Did you know that September is National Child Safety Month? Whether that is safe car seat practices, safe feeding practices or even safe sleeping practices our goal at Healthy Start is to spread awareness and knowledge on keeping your baby safe.
Car Seat Safety
There are four types of car seats; rear-facing, forward-facing, booster seat and a seatbelt. Understanding these four types of safety methods and the transitional periods are key to keeping your child as safe as possible while in a vehicle.
Select a car seat based on your child’s height and weight, follow the manufacturer’s instructions very carefully when using the car seat, make sure the car seat is compatible with your vehicle, keep your child in the car seat for as long as possible and keep children in the backseat until over the age of 12.
Check out the link below for car seat recommendations based on your child’s age and size.
https://www.nhtsa.gov/equipment/car-seats-and-booster-seats
Safe Newborn Feeding
Feeding your newborn can be one of the most stressful yet important aspects of motherhood. Ensuring that you’re practicing safe feeding habits is necessary.
When feeding your newborn, make sure to stick to breastmilk or formula. Healthy newborns should not need juice, water, grain cereal, or any other fluids.
Another key aspect to newborn feeding is knowing their hunger cues. Knowing when your baby is hungry elevivates stress for both the mother and baby. Some typical cues are fidgeting, agitation, sucking sounds, hand to mouth and crying.
When it comes to feeding, trust your instincts and know when to ask for help. If you notice a lack of weight gain or constant agitation before/after feeding, reach out to your pediatrician or lactation consultant. It is important and extremely common to ask for help when it comes to feeding your baby.
Safe Sleeping
Safe sleep saves lives, which is why everyone should know the ABC’s of safe sleeping. By knowing the ABC’s of safe sleeping people can ensure their baby is sleeping as safely as possible.
Here are the ABC’s of safe sleeping.
A: Alone
B: on their Back
C: in a safe Crib
The baby should always sleep Alone, on their Back and in a safe Crib. By following these easy steps your baby is on the way to safer sleep.
Water Safety
Whether bath time, beach time or pool time water safety is so important to educate yourself on. Even an inch or two of water can drown an infant in an instant.
Here are a few tips that could save your child’s life when it comes to water safety:
- Make sure your child is always supervised when around or in water
- Ensure the water is at an appropriate temperature
- Always drain the bathtub when not in use
- Put up appropriate fencing around pools and check it regularly
- Always shut toilet lids
- Empty buckets and wading pools when not in use
Your baby’s safety is a top priority when it comes to being around water. Whether at home, in public or with family, make sure everyone is aware of water safety techniques.
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-play/Pages/Infant-Water-Safety.aspx
