The topic at our mom and baby program this week was safety. We covered everything from baby gates to safety latches and also discussed some not commonly known facts about hazards in the home for babies and toddlers.
We kicked off our second topic for the Every Little Step program for new moms in partnership with Walmart Canada by talking about safety today. While doing some research about child proofing and thinking about what questions and ideas would come up in our group conversation, I was very surprised to find this information:
There are approximately 2,270 injuries per year among children three and under related to baby bottles, pacifiers and sippy cups.
Huh. Can you guess the reason why? Here is a bit more information:
More than half of these accidents occurred among 1-year olds.
When little ones start to walk, they are pretty unstable. They've been refered to as 'drunken sailors', stumbling around bouncing off of things, falling and tripping often as they practice their new skill. That unstable footing causes many falls and when you have a bottle, a pacifier or a sippy cup in your mouth the opportunity for bruises, scrapes, chipped or knocked out teeth can be high.
Once we talked this through with the moms attending our program this week, it seemed obvious that this was a hazard and that just by using some common sense, injury could be avoided. Try to transition your little one to a cup without a lid (the sooner the better) and make sure they are sitting to have a drink (open cup or bottle or sippy cup) and pacifiers should be for snuggle time or once in bed (or car seat).
Other safety issues we chatted about included:
- Preferences on baby gates – pressure mounted or bolted into the wall
- Tethering furniture to avoid children pulling them down on top of themself
- Popularity and benefits of a video monitor
- Taking a CPR or first aid course before baby arrives
- Including some child proofing items on your baby registry (you only need so many sleepers and blankets!)
- Cupboard latching options and other kitchen safety issues like ovens with controls on the front of the appliance
Every mom attending our safety themed program took home a loot bag with safety products from Walmart Canada and one lucky mom won a LEVANA® Powered by Snuza® Oma™ Clip-on Portable Baby Movement Monitor with Audible Alarm which is on rollback at Walmart until September 12, 2014.
Talking through hot topics like safety as a new mom is a great way to find useful information and share ideas and stories with other new moms – thanks to everyone who joined us today!
