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Baby
safety
It is normal to worry about the safety of your baby, but there’s a lot you can do to help avoid accidents and keep them safe.
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Did you
know? Injuries of children 1-14 years of age cause about 300 deaths and over 60,000 trips to the hospital every year in Australia.
These can all be prevented!
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The following four fact sheets describe general safety issues you may face when your baby is a certain age, together with practical things you can do to ensure your baby’s safety:
Birth
to 9 months
9
months to 18 months
18
months to 3 years
3.5
years to 5 years
There are a number of important safety issues that you should consider carefully. These are described in detail
below:
>
Safe sleeping
(including SIDS)
>
Safe
bedding
>
Safety in the home
>
Car
safety
>
Bathing
>
Toys
Safe
bedding
It is very important that your baby sleeps in a cot that is safe.
There is now an Australian Standard (AS 2172) for cots, so if you are buying a new one, check the label to make sure it
complies with that standard.
If the cot you are going to use is not new, there are things you need to look at to make sure it is safe:
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The bars on the cot must be 50-85mm apart
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There
should be no gaps between the mattress and the cot
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The cot
should be easy to access for an adult and not a child
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The paint
should not be chipped and there should be no rough or pointy edges
The
following fact sheet from Kidsafe Victoria provides information
about cots, portable cots, baby strollers and high chairs: Nursery
equipment and safety fact sheet
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Safety
in the home
In the first few years of life, the biggest safety concerns are hazards around the home, including drowning, poisoning from chemicals or medicines, falls, burns and choking.
As your baby grows, he or she will become more interested in the world around them, unfortunately many things can be very dangerous to little bodies.
Here are some tips on how to make your house safer for your baby.
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Always supervise your child if they are playing outside. This is especially important if they are playing around water, on high equipment or near sharp surfaces.
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Make sure pools and water features have a fence around them so your child can’t fall in and drown.
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Keep all medicines and chemicals in a high place that is out of reach of your child. Also make sure lower cupboards are securely locked and not accessible to your child.
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Be aware of slamming doors and other areas that could jam little fingers.
You can use protective guards and slow closing springs on doors to help stop them doing any damage.
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Choking is another
common hazard - it may be caused by small, hard food pieces and even things like buttons and beads off toys and clothing.
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It is important for you to be aware of foods that can cause
choking and regularly check your child’s play area for other small
choking hazards.
The following fact sheet from Kidsafe Victoria provides information
about safety in the home:
Safety
in the home fact
sheet
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Car
safety
The importance of car safety for your child
starts from the moment you leave hospital!
Choosing
a suitable car seat
Factors to consider when choosing a car seat include:
As your child grows, it is important you change their car seat to make
sure they are always properly supported.
For a newborn baby, you can use a baby
capsule, a backward-facing restraint or a convertible car seat to
support them in the car. When your child has reached the weight limit
for their first car seat and they are able to sit up on their own and
hold their head up and look around you can move them to a forward facing
restraint. Generally forward facing car seats can be used from about 8kg
- 18kg, however these must be updated in response to your child's
growth. You can place your child in a booster seat in the car when they
get to big to fit in their current car seat and they have
reached the maximum weight for it. Remember, that car seats are safer
and will protect your child more than a booster seat so don't move them
to a new restraint to soon.
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Type
of restraint
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Weight limits
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Rearward-facing
baby restraints
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Up
to 9 kg (or up to 12 kg)
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Forward-facing
child seat
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8
kg to 18 kg
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Combination
seat (forward facing child seat and booster in one)
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8
kg to 26 kg
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Booster
seat
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14
kg to 26 kg
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Child
harness
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14
kg to 32 kg
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Reference:
Royal Children's Hospital, Safety Centre, 2007
The following fact sheets provide more information about car safety and
children: RCH
- Car passenger safety fact
sheet Kidsafe
- Kids and the family car fact sheet
How do I attach the car seat to my car?
All car seats come with specific instructions as to how to install them.
It is very important you follow these instructions and check with a professional fitter to make sure you have put it in your car the right way.
Always check with a professional if you have any concerns about fitting a car seat of any kind into your car.
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KIDSAFE
- the Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Australia, is an
independent, non-profit, non-government charitable foundation
dedicated to the prevention of unintentional death and injury to
children.
They
have lots of factsheets to download and print - including
Christmas toys, nursery equipment, toddlers and water safety and
scalds. http://www.kidsafevic.com.au/factsheet.htm
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Top
Bathing
These are 2 main things you must be aware of when you are bathing your baby,
scalding (when the water is too hot and it burns your baby) and drowning.
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To make sure the water in the bath is the right temperature, turn the cold water on first then top it up with hot water.
Run the cold water again so the tap is not hot.
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Use the inside of your wrist to assess whether the bath water is too hot for your baby.
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You must supervise your child constantly around water especially when they are in the bath.
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When your child is under 5 years of age, it is recommended that you hold them while in the bath giving them complete supervision.
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REMEMBER:
It is time to ignore the doorbell and phone when your child is in the bath, their safety comes first. If you must answer the phone or the door, take your child out of the
bath and with you.
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The following fact sheets provide information about water safety for
toddlers:
RCH
- Water safety fact sheet Kidsafe
- Toddlers and water safety fact
sheet Kidsafe
- Scalds fact
sheet
Toys
When you give your child any toy to play with, make sure it is safe and will not risk their health in anyway.
The main concerns include:
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Toys with
small parts – generally any toy that is smaller than a ping pong ball can be dangerous to a child and can cause them to choke.
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Toys with
sharp edges or sharp points
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Toys that
make loud noises
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Toys with
longs strings or ribbons attached – these should be less than 30 cm long to ensure that it does not strangle the child
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Toys with
weak construction – children may choke on toys that are poorly made with bits that fall off or come apart
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Toys with
small ends that they can place in their mouth
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Toys with
moving parts – children’s fingers may be just the right size to get caught in a moving part of a toy.
The following fact sheet from Kidsafe Victoria provides information
about safe toys for children and toddlers:
Toy
safety fact
sheet
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