Keeping our kids safe is one of our most important jobs at parents. Think of it – God has entrusted you with a little life to care for. Little ones who can’t care for themselves need our protection the most. Even at home there are times when we can’t afford to let down our guard.
There are lots of topics we could cover about keeping your little kids safe, like keeping choking hazards off the floor when your baby starts to crawl, or keeping the tile dry when they start to walk. To keep things short enough for one blog post, I’ll focus on 3 topics for safety at home today: bathtub safety, eating safety, and sleeping safety.
No one can guarantee that there will never be a tragic accident, but there are things that you can do to make your chances better.
Bathtub Safety
The first thing to do to keep your baby or toddler safe in the bath is to keep the water level low. When baby is too small to sit up, keep the water level below their ears. When they can sit up, keep the water level no higher than their hip. I recommend keeping this rule until they can bathe themselves, around 5 or 6 years old.
Note : The chart below shows approximate ages – use your best judgment and always play it safe if you have any doubts.
Supervise them closely in the bath! This will gradually be less demanding as they grow.
| Age | Bath Safety Instructions |
|---|---|
| Infant to sitting up | Keep your hand under their head the whole time they’re in the bath. |
| Sitting up to 18 months | Stay at the bathtub, baby within arms reach, with no distractions. |
| 18 months to about 3 years | Stay in the bathroom, with only small distractions, where you can see them and easily get to them. |
| About 3 to 5 years old | Stay where you can hear them and check on them often. |
| About 5 to 8 years | Be aware of them bathing and check on them often by listening or calling to them through the door. By this age they are wanting privacy in the bath. |
If there’s something you feel is urgent, like someone coming to the door, or you remember you left something cooking, or whatever might take you away from the bathroom, take your little one with you! Carrying a wet, naked baby is way better than going back to find them not breathing! And hopefully there’s a towel close by you can wrap them in on your way out.
Food Safety
Safety at home includes eating safety. As always, stay close and pay attention, and if anything doesn’t feel right, change it till it feels better.
For infants who are breastfeeding or bottle feeding, make sure that baby is supported comfortably, and that their head is slightly tilted back for open airway. Nursing babies should have their tummy against mom, and bottle feeding babies should be held in a reclined sitting position.
Once baby starts to eat foods besides milk, there’s a new set of rules for food safety. Babies who only have a few biting teeth and no molars should not have anything crunchy that they could not chew, like peanuts or chips. Foods with a casing or peel around it are choking hazards, like hotdogs and grapes. You can take off the skins to make them safer.
Things that babies can hold and gnaw on, like a thick piece of steak, or a blunt carrot about 3 inches long, are safe and good for practice chewing. Crackers and cookies are a great texture to bite and practice chewing while it melts in their mouths. Cooked vegetables work good for them, too, when they’re firm enough to hold with their little hands, but soft enough to chew with their gums. (For the first few months they will probably need to be nursed or bottle fed after they practice feeding themselves to get their tummies full.)
What about food allergies? When my oldest was little they said not to give eggs or nuts or other high allergen foods till 9 months. When my littlest was learning to feed herself they said give them those things right away. Confusing, right? My guess is that if they’re going to be allergic, it doesn’t really matter when you try it, but how.
I do agree with the advice that adding one new food at a time will make it easier to identify an allergen. If you have a family history of a specific allergen, or another reason to think they might be allergic, I suggest rubbing a little on their arm to check for a reaction before trying it in their mouth. And remember to keep childrens diphenhydramine (commonly known as benadryl) close by incase of a bad allergic reaction.
Sleep Safety
Sleep safety is an important part of safety at home. As with bath and food safety, keep them close and pay attention, and if something doesn’t feel safe, change it till it feels better.
Babies’ beds should be close to their parents, where they can easily be heard and tended to at night. We always kept our babies crib in our room, just a few steps from our bed. For daytime naps they should be laid on a flat, steady surface close to parents or caregivers. Lay them on their back. Watch out for any space around the bed or nap spot where baby could fall or get stuck and adjust to make it as safe as possible.
Babies beds should be clutter free, with no pillows or stuffed animals or blankets. Their sheet should be securely on their mattress and tight fitting. Babies who like to be swaddled should be wrapped in such a way that their blanket cannot get on their face. You can find instruction for a safe swaddle here. A sleep sack, warm pajamas, or an extra layer of clothes can be used instead of a blanket if that feels better to you.
If baby sleeps with you, as mine all did for at least part of the night while they were breastfeeding, both parents need to be aware of them in the bed. If sharing a blanket with them, use a light blanket and keep it below their arms. I often kept our babies swaddled in their own blanket and used a separate blanket for myself. Keep pillows away from their faces. Look for hazards around your bed, where they might fall or get stuck, and adjust to make it safer before you take baby to your bed.
I had a friend who said she just never felt comfortable taking her babies in her bed because she was a heavy sleeper. I think it’s great that she listened to that feeling to keep her babies safe. Every person and circumstance is different, and you need to do what’s best for your family.
One of the biggest sleeping dangers for babies is when their parents use drugs or alcohol and are not able to be aware enough to keep their babies safe. Stay away from that stuff! Your baby needs you sober!
Thanks for reading my blog post! I hope this helps you keep your little ones safe and helps you enjoy your parenting adventure!
For more about little ones see Juggling Your Baby and Toddler.
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