Posts Tagged ‘baby home safety’
In a previous post we stated that the Consumer Product Safety Commission planned to issue a warning regarding fabric baby slings and baby safety. The CPSC has now issued a news release warning parents of children under four months of age in the hazards they face in using the fabric sling. Babies who were born prematurely, the smaller twin baby, and children with breathing conditions such as a cold were common factors in the deaths of infants in the sling.
Checking your baby often, making sure you can see his face, making sure at he does not have his head forward into his chest, making sure his face is not pressed against the fabric, and making sure that his face is not pressed against the wearer’s body were suggestions given by the CPSC.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a warning concerning Christmas and winter themed metal charm bracelets for our children. The charm bracelets were sold by discount and dollar-type stores nationwide between 2006 and March 2009 for about $1.
The high levels of cadmium contained in the bracelets are toxic if ingested by young children causing adverse health effects. Laboratory analysis determined that over 20,000 micrograms of cadmium were released from the snowman alone.
They advise that for our children’s safety we dispose of the bracelets if we find them in our homes.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission plans to issue warnings about the use of baby slings as they have had deaths attributed to smother of infants while in the carrier. The danger occurs when the baby falls into a “chin-to-chest” position. The baby curls and can obstruct its own breathing in such a position.
Baby safety is more assured when the baby is in a sling in an upright position facing the parent with their belly toward the parent. Very small infants in the soft fabric slings are the greatest risk. The safety commission has yet to issue the warnings or to identify the slings that are the most hazardous. We will try to keep updated on this warning.
The Food and Drug Administration is setting higher standards for their food labeling and have recently sent warning letters to seventeen food manufacturers, including Nestle who produces Gerber Baby Food. The violations were for unauthorized claims about health, nutrient contents and terms such as “healthy.”
Similar letters were sent by the F&D to several other companies that produce baby food, such as Beech-nut, First Juice, Inc., Want Want Foods and PBM Products.
Obesity and diet-related diseases in the United States make it crucial that reliable information be contained on the food labels were reasons cited for the crack-down.
Child safety and nutrition is the reason most of us read the labels to the food items our children will be eating and it is vital to us that the information is accurate.
Carbon monoxide (CO) comes silently into your home and the only way to detect it is with an alarm installed for just that purpose. If your alarm should go off, go outside immediately and call 911 to have your home checked by professionals. The alarm should be installed close to the sleeping area of your home and you should learn the sound that the alarm will make when it detects carbon monoxide.
Deadly carbon monoxide is produced by malfunctioning of the equipment; such as, fuel-burning heating equipment, furnaces, wood stoves, fireplaces, kerosene heaters, gas-burning water heaters, gas-burning kitchen stoves.
You should always operate your family barbeque outdoors. Be sure that the family car that is parked in the garage is turned off immediately upon entering the garage and make sure you do not run the car engine for any reason while it is parked in the garage as the CO can travel through your house from the garage.
And, again, remember to install that life saving carbon monoxide detector to ensure the home safety of your baby, yourself, and all of your family from this deadly gas.
The ranch style home with everything on one floor is becoming rare as the need for building space is becoming difficult for many cities. The result is stairways in most of our homes which brings safety concerns for all of us.
Toddlers may try to reach the banister when they are walking up or down the stairs, but it causes an unsafe posture for stairways. There is a unique secondary railing system that enables a banister at a safe height for the toddler to assist them down or up the stairway. This will provide the necessary baby safety at home.
With all of the two and three story homes built today, it is advisable to have fire safety ladders in your home to aid firemen. It also adds peace of mind to know that there is a way to get out of the home in case the fire has blocked all exits and the window seems the only means of escape from the flames.
When I look out of my bedroom window and try to imagine jumping without the aid of a ladder, it is pretty scary. I feel sure that I would jump to escape the flames, but I know I would be injured. The thought of the escape ladder in my room gives me a feeling of safety. I hope I never need to use it, but just having it is a relief.
Children should be fully informed on the existence of the ladders and how to use them. This is one item that we hope will never be used, but it will help ensure the child’s safety if it should ever come to that.
Manufacturers of Baby Products should place safety of the product above asthetic appeal and price. Always look for the seal of approval of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers’ Associaiton (JPMA) when shopping for children’s products.
Their seal of certification is a symbol to depend on that the juvenile products having gone through an extra set of rigorous testing and met high performance standards. The JPMA has recently selected a more modern and updated look for their seal, so look for a change in the appearance of the certtification.
It is better to NEVER place the baby’s crib near mounted decorative accessories, long cords, near windows, draperies or blinds. These items will shortly be in the child’s crib as they explore their surroundings.
It is also good to make sure that there are no improperly installed screws, brackets or other hardware on the crib or mattress support. We should also make sure that there are no missing, loose or broken parts on the crib. We should check the crib from time to time to make sure that everything is still intact as it should be.
The sides of the crib should always be up when the baby is in the crib. They grow up much faster than we think they will.
Be sure to lower the mattress as your child gets older and starts standing in the crib. Between the child’s jumping up and down on the mattress or trying to climb out, we should make it more difficult for accidents to happen.