Contributed by Cindi Pearce, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru
Your baby is …walking! Oh, my gosh!
It’s exciting, for him and you. However, when your child becomes mobile for the first time this changes everything. He is not going to stay put on that blanket in the center of the living room as he was doing when he was younger. You cannot turn your back on him or the next thing you know he’ll be out of the front door. It happens. He becomes fixated with light sockets, and every dangerous thing that he can possibly find within the home. He is curious. Face it: He is going to be into everything. He is exploring. This keeps you on your toes.
Before your baby reaches the ambulatory stage, you should have baby proofed your house because you knew this day was inevitable and, of course, welcome. If you haven’t already baby proofed your home now is the time to do it. The top 10 tips for toddlers to keep your baby safe include:
10. Supervise pets
Do not leave your infant alone with dogs or cats, even if the animal is a family pet. You never know what might set off the animal. Toddlers can be ornery, and they may do something that provokes the animal. Dogs can especially do serious harm to small children.
9. Close the lid
Keep the lid to your toilet closed because babies have been known to topple over headfirst into the toilet bowl and aren’t able to get out. Buy toilet seat lid safety latches, and use them every time you use the bathroom.
8. Ban balloons
Do not give your toddler a balloon. If the balloon deflates your baby can choke on it. Monitor the floor of your house. Make sure that there aren’t tiny toys or other objects that your baby can (and will) put in his mouth and, which may choke him.
7. Secure doors
Put latches, toddler-proof door knob guards, or even bells and alarms on your exterior doors and pool gates. Toddlers are too smart for their own good. They can figure out ways to get outside.
6. Lock up medication
Put away all medicines. Better yet, put them under lock and key.
5. Block stairs
Put a baby gate in front of all staircases. The baby can fall down basement stairs or the stairs to your second floor.
4. Cover outlets
Always put covers on electrical outlets because toddlers really have a propensity for sticking things into them. This can electrocute them.
3. Watch out for cords
Never put the baby’s crib near a window that has cords attached to it. Babies can get choked in the cords. For even better safety, wrap cords in an electrical cord organizers or install cord channels to keep babies away from the dangerous wires.
2. Supervise bath time
Never leave your toddler alone in the bathtub, not even for a second. Too many small children have been the victims of drowning when just left momentarily by their parents. And use a spout guard with a heat alarm to make sure the water isn’t too hot — water burns can be deadly.
1. Know CPR
If you are a parent, you should know how to do CPR, particularly on a small child, which is different than how you would perform it on an adult. You should also know how to do the Heimlich maneuver in the event your child chokes. Post the numbers for 911 and poison control in very visible places around your house. Teach your older children how to call these numbers in the event of an emergency.