing all containers tightly and returning hazardous substances to safe storage immediately after each use. Don't put a hazardous cleanser or a bottle of detergent down even for a moment while you answer an email or the door.
⢠Store food and nonfood items separately and never store nonedibles in empty food containers (bleach in an apple juice bottle, for example). Children learn very early where their food comes from, and will assume that what they see is what they'll get without wondering why the “juice” isn't golden or the “jelly” isn't purple.
⢠Never leave alcoholic beverages within your baby's reach, and keep all wine and liquor bottles in a locked cabinet or bar (if you store any in the refrigerator, make sure they're kept at the back of the highest shelf). Any amount of alcohol, no matter how small, can be harmful to your little one. Ditto for mouthwash, which often contains alcohol.
⢠Always choose the less hazardous household product over the one with a long list of warnings and precautions. Still, be aware that even “green” products can be unsafe, so keep those out of your baby's reach as well.
⢠When discarding potentially poisonous substances, empty them down the toiletâunless they can harm the septic system or pipes, in which case follow label directions for disposal. Rinse the containers before discarding (unless the label instructs otherwise) and put them out in a tightly covered recycling bin or trash can immediately.
⢠To help everyone in your household think “danger” when seeing a potentially poisonous product, put “poison” stickers on the product containers. If you can't locate commercially printed labels (some poison centers can provide “Mr. Yuk” labels), simply put an X of black tape on each product (without covering instructions or warnings). Explain to your family that this mark means “danger.” Regularly reinforce the message, and eventually your child will also come to understand that these products are unsafe.
⢠Be alert for repeat poisonings. A child who has ingested a poison once is statistically likely to make the same mistake again within the year.
Injuries are much more likely to happen to someone who's susceptible to them. And of course, babies easily fall (and trip, and bump, and reach) into that category. Your goal as a parent is to reduce this susceptibility as much as you can.
Injury-proofing your baby's environment and supervising constantly are very good places to startâbut don't stop there. To keep your little one safe, you'll also have to start injury-proofing your little one. How? By teaching what's safe and what's unsafe (and why), and establishing (and modeling) good safety habits.
Begin by building and using a vocabulary of warning words that your baby will come to associate with dangerous objects, substances, and situations (ouch, boo-boo, hot, sharp) and phrases (“don't touch,” “that's dangerous,” “be careful,” “that's an ouch,” “that could give you a boo-boo”). The red flags will sail right over your little one's head at first, like everything else you're trying to teach. But in time and with consistent repetition, your baby's brain will begin to store and process this vital informationâuntil one day, it becomes clear that your lessons have taken hold. Begin teaching your baby now about the following:
Sharp or pointy implements.
Whenever you use a knife, scissors, razor, or other sharp implement, be sure to remind your baby that it's sharp, that it's not a toy, and that only mommy and daddy (or other grown-ups) are allowed to use it. Illustrate more tangibly by pretending to touch the point of the implement, saying “ouch,” and pulling your finger away quickly in mock pain.
Hot stuff.
Even a 7-or 8-month-old will begin to catch on when you consistently warn that your coffee (or the oven, a lit match or candle, a radiator or heater, a fireplace) is hot and shouldn't be touched. Very soon the word “hot” will automatically signal “don't touch” to your babyâthough impulse control to avoid touching anyway will come much later. Illustrate the concept by letting your baby touch something warm, but not hot enough to burn, such as the outside of your coffee cup after it has cooled down. Continue pointing out what's hot and shouldn't be touched. Be particularly careful to provide the “hot ⦠don't touch” warning with something new in your homeâlike a new toaster or oven.
Steps.
True, it's necessary to protect crawlers and new walkers from serious falls by securely gating all staircases in the home. But it's also necessary to help your child learn how to navigate steps safely. The child who has no experience with steps, who knows nothing about them (except that they are off-limits), is at greatest risk of a tumble the first time an open stairway is discovered. So put a gate at the top of every stairway of more than three steps in your homeâgoing downstairs is much trickier for the beginner than going up, and so much more dangerous. Downstairs, put the gate three steps up from the bottom so that your child can practice going up and down under controlled conditions.
Electrical hazards.
Electrical outlets, cords, and appliances are all appealing to curious babies. And it's not enough to use distraction every time you catch your baby on the way to probing an unprotected outlet, or to hide all the visible cords in your homeâit's also necessary to repeatedly remind of the “ouch” potential.
You'd think that human infants would come with a wariness of heightsâinstinctively staying away from cliffs, edges, and ledges that might threaten their survival. But research shows that babies don't have that natural instinct until about 9 months (or until they've had enough self-locomotion experience under their belts). Babies younger than thatâeven newbie crawlers and scootersâhave no problem going over the edge of a bed, a changing table, or even the top of a staircase. In fact, studies show that when infants are placed near a virtual drop-offâa glass-covered table that reveals the floor beneathâthey seem to be enthralled by the drop-off, not fearful of it. It's only after they have enough experience getting around on their own that they develop a fear and instinctive avoidance of ledges and heights. Which means that you can't rely on biology to protect your little one from falling down a flight of stairs or off a changing table. Keep in mind, however, that even though biology says 9-month-olds should instinctively steer clear of ledges, their natural instincts don't always kick in fast enough to keep them safe. Another reason why it's so important to childproof your house and be extra vigilant around stairs, changing tables, and other high perchesâwhether your little one is 9 months, or 2 years.
Tubs, pools, and other watery attractions.
Water play is fun and educational, so encourage it. But also encourage a healthy respect for water. Teach your baby basic water-safety rules, including: It's dangerous (and not allowed) to get into any water (a tub, a pool, a pond, a fountain, for example) without a parent or another grown-up. But remember, you can't sufficiently “waterproof” a young child, not even with water wings and swimming lessons (see
box
), so never leave a baby alone near water, even for a moment. Always be within arm's reach of your little one.
Choking hazards.
When your baby puts something in his or her mouth that doesn't belong there (a coin, a pencil, a big sib's little LEGO), take it away and explain, “Don't put that in your mouth. It can give you a boo-boo.” Teach your baby that food should be eaten while sitting, and (ultimately) chewed and swallowed before talking.
Baby-unfriendly substances (including beverages).
You're always meticulous about locking away household cleansers, medicines, and so on. But at a party, one of the guests leaves his vodka and cranberry on the coffee table. Or you're at your parents' house, and your father, who's been trying to clear a clogged sink, leaves the drain cleaner on the bathroom counter. You're asking for trouble if you haven't begun to teach your baby the rules of substance safety. Always supervise your baby carefully, but also start repeating these important messages, over and over and over again:
⢠Don't eat or drink anything unless your parent or another grown-up you know well gives it to you. This is clearly a nearly impossible concept for a baby to grasp, but repetition will make it stickâthough realistically not for at least a year, possibly several.
⢠Medicine and vitamin pills are not candy, though they are sometimes flavored to taste that way. Don't eat or drink them unless your parent or another grown-up you know well gives them to you.
⢠Don't put anything in your mouth that isn't food.
⢠Only grown-ups are allowed to use cleaning products and dishwasher detergent. Repeat this every time you scrub the tub, wipe down the countertops, or load the dishwasher.
Street hazards.
Begin teaching street smarts now. Every time you cross a street with your baby, explain about “stop, look, and listen,” about crossing at the green (or the corner or the crosswalk), and about waiting for the “walk” (or green) light. If there are driveways in your neighborhood, be sure to explain that it's necessary to stop, look, and listen before crossing them, too. Explain that drivers can't see little children so little children have to hold the hand of someone big when crossing. Point out the curb as the line a child must never go beyond on his or her own.
It's a good idea to hold hands on the sidewalk, too, but many new toddlers revel in the freedom of walking on their own. If you permit this (and you probably will want to, at least some of the time), keep up with and keep a sharp eye on your child.
Be sure, too, to start pointing out that it's not okay to leave the house or apartment without you or another adult your baby knows well.
It's also important to teach your baby not to touch garbage in the streetâbroken glass, cigarette butts, food wrappers. But don't make your child afraid of touching anything at allâit's okay to touch flowers (preferably without picking them), trees, store windows, elevator buttons, and so on.
Eager to turn your little one into a wee water babyâa pint-size swimmer? Hold on to that eagerness until your baby is at least a year old. While there is some evidence suggesting that children over age 1 may be less likely to drown if they've had formal swimming lessons, the AAP recommends against swim class for babies in their first year.
What about classes that claim to “drown-proof” infants? It actually isn't possibleâbaby swim classes can give parents a false sense of security when their little ones are around water, putting them at greater risk. Though young children float naturally because they have a higher proportion of body fat than adults, skills learned in an infant swim class aren't likely to help during a life-threatening situation. And infant swim lessons don't make children better swimmers in the long run than lessons taken later on in childhood. What's more, classes where babies are submerged come with other potential risks: Water intoxication (ingesting too much water, which creates an imbalance of electrolytes), plus an increased risk of infections like diarrhea (because of germs swallowed along with pool water), swimmer's ear (because of water entering the ear), and skin rashes. Bottom line: It's smart to skip the lessons for now, though feel free to bring your baby into the pool with you (safely in your arms above water) to help him or her get used to the water and for lots of splashing fun.