While you can’t wrap your baby in bubble wrap to keep them safe, there are several easy ways you can prevent accidents at home. When it comes to newborns, the most important room in your home is the nursery.
Keep baby in your room for the first few months
Baby’s nursery should be your first priority when babyproofing your home. If he’ll be sleeping in your room for the first few months, experts recommend that your baby sleeps on his own in a crib close to your bed to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). “Young babies wake up frequently at night, needing to be fed and cared for – meaning many parents end up co-sleeping whether they intend to or not. Room sharing, as opposed to co-sleeping, reduces the risk of SIDS by 50%, while still giving the infant their own space or crib. This is much safer,” says Dr Hasmita Ghandi, an obstetrician and gynaecologist based at Netcare Umhlanga Hospital.
Always use fitted sheets
Your baby’s cot should only have a fitted sheet – there should be no pillows, toys, cot bumpers, or duvets in the cot. If it’s a little cold, you can use a baby sleeping bag to keep your baby warm.
Correctly position the crib
Try not to put your child’s crib near a window. Not only do the curtains and cords pose a choking hazard for small babies, but when your little one is a little bigger, he could try to leverage himself on the crib to climb out the window – which is especially dangerous if there are no burglar bars in place.
Watch out for heavy furniture
If this is your first baby and you’re decorating the nursery, ensure that top-heavy furniture is secured to the wall with a strap or nails – adventurous toddlers often try to climb bookshelves or into drawers, causing furniture to topple. Your newborn will be an adventurous toddler before you know it, so it’s best to do this now while you remember.
Create a slip-free environment
If you don’t have carpets in your baby’s room, get some rugs with non-skid backing so your little one doesn’t slip and fall when he starts walking.
Other safety tips to keep in mind:
- All exposed electrical wires need to be attended to. Take a walk around your home and write down all electrical hazards, then get an electrician to fix them.
- Curious crawling babies are likely to want to touch everything at eye level – which makes plug sockets particularly tempting. Buy protectors to avoid any accidents.
- As a rule of thumb, keep your electrical appliances out of the bathroom and out of sight in general – a mere tug at a cord could bruise your little one. A hairdryer or iron that’s switched on could severely burn your child.
- Ensure that all the cords from blinds and entertainment systems are neatly tucked away, as they pose a strangulation risk. If possible, mount your TV to the wall so your child can’t tug on any exposed wires and cause it to fall.
