It must be admitted, as young parents (and even after their 8th child) we spend our time worrying about babies. It is therefore normal to want to prevent him from accessing lots of things that we consider dangerous for him without however feeling guilty because he is forbidden everything. In fact, you just have to find the happy medium…. Easy to say isn't it?

Don't worry, we are here to clear up this subject and help you do what we think is best for you and your child. You should know that each year, approximately 740,000 children between the ages of 0 and 6 are victims of an accident in everyday life which leads to a consultation in the hospital emergency room. You should also know that depending on the age and character of your baby, you will have to pay attention to more or less things. We will see precisely how to ensure baby's safety based on this.

1. The most frequent accidents:

Whether at home or outdoors, the environment can sometimes endanger baby's safety and/or health, the goal is not to scare you but there are things to know so that baby is safe . safety , although most of the time it's just a matter of common sense.

The main accidents in babies are choking, drowning, falling, poisoning, burns and electrocution. These accidents will be more or less likely depending on the age of the child, for example from 0 to 3 months baby will have almost no risk of electrocution while two 9 months to 2 years the risk of intoxication is more likely.

On the other hand, the more baby grows, the more he acquires autonomy in his gestures and in his movements without being aware of the danger. Here is therefore, depending on the age, what you should be more or less attentive to (note this summary is not exhaustive).

Before about 1 year: At this age, the main danger for babies is suffocation . When baby is very small, he spends his time sleeping and since he cannot really move his head yet, if his bed is not free of any risky objects such as blankets, cushions or stuffed animals, it may happen that he chokes on it. In addition, as soon as he becomes able to grab things with his hands, he must be very careful about small risky objects or small foods that he wants to put in his mouth on which he can choke (peanuts, coins, smarties….)

Then the risk of falling in the house is also quite common if you don't keep an eye on baby all the time. You should never leave the maxi cozy or the carrycot on a table or on a piece of furniture in height because it can tip over. Also, when you change baby you should never leave him alone on the changing table even for a second because he is able to turn around after about 4 months. And when baby moves on all fours, he may fall down the stairs.

Your child can also burn himself if his food is too hot so always taste it even if the container seems cold. He can therefore burn himself when he is very young or later when he is on the move and wants to touch everything. Especially with hot surfaces such as hotplates (even if they are often too high), radiators, light bulbs, etc. The bath temperature should also be tested.

You must also pay attention to the risk of drowning when bathing (always watch baby) and in swimming pools a little later when baby is moving.

From about 1 to 2 years old: This is the age when your baby learns to walk, so he has access to more things like medication or cleaning products . The risks of falling down the stairs at home are always present, as is drowning in a swimming pool. He can still choke on small objects or food. It is obviously always necessary to pay attention to the risks mentioned above.

From about 3 to 5 years old: The risks during this period are always the same, with a greater threat of falling as your child begins to discover the world , he runs everywhere and is sometimes a daredevil little explorer. He may also be learning to ride a bicycle, which increases the possibility of falling. Do not leave lighters, matches or candles within reach as fire is something that can intrigue children at this age; hence the fairly common risk of burns. And always pay attention to the risk of suffocation with candies or other things as well as drowning if your child does not know how to swim (even if he knows how to swim elsewhere, we are not immune to a loss of resources).

This list is far from being exhaustive, it is a summary of the prevailing risks at home according to the baby's age, but these accidents can occur at any age. So always keep an eye on your child, even if you feel like nothing can happen to them . As announced at the beginning of the article, everything will depend in particular on your child's character, he may be very calm and not very curious and therefore never open a drawer or touch things that are dangerous for him. (Of course, this does not exclude watching him at all!) Conversely, he may be very daredevil by nature and touch everything all the time, in these cases it will be necessary to redouble of alertness.

2. Things to do to avoid accidents

You should know that during the first years of his life, your child is not aware of the danger , so it is up to you to make him aware of it and explain to him when he puts himself in a dangerous situation.

It is necessary to adopt the right gestures by not creating situations conducive to an accident such as pouring toxic products into a bottle of mineral water, leaving a chair near a window or leaving household appliances plugged in unattended.

And if a dangerous situation arises, you have to be pedagogical by calmly explaining to your child - if he is old enough to understand - why he should not do what he has done. When he is younger you can already teach him the dangers that threaten him by pretending, for example, to prick you with a needle, shouting “ouch” and showing baby that you are in pain. You can also teach him words like "evil", "hot", "cutting", "dangerous" or expressions such as "no touching", "forbidden" or "you will hurt yourself". Household risks can differ depending on the rooms in the house, so there are several things to check in the bedroom but also in the kitchen, bathroom or living room.

If you want to be sure that baby is safe even if there is no zero risk , here are the things you can put in place:

In the kitchen you can put door blocks on the drawers, the fridge and the bin, put the dishes out of reach if possible, put button covers on the gas stove, unplug the appliances (microwave, blender etc. when they are out of use), keep knives and cleaning products out of reach. Also avoid leaving anything in the oven with baby walking around in the kitchen because it can burn itself.

In the bathroom the risk of drowning is high, so never leave a baby alone in the bath even with 4 cm of water, he can also burn himself with tap water so it is important to always test it before putting baby in contact with water. Put up all cleaning products, medicines, beauty products, etc. that can cause poisoning and injury (make-up remover, razor, cream, scissors, etc.). Also pay attention to the toilets, because as your baby grows he may tend to play with the bowl, which is strongly discouraged in terms of hygiene. Finally, be careful about contact with water and electricity because we know that these two components do not mix well.

In the living room it is necessary to cover the electrical sockets, remove or attach the cords of the blinds (risk of strangulation), put barriers at the level of the stairs, if you have a chimney cover it with a protection, try to remove or hide as much as possible all the electrical wires lying around (TV, speaker, etc.), wedge lamps and furniture likely to fall behind large furniture. Consider installing smoke detectors. Plants can also be toxic to children, so avoid leaving them within reach.

Finally in the baby's room put the furniture away from the bed so that baby cannot climb and get out of bed without you knowing it. Secure the windows if they are low, put baby products out of reach and if you have recently painted the room, this should be done at least 8 weeks before the baby arrives. If there is furniture in the baby's room, it is best to fix it to the wall.

To make your life easier, lots of small objects and tools have been created to prevent baby from opening doors, drawers, from going where it shouldn't. All this to avoid the slightest risk, especially if you have a child who touches everything and puts his health in danger. We can therefore cite: the safety barrier for the stairs and for the fireplace, the door blocker to prevent baby from getting his fingers caught in it and to prevent slamming doors from waking baby, the drawer or cupboard blocker, the blocker window, socket cover, table corner protector for babies who walk and run everywhere. The hob and oven guards will come in handy when baby starts to walk.

Finally, if you want to be quiet and not glued to your child all day afraid that he will hurt himself and you do not want to put all these protections in your house, there are baby games that allow you to occupy them while partly ensuring their safety . For example, you can get a toy park or an activity base in which you will put your baby while you cook or take your shower with baby next to you (while obviously keeping an eye on him) without him walks all over the room.

There are all kinds of baby playpen: wooden playpen, plastic playpen, foldable playpen...

In a playpen like these, your baby will be safe and you can quietly do something nearby without being afraid of him falling, getting his fingers caught or something else. In addition, some baby playpens offer many advantages such as foldable or compact playpens because they are very light, can be stored easily without taking up space and can be transported everywhere. Most of them can be used from birth to 36 months and some offer practical options such as a zipped door, a carrying bag, a padded bottom...

Take a look at the ZipZap , our ultra-light foldable playpen with a small zipped door to let baby come and go if needed. From 0 to 36 months (or up to 15 kg) and weighing only 5.5 kg you can take it everywhere thanks to its carrying bag, ideal for nomadic parents!

And the big plus, the little door that opens with a zipper so you don't have to bend down to get out or put baby in the playpen, he can go there on his own! Finally, its hexagonal shape offers a large play area for baby (0.9 m2).

 

So even if we think that baby's safety is assured at home, we must be attentive to all the dangers in which baby can put themselves if we are not particularly careful. Obviously everything depends on the character of your child, you will have to be all the more vigilant if baby is daredevil and blooper than if he is calm and spends his time reading stories (so to speak), but in any case NEVER LEAVE BABY UNATTENDED ! An accident can happen so quickly... So get ready and equip your home if you want to be more serene when baby is there.

Sources:

NHS
The Bump
FFSS.fr
Bebecool.fr
doctissimo
Actor of my health.lu
Mom for life.com