Home Nurseries Can Present Serious Dangers to Babies

Don’t Let Your Little One Become A Statistic

Every year, an estimated 2,200 children die as the result of a home accident. Another 3.5 million end up in emergency rooms for the same reason. Such startling statistics should make safety a top priority for parents.

The deaths and injuries are caused by everything from burns in the kitchen to falls down the stairs. Drownings in the bathroom and poisonings in the garage also are culprits. The nursery, and place of peace and serenity, can pose dangers, too. Careful consideration and serious thought should be a part of the process when re-doing the room to which you will bring your baby home.

Courtesy of: Carin Araujo, http://www.prtc.net/~carin

“Designing your dream nursery isn’t just about choosing a cute theme and poring over paint colors,” reads an article in Parents magazine titled “The Safe Nursery.” “While it’s easy to get caught up in all that fun stuff, you need to spend just as much time making sure it’s a safe space for your baby.”

The article offers several tips for fathers and mothers to follow.

Your crib should meet and / or exceed government safety standards, which ban traditional drop-side models and requires all hardware to have anti-loosening devices that prevent detachments.

Do not place your crib close enough to a window that a baby could reach it, which brings the risk of strangulation from chains or cords or an opportunity to climb up to the window and fall through the screen.

Resist placing blankets, pillows and stuffed animals in the brig while your baby is sleeping. All three pose suffocations risks.

Cover unused outlets with plug protectors, and secure any exposed electrical cords.

Invest in a baby gate that screws into the door jamb instead of one that is held in place by a tension rod.

Avoid changing-table disasters. “Store baby powder, lotion, alcohol-based hand gel, and other supplies in a drawer or on a shelf beyond your baby’s reach,” according to Parents magazine. “They’re more dangerous than you might think – ingesting cosmetics and personal-care products is the most common form of poisoning in kids under age 6, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reports.

Install a smoke detector outside the nursery, and equip the room with an escape ladder if it’s on the second floor or higher.

Toys should be kept in open bins or boxes, meaning no lids, which can slam shut on hands and heads.

“In 2011, an estimated 262,300 children were treated in an emergency room for a toy-related injury,” according to Safe Kids Worldwide. “That’s 718 kids every day. More than a third of those injured were children 4 and under.”

Toy precautions include reading the label to make sure it is age appropriate and inspecting it for small parts or pieces that could present a choking hazard. Parents also chould pay attention to toy recalls.