When Do You Give a Baby a Pillow

Each year 40,000 under-5s are admitted to hospital following accidents, and lots of these accidents are preventable.

Here's how to protect your baby or toddler from some of the commonest accidents that affect immature children.

Choking

Food is the most common thing for babies and toddlers to asphyxiate on. Young children may also put small objects in their mouths that could cause choking.

• If you requite your infant a bottle, always hold the bottle and your baby while they're feeding.
• Continue small objects, such as buttons, coins and small-scale toy parts, out of your baby's reach.
• Once your baby has started on solid food, always cutting it upward into pocket-sized pieces. Babies can asphyxiate on something as modest as a grape (these should be cut lengthways). Raw jelly cubes tin can be a choking hazard. If you're making jelly, make sure you lot e'er follow the manufacturers' instructions.
• Practise non give immature children hard foods, such as boiled sweets or whole basics.
• Go on small, argent button batteries well away from small children. As well as being a choking hazard, they can cause severe internal burns if swallowed.
• Stay with your child when they're eating. Encourage them to sit still while they eat, as running around while eating could make them asphyxiate.
• Proceed toys designed for older children abroad from babies and toddlers, as they may have small-scale parts.

See how to help a choking baby or child.

Suffocation

• Do not use pillows or duvets with babies under the age of 1, every bit they can suffocate if their face gets smothered. They won't be able to push the duvet abroad. Babies should e'er slumber on their back with their feet at the pes of their cot. Constrict the blanket in beyond their chest and under their arms and keep the cot gratuitous from bumpers, pillows and soft toys
• If you comport your babe in a sling, follow the TICKS advice to reduce the run a risk of suffocation. Go along your baby T ight, I due north view, C lose enough to kiss, G eep their chin off their breast, with a S upported back.
• Keep plastic numberless, including nappy bags, out of accomplish and sight of young children. Keep them away from babies' cots, so that they cannot reach them and put them over their nose and mouth.

Strangulation

• Practice not tie a dummy to your baby's wearing apparel, as the tie or ribbon could strangle them.
• Always keep drape or blind cords tied up out of attain – with a cleat hook for example – so that they're well out of your infant or toddler's achieve. Unsecured bullheaded and mantle ropes can quickly wrap themselves round a baby or toddler's cervix. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has a video on blind condom you lot tin can view online.
• Do not leave any blazon of rope or cord lying effectually, including dressing gown cords and drawstring bags.
• If the gaps between banisters or balustrade railings are more than 6.5cm (2.5 inches) wide, cover them with boards or condom netting. Pocket-sized babies may exist able to squeeze their bodies through, only non their heads.
• Keep toys and garden play equipment well away from washing lines, so that children cannot stand on them and achieve the line.
• Avoid using cot bumpers in your infant'southward cot – they are a hazard for choking, suffocation and strangulation. See more than well-nigh condom sleep for babies.

Falls in babies

Babies before long learn to wriggle and kick. It's not long before they tin curl over, which ways that they can roll off beds and irresolute tables.

Here are some things you can practice to stop your baby being injured:

• Modify your baby's nappy on a changing mat on the floor.
• Practise non leave your infant unattended on a bed, sofa or changing tabular array, fifty-fifty for a second, as they could scroll off.
• Always keep billowy cradles or baby car seats on the floor, rather than on a table or kitchen worktop, equally your babe's wriggling could tip it over the border.
• Agree on to the handrail when conveying your baby up and down stairs, in instance y'all trip. Make sure the stairs are free of toys and other trip hazards.
• If y'all get your babe a walker, make certain information technology complies with British Standard BS EN 1273:2005. Older walkers may tip over more hands and harm your infant.
• Watch where you're putting your feet while carrying your baby. It'southward easy to trip over something like a toy.
• Use a 5-point harness to secure your baby in a highchair or pram every time you put them in.

When your baby starts itch

Once they larn to crawl, babies may try to climb onto things, such as sofas, which increases the risk of falling.

Here are some injury prevention tips for parents of crawling babies:

• Fit safety gates to stop your baby getting onto stairs. Close the gates properly after yous go through them.
• If the gaps between banisters or balustrade railings are more than than half-dozen.5cm (ii.5 inches) wide, comprehend them with boards or safe netting.
• Go along low furniture abroad from windows. Take windows fitted with locks or safe catches that restrict the opening to less than half-dozen.5cm (2.5 inches), to cease babies climbing out. Brand sure adults know where the keys are kept in case of a burn.
• Remove cot toys and cot bumpers, equally a babe can climb on them and may fall out of the cot.

Falls in toddlers

When babies start to walk, they're unsteady on their feet, but tin motion very speedily. They tend to trip and fall.

Hither are some injury prevention tips for parents of toddlers:

• Bear on using safety gates at the top and lesser of stairs until your infant is at to the lowest degree 2 years old.
• Beginning to teach your child how to climb stairs, merely never let them go upwards and down on their own (even iv year olds may need some help).
• Do not let children nether six sleep in the top bunk of a bunk bed, every bit they can easily fall out.
• Keep low furniture abroad from windows and ensure that windows are fitted with locks or condom catches. Make certain adults know where the keys are kept in case of burn down.
• Carry on using a 5-betoken harness when your child is in their highchair or pushchair.
• Keep pair of scissors, knives and razors out of children's attain.
• Special devices can stop doors from closing properly, preventing your child's fingers getting trapped. At night, call back to close doors to stop any potential fires from spreading.
• If furniture has sharp corners, use corner protectors to prevent your child from hurting their head.

Poisoning

• Medicines are the crusade of over 70% of hospital admissions for poisoning in under-5s. Mutual painkillers like paracetamol and ibuprofen are the primary culprits. Keep all medicines locked away or high up out of reach and sight.
• Keep cleaning products high up out of achieve, including those for the toilet. If this isn't possible, fit safety catches to low cupboard doors. Choose cleaning products that contain a bittering agent. This makes them taste nasty, so children are less likely to consume them.
• Liquid laundry capsules can crusade poisoning. Make sure the capsules are stored out of reach and sight. They are often packaged in child-friendly colours.
• Make sure bottle tops and lids are always firmly closed when not in utilise. Remember that child-resistant packaging is not child-proof – it merely slows children down.
• Keep east-cigarettes and their refills out of sight and reach of babies and toddlers. Nicotine is poisonous and can be very dangerous for young children.
• Check your garden for poisonous plants. Teach your children not to swallow anything they option outdoors until they've checked with an adult. For more information, see Plant dangers in the garden and countryside.

Burns and scalds

A babe's skin burns more than easily than an adult'southward. This means you need to accept extra care to avert burns and scalds.

• At bathtime, run cold h2o into the bathroom start, then add some hot. Check the temperature with your elbow earlier your child gets in, and stay with them the whole time they are in the bath.
• Babies and toddlers volition grab at brightly coloured objects, such as mugs. If yous're having a hot drink, put information technology downward well out of reach earlier you hold your baby. Keep hot drinks well away from all young children. A hot drink can all the same scald fifteen minutes after information technology was made.
• After warming a bottle of formula, shake the bottle well and test the temperature by placing a few drops on the inside of your wrist before feeding. It should feel lukewarm, not hot.
• Avert heating upwards bottles of formula in a microwave. Use a bottle warmer or jug of hot water instead.
• Toddlers will play with anything they can reach, so keep matches and lighters out of young children's sight and reach.
• Use a kettle with a short or curly flex to end it hanging over the border of the work surface, where information technology could be grabbed.
• When cooking, utilize the rings at the back of the cooker and turn saucepan handles towards the back, and so they cannot be grabbed by niggling fingers.
• When yous've finished using your iron or pilus straighteners, put them out of achieve while they absurd downward. Brand sure your child cannot grab the flex while yous're using them.
• Continue button batteries well away from babies and pocket-size children, as they can crusade astringent internal burns if swallowed.
• Liquid laundry capsules can cause chemical burns if the liquid gets into a child's optics, nose or oral fissure. Keep them out of sight and out of attain.

Drowning

Babies can drown in as footling as 5cm (2 inches) of water. Drowning is 1 of the commonest causes of child death – it's ofttimes silent, so y'all won't necessarily hear whatever noise or struggle.

• Baths are the commonest place for babies and young children to drown. Stay with your babe or toddler the whole fourth dimension they're in the bathroom. Never go out them for a moment, even if there's an older brother or sister in the bath with them.
• If you lot use a bath seat, remember that information technology'due south not a rubber device. You notwithstanding need to stay with your baby all the time.
• Empty the bath every bit soon as y'all've taken your child out.
• If yous have a garden swimming, fence it off, fill up it in or securely cover information technology.
• Watch toddlers when they're in a paddling pool or playing virtually water. Empty the paddling pool straight subsequently utilize and then store away.
• Brand sure your garden is secure so that your child cannot go into neighbouring gardens, where at that place may be ponds or other drowning hazards.

House fires

Domestic fires are a significant risk to children. Smoke from a burn can impale a child in a few minutes. Flake pans and cigarettes are the most common causes.

• Never fill a chip pan more than ane-third full of oil, or go a deep fat fryer instead. If a chip pan does catch burn down, switch off the hob, leave the room, shut the door and phone call the fire brigade.
• Extinguish and dispose of cigarettes, cigars and pipes carefully, particularly at nighttime or if you are tired.
• Fit smoke alarms on every level of your home. Test them every calendar week and alter the batteries every year.
• At night, switch off electrical items before you go to bed and shut all doors to contain a potential fire.
• Work out an escape plan for your family and tell your children what to do in case of a fire. Practise the plan regularly.
• If you have an open up fireplace, ever utilize a fireguard that encloses the whole fireplace and make sure it's attached to the wall. Practice non identify anything on it or hang things from it.
• Proceed matches and lighters out of accomplish of children.

Glass-related injuries

Broken glass tin crusade serious cuts. The following advice may assist yous keep your kid safety.

• Utilize condom drinking glass at a low level, such equally in doors and windows. This shatters less hands than normal glass. Look for the British Standards (BS) kitemark.
• Brand existing glass safer by applying a shatter-resistant motion picture.
• When buying furniture that includes glass, make certain it has the BS kitemark.
• Always dispose of broken glass quickly and safely – wrap it in newspaper before throwing it in the bin.
• If you own a greenhouse or common cold frame (a structure to protect plants from the winter common cold), make sure it has condom glazing or is fenced off from children.
• Do not let a infant or toddler concord anything fabricated of drinking glass.

Farther information

The post-obit websites likewise provide more information on preventing accidents in babies and toddlers:

• RoSPA
• Babycentre

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Source: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/first-aid-and-safety/safety/baby-and-toddler-safety/

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