As children grow, their safety needs change with them.
For newborns (0-3 months):
- Preventing falls – falls from changing tables or any high place while changing nappies is one of the most common accidents for new babies. Keep one hand on your baby at all times, or change on a clean towel/rug on the floor.
- Prevent choking – nothing should enter a newborn’s mouth except your breast, their own fingers, bottle or dummy, appropriate chewable toys.
- No shaking – never shake a baby. Even playfully throwing a newborn/young baby in the air can injure the spinal column or brain.
- Bathing – use warm water (36C) and never leave a baby unattended. A baby cannot keep their noses above water and drowning is quick and silent.
- Sleep safety – place a baby on their back to sleep, not on tummy or side, to reduce the risk of SIDS, and pillows, blankets and soft toys pose a risk during the first year, so keep them away during sleep.
- Food and drink – a hot cup of tea can burn a baby like fire does, so avoid holding your cuppa and baby together. Avoid cooking and holding newborn. Honey can contain harmful bacteria so not suitable to put on a baby’s dummy. Warm bottles in a saucepan of warm to hot water, microwaves heat unevenly and can cause scalding.
- In the car – travel with your newborn safely in a properly fitted baby capsule, buckled in, and never in the front seat of the car.
For babies (3-12 months)
- Never shake a baby
- Baby walkers are dangerous and known to cause accidents.
- Babies love to climb so ensure furniture is stable, especially bookcases, TV pedestals or cabinets.
- Curtain tie-backs and window blind cords can strangle a curious baby so remove them or hook them well out of reach.\
- Babies love to grab tablecloths to pull themselves up so keep that hot cuppa out of reach and off the table.
- Install safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs and keep them secure and closed.
- Prevent scalds by turning down the house hot water system to 50 degrees C.
- Be prepared for emergencies with a list of numbers by the phone.
- Choking – it is normal for babies to put things into their mouths so scan the house for small objects that may be choking hazards. Older children can participate in the daily hunt looking for small toy parts or other small objects.
- Never leave a baby alone in the bath. Drowning is both quick and silent.
- Keep chemicals out of reach or locked up.
Toddlers (1 – 3 years):
- Parents seem to grow eyes in the back of their heads when they have a toddler and supervision is the only reliable prevention.
- Toddlers love to climb and investigate so secure furniture, keep chairs away from windows and balconies, remove curtain tie-backs or cords, keep the safety gates at the tops and bottoms of stairs and teach your toddler to come down stairs backwards.
- Never leave a toddler alone in the bath.
- Keep medicines, chemicals and poisons locked away and up high.
- Keep appliance cords from hanging over the edge of kitchen benches, turn saucepan handles inwards, remove stools or chairs that can help reach dangerous items.
- Keep your eye on your toddler outdoors and hold hands to keep them from darting onto the road or towards the duck pond. Toddler skin is very sensitive, so remember sunscreen and a hat.
- Always buckle your toddler into an appropriately sized car seat in the car. Never leave a child in the car unsupervised, children left in cars overheat very quickly.