Keep Your Child Safe And Healthy

noreply@blogger.com (cmsrch) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 10:40:00 -0700

Caring for children is very challenging for
parents. Learning to keep children safe from
injuries is a never-ending task for parents and
caretakers. However, with careful planning most
serious injuries can be prevented.

Injuries are the greatest threat to the health of
our children because:

A. Injuries can cause death and disabilities in
our children.
B. Injuries can cause a great deal of pain and
suffering to youngsters and anxiety to
parents.
C. Missed school days with lack of school
progress.

During the first 2 years of life, take safety
precautions while selecting a proper crib for the
baby, safe toys, proper clothing, and prevention
from choking and suffocation. As the baby gets
older be careful while they start walking since
they get hold of objects and put them in their
mouth. When they are in backyards or lawns, try to
supervise them and never leave your baby
unattended. With these in mind, I have prepared
several guidelines to follow to keep your child
safe and healthy.

The Safety Precaution Tips

During the 1st Two Years of Life

Choking and suffocation can occur at any age;
however, it is more common in babies due to their
small air passage and their tendency to put
everything in their mouth. Here are a few safety
guidelines:

A. Keep babies away from small, hard objects
that can lodge in their windpipes such as
coins, small parts of toys, foods such as
hard candies, nuts or popcorn.
B. Since a baby's small body can slip through
small spaces, there are chances that the
baby's neck might get caught leading to
suffocation.
C. DO NOT hang the pacifier on a string
around the baby's neck.
D. Take precaution so the baby can't slip
between a mattress and the side of the
crib or between the seat and tray of a
high chair.
E. DO NOT let the baby play with plastic bags
since they can easily cover their face and
get suffocated.
F. Supervise your children while they play
with balloons since pieces of broken
balloon can easily be swallowed and choke
the child.
G. Be careful while feeding your infant while
they don't have teeth by cutting hand
foods like carrots, hot dogs, pieces of
meat, etc.

While selecting a baby crib, follow these
guidelines:

1. The crib slats should be NO MORE than
2 3/8" apart. The crib should not have
decorative cutouts that can trap a head or
catch on clothing.
2. Place the crib away from drapery cords or
hanging wires. DON'T let toys dangle over
the crib by a string. Remove mobiles when
the child is old enough to reach them.
3. DO NOT put a baby down to sleep on
pillows, beanbags, waterbeds, soft fiber
basket or mesh playpens with the sides
down because the face may become covered
making it hard to breathe.
4. Avoid buying older cribs since they were
painted with lead based paint which can
poison children as they bite on crib
rails.
5. Cover the baby mattress with plastic
wrapping material with zippers.
6. When the baby can sit, lower the mattress
of the crib to the level he cannot fall
out by leaning against the side. The most
common fall occurs when the baby tries to
climb out.
7. Always leave the side rails up when the
baby is in the crib.
8. Change your crib for a bed when the baby
gets 35" tall or the height of the side
rail is less than three-quarters of his
height.
9. To prevent the most serious falls, DON'T
place a crib beside a window.

To reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome,
small babies should sleep on their backs or sides.
The crib, basket or cradle should have firm
straight sides and a tight fitting firm mattress.

FOR OLDER CHILDREN –

Since children can get trapped in unused airtight
appliances such as freezers and refrigerators,
remove doors before the appliances are stored.
Supervise your children while digging deep into
sand, earth or stored grain.

CHOOSING SAFE TOYS

Since a child may not have the judgment to use the
toy safely or may choke on its small parts, don't
buy the toy until your child reaches the age for
which it was designed.

Avoid buying BB guns, rockets, darts or toys with
sharp edges and for young children, avoid toys that
must be plugged into an electric socket or puzzles
because the baby might accidentally swallow the
small pieces or choke on them.

PREVENTING INJURIES FROM FALLS

Children suffer major and minor falls and here are
some tips to help you prevent major falls.

A. DO NOT leave your baby unattended even for
a short time since babies can suddenly
roll off a bed, changing table or kitchen
counter.
B. Choose a diaper-changing table with a
strap.
C. Lower the mattress when babies get big
enough to stand up in their cribs. Switch
the baby to a bed closer to the floor when
the railing is at the level of the child's
nipples.

When babies start to walk:

A. DO NOT use baby walkers.
B. Make sure all open windows are secured
with window guards or screens that can't
be pushed out.
C. Block off the top and bottom of stairways
with removable gates.
D. When children are learning to walk, remove
furniture with sharp corners or cover with
temporary padding.

PREVENTING FALLS BY OLDER CHILDREN

A. If your children are in bunk beds, make
sure the railing on the top bunk will keep
the child from rolling out.
B. As children grow older and use climbing
equipment in schoolyards or playground,
check out the surface underneath the
equipment for safety.
C. While riding bicycles, children should
always wear the proper size helmets.

PREVENTIVE TIPS AGAINST DROWNING

Just remember the fact that any amount of water
that could cover the nose and mouth of a baby can
be a safety hazard. A baby can easily be drowned
if unattended in a bathtub, toilet, a wading pool,
scrub bucket full of water or backyard swimming
pool. The important points to remember are:

A. NEVER leave your baby alone in a bathtub
or swimming pool even for a minute.
B. Check you backyards for safety if you have
a toddler – the fountains, garden pool or
other filled buckets of water on your
property are a potential danger. Drain
them until the children are older, fence
them off or stay close to your toddlers
when they are outside.
C. If you live by a lake or swimming pool,
provide a safe, fenced off play area for
the child.

SWIMMING POOL SAFETY PRECAUTION TIPS

1. Keep your swimming pool fenced off on all
four sides and keep the entrance door
locked while not in use.
2. Children should use floats while in the
water, however, remember those floats are
not very safe and watch your child
carefully while in the water.
3. Get rid of empty cans around the swimming
pool. DO NOT use alcohol. Parents should
take First Aid and CPR courses and have a
cordless phone handy if possible for
emergencies.
4. Swimming lessons should be started when
children are growing; however, it is
controversial whether a toddler or child
under 2 years of age should take swimming
lessons.
5. While you are out boating, check the
weather and make sure all safety equipment
is on board. Adults should wear life
jackets and provide life jackets to the
babies also. Older children should be
properly supervised while swimming or
rafting.

THE CAR SAFETY TIPS

Motor vehicle accidents are biggest and most
serious cause of accidental death in children and
adults. Most auto injuries result from the impact
of passengers against the car interior. It is very
important for the driver and all passengers to wear
seat belts. The children should be firmly strapped
into child safety seats, which should be right for
their age and weight.

HOW TO CHOOSE A CAR SAFETY SEAT

A. An infant seat should meet all safety
standards.
B. Follow the directions carefully on how to
adjust the infant seat and properly use
the seat belt.
C. Make sure the safety seat straps fit
snugly over your child's shoulders.
D. Choose the car safety seat appropriately
for your child's age and weight. For
children under 20 pounds use the infant
seat facing the back of the car. If you
need to feed the baby or change the baby's
diaper, always stop the car first. For
children 20-40 pounds use toddler seats
which face forward. For children over 40
pounds use a booster seat, which can raise
the child so the car's regular seat belt
system will fit properly. Older children
should use the lap part of the belt around
the thigh, NOT the abdomen. Shoulder
belts should cross the chest and NOT cut
across the face or throat. DO NOT hook
the shoulder belt under the arm.

Infants and young children should always ride in
the back seat especially if the car has a passenger
side airbag. An airbag can seriously injure a
child as it inflates during an accident.

While buying a car, look for safety features such
as airbags, side impact protection and anti-lock
brakes.

LAWNMOWER SAFETY TIPS

Toddlers and young children should not go near the
lawnmower. Children should not be carried in
riding mowers. DO NOT let your child ride on off-
road vehicles as passengers since they don't have
safety belts.

GAHARAJAYA

Keep Your Child Safe And Healthy