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  1. UAMS Health
  2. NICU
  3. Caring for Your Baby at Home
  4. Baby Safety Basics

Baby Safety Basics

Baby-Safety-RegistryDownload

Bath Time Safety

Get everything you’ll need beforehand. This will make bath time safer and easier for both of you.

Have a safe water temperature. Your baby’s skin can burn faster than an adult’s because it’s thinner and more sensitive.

  • Set the temperature of your water heater at 120-degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Put anti-scald devices on faucets. These devices turn off the water if the temperature is too hot.
  • Seat your baby facing away from the faucet so he or she won’t try to turn it on.
  • Test the bathwater with your wrist or elbow before bathing your baby.

Never leave your baby alone.

Babies can drown in as little as 1 inch of water. They usually drown in bathtubs, 5-gallon buckets and toilets. The main problem is a lack of supervision – usually for a short period of time.

  • Do not leave your baby unattended in the tub or near sinks, buckets and containers filled with water. Babies can slip out of bath seats, fall out of baby tubs or tip forward or sideways into the water and drown in seconds!
  • Always keep one hand on your baby. This also applies to older babies who can sit up by themselves.
  • Do not tub bathe your baby until the umbilical cord has fallen off and circumcision has healed.
  • Do not let older siblings under the age of 12 bathe your baby.

Feeding your Baby

It is very important for all parents and caregivers of infants to learn infant CPR and choking relief for infants.

  • Don’t hold your baby while cooking or carrying hot foods and liquids. Most scald burns in young children, especially in ages 6 months to 2 years, are from hot foods and liquids spilled in the kitchen or wherever food is prepared and served.
  • Heat bottles with warm water, instead of in the microwave. Drinks heated in a microwave may be much hotter than their containers. Microwaves also decrease nutrients in formula and in breast milk. Test them before feeding your baby.
  • When using a high chair, make sure your baby is sitting down and is strapped in.
  • Offer cooked and softer foods when it is age-appropriate (recommended at 6 months of age). Make sure that everything is cut into tiny pieces, mashed or pureed. A good rule of thumb is when you think it is small enough, cut it one more time.

REMEMBER: If your baby was premature, use his/her adjusted age. (Instead of using the birth date, use your due date.)

Playtime

Make sure you are providing your baby SUPERVISED tummy time on a daily basis while you and your baby are both awake. This strengthens the neck and upper body muscles. When your baby is 3 to 4 months old, he/she should be doing this 20 minutes-a-day.

Babies explore with their hands, mouths and eyes, and enjoy toys they can touch or squeeze.

Recommended Toys

  • Floor activity centers
  • Activity quilts
  • Squeaky toys
  • Soft dolls or stuffed animals without button noses and eyes

Toys to Avoid

  • Recalled toys
  • Latex balloons
  • Hard toys attached to car seat handles
  • Small, rounded or oval objects (like balls and marbles)
  • Toys with strings or cords
  • Toys with lead or magnets

Tips

  • Use floor activity centers that do not move (instead of baby walkers). This keeps your baby in a safe location.
  • Always strap your baby in when using swings or bouncy chairs.
  • Before shopping for toys, consider your baby’s age, interest and skill level.
  • Read age and safety labels. Toys that are labeled for children 3 years and older should be kept away from children under age 3.
  • Check old and new toys regularly for damage that may cause small pieces to break off.

Young children have small airways. Take an empty toilet paper roll and put the small object in it. If it fits completely into the roll, don’t let children under 3 play with it. The reason you use a toilet paper roll is that it’s close in size to a young child’s fully expanded throat.

REMEMBER: If your baby was premature, use his/her adjusted age. (Instead of using the birth date, use your due date.)

Make Your Home Safe

Look at the world through your baby’s eyes to see what looks interesting and what can be reached. Get down on your hands and knees and check for small things your baby can choke on like coins and small toy parts.
Supervise your baby at all times. Don’t rely on older siblings to take care of your baby. Even older children don’t recognize dangers at times and may not be able to provide the best protection for your baby.

Safety Basics

  • Have working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors inside all bedrooms, outside all sleeping areas, and on every level of your home. Test alarms monthly and change batteries once a year.
  • Install stair gates at the top and bottom of stairs. Stair gates at the top must be attached to the wall with hardware.
  • Secure furniture to the wall to avoid tip-overs.
  • Use cordless window coverings.
  • Install window guards on all windows above the first floor.
  • Keep a first aid kit on hand.
  • Place emergency numbers and the poison control hotline, 1-800-222-1222, by every phone and in your cell phones.

Keep These Out of Reach

  • Electrical cords, frayed or damaged cords, uncovered outlets
  • Plastic bags
  • Matches, lighters, candles
  • Fireplaces, space heaters, irons
  • Guns
  • Small objects (like jewelry, buttons, pins, paper clips, nails, stones, etc.)

Prevent Poisonings

Babies have slow digestion, so dangerous things in small amounts can be very poisonous.

  • Lock up medicines, vitamins, cleaning products, pet food, alcohol, poisonous plants, and chemicals (like paint, gasoline, etc.) out of your baby’s reach.
  • Read labels and follow directions when giving medicine to your baby.
  • Use child-resistant caps.

Prevent Baby Falls

Falls from furniture (cribs, changing tables, highchairs, and strollers) are the most common type of falls in babies 3-11 months old.

  • Don’t leave your baby unattended.
  • Keep one hand on your baby while changing diapers.
  • When your baby is in a carrier, place it on the floor and not on top of a table, washer, dryer or other pieces of furniture.

Prevent Adult Falls

  • Keep items picked up off the floor (move rugs and cords out of the walk-way) so when you are walking through the house with the baby in your arms you won’t trip and fall.

Pet and Baby Safety 

Do:

  • Invite animal over for a sniff.
  • Include animal in a comfortable and safe way.
  • Close the door to the nursery.
  • Remind your pet what you want them to do.
  • Secure pet and use awake adult supervision.

Don’t:

  • Force interaction.
  • Isolate pet from family.
  • Allow unsupervised access to nursery.
  • Scold your pet when being curious.
  • Leave your baby unsupervised.

Sibling Safety 

Never leave a child under the age of 5 alone with your infant.

  • -Encourage siblings (or other children) never to pick up the baby without help from an adult, and always to be gentle with baby.
  • Never let siblings share their toys or food with the baby. Infants have their own special toys to play with and can choke on older kid’s toys/food.
  • Encourage children to wash their hands every time before touching the baby.

Gun Safety

All guns MUST be stored in a LOCKED gun safe. Just “hiding” the gun will not work. Kids are very smart and like to explore. They will find it. Teach your children to ALWAYS ask before picking up a gun. There are many guns that look fake but are real and many that look real but are fake. For tips on how to have a conversation with your children or other adults about guns please go to Be Smart for Kids. 

Shaken Baby Syndrome 

Healthy babies can cry a lot in the first 5 months of life. The period of PURPLE crying is a new way to understand this crying. It explains what is normal and what you can expect when your baby cries.

When your baby cries, there are things you can try to comfort him or her.

  • Check to see if your baby is hungry, tired, or needs changing.
  • Walk and sing with your baby.
  • Give your baby a warm bath.
  • Take your baby for a walk or ride in the car.
  • Hold your baby skin-to-skin.
  • These ideas may not work every time. Remember you can always check with your baby’s doctor to see if there is something wrong that is causing the crying.

If you have tried all of these things to soothe your baby and he is still crying, and you find yourself getting frustrated, it is OK to walk away. Put your baby in a safe place and take a few minutes to calm yourself, then go back and check on the baby. NEVER SHAKE A BABY.

Shaking a baby is VERY dangerous and can cause:

  • Blindness
  • Seizures
  • Learning disabilities
  • Physical disabilities
  • Death

Be sure to tell others.

Tell everyone who might care for the baby about the Period of PURPLE Crying. Tell them that it is normal crying and how frustrating it can be. Talk about the dangers of shaking the baby. Tell them it is OK to put the baby down and take a break. Tell them it is OK for them to call you if they are getting too frustrated.

  • Be careful who you have cared for your baby, especially in the first 5 months of life. If the person has problems handling frustration or has a quick temper, it may be dangerous to leave your baby with them.

View this interactive module on what to do when your baby cries.

UAMS Patient Education Department hosts a FREE infant CPR and safety class on Monday’s at 11 AM and Friday’s at 2 PM (except on holidays). This class is for caregivers of baby’s in the NICU at UAMS. You must sign up at the information desk on the 5th floor of the main hospital.

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Mailing Address: 4301 West Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72205
Phone: (501) 686-7000
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