September is Baby Safety Month. As a mother, I find it necessary to keep my little ones out of harm's way. I do think that proper supervision is necessary to prevent serious injury, but I also believe that it is important to keep hazardous objects and chemicals away from the reach of any child. I must say that most parents try a little too hard to keep harmful objects away from children, and not hard enough to actually educate their children about the effects of touching, playing with, or ingesting the object in question.
These parents are the ones who are making it difficult for the rest of us who actually pay attention to our children and teach them about the dangers of sharp objects, cleaning chemicals, etc, to actually live happily without having social workers at our doors because someone saw a crumb on the floor just a few feet away from a crawling baby.
I think now is a great time to discuss the best ways to keep your baby safe, without going crazy and getting a bunch of expensive items that you really don't need.
Outlets are one thing that a baby will see almost immediately when you put him on the floor to play. It is right in his view, and looks interesting to him: "I wonder what will fit in there?" Make sure you have every empty outlet covered so that your baby doesn't stick a small toy or his fingers in there and end up being shocked. Being shocked doesn't feel good. I've been shocked before, and it can hurt pretty bad.
Speaking of small toys, if you have older children, they may have some pretty tiny toys that came with a toy set such as Polly Pocket, Barbie dolls, GI Joe, or those little army guys and zoo animals. Legos is a great example. Those little tiny Lego blocks have to be some of the most annoying things my kids have ever gotten. They don't even play with them, but somehow, they end up all over the floor, and their baby brother ends up putting them in his mouth. (He is the only one of my children, by the way, who has put anything besides food in his mouth.) Make sure your kids are keeping their little toys picked up. I cannot emphasize this enough! I am no health expert, but I do have common sense, and I really don't like the thought of going into my baby's room and finding him in the floor with a blue-to-purple face. Dice food in tiny pieces (if they're eating solids yet), keep small objects away from them (apparently anything that fits inside a toilet paper roll is too small).
Household chemicals, medications, and other substances can be fatal if swallowed. Keep them in a locked cabinet. Better yet, put them up as high as you can, and lock them up too. Child-proof bottles are easier to get into than you might think. My own kids climbed on top of my bathroom sink, opened the medicine cabinet, and ate a whole bottle of Tums one day (I know those bottles aren't child-proof, but too much calcium can be harmful, so they should be).
Exposed wiring is another potentially harmful thing you may find around your house. Make sure all appliance cords are out of your child's reach, and not just lying around in the floor so someone can trip over them. I've seen children grab electric wires and bite them; one such child even got shocked and ended up in the hospital.
Bath tub safety is especially important. Thousands (maybe even millions) of children are injured or killed due to lack of supervision in a body of water. It only takes a tablespoon of water to drown, it is said, and in a bath tub, not only is there a drowning risk, but if your child is beginning to crawl or pull himself to a standing position, slipping is something else that you need to be concerned about. Don't leave any small child in a bath tub or swimming pool without supervision. It is best, when bathing a baby, to keep one hand on him while you reach for a towel or soap, shampoo, wash cloth, etc (keep everything you need close by so that you do not have to go back later), to prevent slipping or drowning.
Something soft for sharp-edged furniture is a good idea to prevent injuries when your child is learning to crawl, stand, and walk. Children are injured every day because they've tripped near a coffee table or desk and hit their head or face on the edge of the furniture. Some of these injuries require stitches.
When you have your baby on an elevated surface, such as a changing table, keep one hand on him or her so that he or she does not roll off. I once knew a couple who left their baby on a recliner because they didn't think she was able to roll over yet, and sure enough, she ended up in the floor with a skull fracture.
Like I said, it doesn't take Newton (or Einstein) to understand what could or couldn't harm a baby. A little common sense goes a long way.