How to Keep My Baby's Hand Out of His Eyes

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

Here'due south how to protect your babe or toddler from some of the commonest accidents that affect young children.

Choking

Nutrient is the most common thing for babies and toddlers to choke on. Young children may also put small-scale objects in their mouths that could crusade choking.

• If yous requite your baby a bottle, always hold the bottle and your baby while they're feeding.
• Keep small objects, such equally buttons, coins and small toy parts, out of your babe'southward reach.
• One time your baby has started on solid food, always cut it up into small pieces. Babies can choke on something as pocket-size as a grape (these should exist cut lengthways). Raw jelly cubes can be a choking take chances. If you're making jelly, make sure you always follow the manufacturers' instructions.
• Practice not give immature children hard foods, such as boiled sweets or whole nuts.
• Go on pocket-size, silver push button batteries well away from modest children. As well equally being a choking take a chance, they tin can cause severe internal burns if swallowed.
• Stay with your child when they're eating. Encourage them to sit withal while they eat, as running effectually while eating could make them choke.
• Keep toys designed for older children away from babies and toddlers, every bit they may have small parts.

Run across how to assistance a choking baby or child.

Suffocation

• Do non utilise pillows or duvets with babies under the historic period of 1, every bit they can suffocate if their confront gets smothered. They won't be able to push the duvet away. Babies should ever sleep on their dorsum with their anxiety at the pes of their cot. Tuck the blanket in across their breast and under their artillery and keep the cot complimentary from bumpers, pillows and soft toys
• If you acquit your babe in a sling, follow the TICKS advice to reduce the take chances of suffocation. Keep your baby T ight, I northward view, C lose enough to kiss, K eep their mentum off their breast, with a S upported back.
• Keep plastic bags, including nappy bags, out of reach and sight of young children. Continue them abroad 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'southward dress, as the tie or ribbon could strangle them.
• Ever keep curtain or bullheaded cords tied upward out of reach – with a cleat hook for example – then that they're well out of your babe or toddler's reach. Unsecured blind and curtain ropes can quickly wrap themselves circular a baby or toddler's neck. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has a video on blind safety y'all can view online.
• Do not leave whatever type of rope or cord lying around, including dressing gown cords and drawstring bags.
• If the gaps between banisters or balcony railings are more 6.5cm (ii.5 inches) wide, encompass them with boards or safety netting. Pocket-size babies may exist able to squeeze their bodies through, simply not their heads.
• Keep toys and garden play equipment well away from washing lines, then that children cannot stand on them and reach the line.
• Avoid using cot bumpers in your baby'southward cot – they are a adventure for choking, suffocation and strangulation. Come across more well-nigh safe sleep for babies.

Falls in babies

Babies presently learn to wriggle and boot. It's non long before they can roll over, which means that they tin can curl off beds and changing tables.

Here are some things you tin can do to end your babe beingness injured:

• Modify your babe's nappy on a changing mat on the floor.
• Exercise not leave your baby unattended on a bed, sofa or changing table, even for a second, as they could curl off.
• E'er keep bouncing cradles or infant car seats on the floor, rather than on a table or kitchen worktop, equally your baby's wriggling could tip it over the edge.
• Hold on to the handrail when conveying your infant up and down stairs, in case you trip. Brand sure the stairs are free of toys and other trip hazards.
• If you get your infant a walker, make certain information technology complies with British Standard BS EN 1273:2005. Older walkers may tip over more than easily and harm your babe.
• Lookout man where yous're putting your feet while carrying your babe. It's piece of cake to trip over something like a toy.
• Use a 5-point harness to secure your baby in a highchair or pram every fourth dimension you put them in.

When your baby starts crawling

Once they learn to crawl, babies may attempt 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 end your baby getting onto stairs. Close the gates properly after you go through them.
• If the gaps between banisters or balcony railings are more than 6.5cm (2.5 inches) broad, cover them with boards or safety netting.
• Keep low furniture abroad from windows. Have windows fitted with locks or condom catches that restrict the opening to less than 6.5cm (two.5 inches), to stop babies climbing out. Make sure adults know where the keys are kept in case of a burn.
• Remove cot toys and cot bumpers, as a baby tin 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, just tin can motion very quickly. They tend to trip and fall.

Here are some injury prevention tips for parents of toddlers:

• Deport on using safety gates at the summit and bottom of stairs until your baby is at least two years sometime.
• First to teach your child how to climb stairs, just never let them go up and down on their own (even 4 twelvemonth olds may need some help).
• Do not let children nether 6 slumber in the pinnacle bunk of a bunk bed, as they tin can easily fall out.
• Keep low furniture away from windows and ensure that windows are fitted with locks or condom catches. Make sure adults know where the keys are kept in case of fire.
• Carry on using a 5-point harness when your kid is in their highchair or pushchair.
• Keep pair of scissors, knives and razors out of children's reach.
• Special devices tin stop doors from closing properly, preventing your kid's fingers getting trapped. At night, remember to close doors to stop whatsoever potential fires from spreading.
• If furniture has sharp corners, utilise corner protectors to preclude your child from hurting their caput.

Poisoning

• Medicines are the cause of over 70% of hospital admissions for poisoning in under-5s. Common painkillers like paracetamol and ibuprofen are the main culprits. Keep all medicines locked away or high up out of achieve and sight.
• Continue cleaning products high up out of accomplish, including those for the toilet. If this isn't possible, fit safety catches to low cupboard doors. Choose cleaning products that incorporate a bittering agent. This makes them taste nasty, so children are less likely to eat them.
• Liquid laundry capsules can cause poisoning. Brand certain the capsules are stored out of reach and sight. They are often packaged in child-friendly colours.
• Brand sure bottle tops and lids are e'er firmly closed when not in utilize. Recall that child-resistant packaging is non child-proof – it just slows children down.
• Keep e-cigarettes and their refills out of sight and accomplish 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 pick outdoors until they've checked with an adult. For more than information, see Plant dangers in the garden and countryside.

Burns and scalds

A infant's skin burns more easily than an adult'southward. This means you lot need to have actress care to avert burns and scalds.

• At bathtime, run cold water into the bath first, then add some hot. Bank check the temperature with your elbow before your child gets in, and stay with them the whole time they are in the bath.
• Babies and toddlers will grab at brightly coloured objects, such every bit mugs. If yous're having a hot drink, put it down well out of accomplish before you hold your baby. Continue hot drinks well away from all young children. A hot drink can still scald 15 minutes afterwards it was made.
• After warming a bottle of formula, shake the canteen well and examination the temperature by placing a few drops on the inside of your wrist before feeding. It should feel lukewarm, not hot.
• Avoid heating up bottles of formula in a microwave. Apply a bottle warmer or jug of hot h2o instead.
• Toddlers will play with anything they can reach, so go on matches and lighters out of immature children's sight and reach.
• Use a kettle with a brusque or curly flex to end it hanging over the edge of the piece of work surface, where it could be grabbed.
• When cooking, utilise the rings at the back of the cooker and turn bucket handles towards the back, so they cannot be grabbed by little fingers.
• When you've finished using your atomic number 26 or hair straighteners, put them out of reach while they cool downwardly. Make sure your child cannot grab the flex while you're using them.
• Continue button batteries well away from babies and small children, as they tin cause severe internal burns if swallowed.
• Liquid laundry capsules tin crusade chemic burns if the liquid gets into a child's optics, nose or mouth. Continue them out of sight and out of accomplish.

Drowning

Babies can drown in as little equally 5cm (ii inches) of water. Drowning is 1 of the commonest causes of child expiry – it'due south frequently silent, so you won't necessarily hear whatever noise or struggle.

• Baths are the commonest identify for babies and young children to drown. Stay with your infant or toddler the whole time they're in the bath. Never exit them for a moment, even if there's an older brother or sis in the bath with them.
• If you use a bathroom seat, call back that it'south not a safety device. You yet need to stay with your infant all the time.
• Empty the bath as presently as y'all've taken your child out.
• If you have a garden pond, fence it off, fill it in or securely cover it.
• Sentinel toddlers when they're in a paddling puddle or playing most water. Empty the paddling pool straight after utilize and so store abroad.
• Make sure your garden is secure so that your kid cannot become into neighbouring gardens, where there may be ponds or other drowning hazards.

Business firm fires

Domestic fires are a significant risk to children. Fume from a burn down tin kill a child in a few minutes. Chip pans and cigarettes are the almost common causes.

• Never fill a scrap pan more than than one-tertiary full of oil, or get a deep fat fryer instead. If a chip pan does take hold of burn down, switch off the hob, go out the room, close the door and call the fire brigade.
• Extinguish and dispose of cigarettes, cigars and pipes carefully, particularly at night or if you are tired.
• Fit fume alarms on every level of your dwelling. Test them every week and change the batteries every year.
• At night, switch off electrical items before yous go to bed and close all doors to contain a potential fire.
• Piece of work out an escape plan for your family and tell your children what to practice in case of a fire. Exercise the plan regularly.
• If y'all have an open fireplace, always use a fireguard that encloses the whole fireplace and make sure it'south attached to the wall. Do not place anything on it or hang things from it.
• Go on matches and lighters out of accomplish of children.

Glass-related injuries

Broken glass tin can cause serious cuts. The following advice may help you keep your child safe.

• Utilise safety drinking glass at a low level, such as in doors and windows. This shatters less easily than normal glass. Look for the British Standards (BS) kitemark.
• Make existing glass safer by applying a shatter-resistant film.
• When buying furniture that includes glass, make sure information technology has the BS kitemark.
• Always dispose of broken drinking 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 wintertime cold), brand certain it has prophylactic glazing or is fenced off from children.
• Do non allow a infant or toddler hold anything made of glass.

Further information

The following websites also 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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