Best Safety Tips to Protect Your Children

Children especially infants are prone to incidents, some may be minor and some can fatal, this is why you should be aware of the best safety tips to protect your children. Children are always exploring their environment and that is fine, but you as their guardian have to look out for potential dangers and hazards they can’t see.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Infants sometimes die unexpectedly while they are sleeping. This is often associated with cough and cold medicines, parents’ smoking; also with putting infants to sleep on their stomach. Do not use pillows or leave other soft objects in an infant’s crib. Always put infants to sleep on their back until one year old.(1). Stop smoking-This could save your life as well as your child’s.

Poisoning: This is an especially common cause of death in children less than 3 years of age. Young children may put anything in their mouth. They are constantly investigating the world around them, and putting things in their mouth is part of the way they learn. Many common medicines and household products are poisonous and cause deaths in children.

Common examples include:

Medicines: NSAIDs including aspirin, paracetamol, tranquilizers, sleeping pills, iron pills.

Household Products: Drain cleaners, weed killers, insect or rat poisons, lye, kerosene, detergent, mothballs.

How you can prevent deaths from poisoning:

-Keep all medicines locked up and out of sight.

-Keep all chemicals and detergents locked up and out of sight.

-Teach your children not to drink or eat anything unless it is given by an adult.

-Try not to take medicine in front of small children. Children tend to copy adult behavior.

Choking is also a very common cause of death in children less than 5 years of age. Part of the reason is that they are always putting everything in their mouth. But they also often choke on foods that people mistakenly give them such as nuts and popcorn. Because they don’t yet have all their teeth, their chewing is not very effective and large particles can get caught in their throat. Older people who don’t have all their teeth often choke on food such as steak for the same reason.

How you can prevent deaths from choking:

-Do not give your young children nuts, popcorn, hard candy, hotdogs or foods of similar size.

-Always cut up your younger child’s food into very small pieces. Older people who are missing teeth should also do this.

-Do not let young children play with deflated balloons, marbles, or toys with small parts they can choke on.

-If your child is less than 5 years and must take pills or “chewable” vitamins, grind them into a powder between two spoons. You can then mix them with a small amount of liquid or food.

-If an older child or adult is choking and the airway is completely obstructed, use abdominal thrusts to help expel the object.