There are several ways in which children can get hurt in the bedroom. The main cause derives from the fact that children, after walking on all fours out of the bed, fall hurting themselves, or go around the house without anyone checking them. It can also happen that children climb onto the changing table, chest of drawers or other bedroom furniture. It is also possible that they fall out of the chest of drawers, or that it falls on them, causing serious injuries. Children may also climb onto the bedroom window and fall out of it. It is important to make your child's bedroom as safe as possible and to be aware of the potential dangers.
Steps
Step 1. Make your baby's cot safe
When you set up the cot, you need to be sure it is secure.
- Check the safety guards around the bed and their small joints. These joints need to be able to rise and fall, so make sure they are able to do this. Do not tie them to a bar of the cot to prevent them from moving: they must be able to move, so that the child cannot use them as a step to climb and fall out of the cot. Since there is a risk that the protectors may restrict the flow of air into the cot and increase the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), the best choice is to use a mesh protector that will pad the side railings of the cot., but which also allows air to flow freely towards the baby.
- As your baby grows, remove the protectors. If you are worried that your baby may hit his head, this is now unlikely (since an older baby is able to move) and is, moreover, the lesser of two evils, compared to injuries that the baby it could bring back if it were to fall.
- For children who are less than two years old and are already able to climb, a tent must be installed on the cot. This can prevent the child from falling and getting hurt, or even dying, which unfortunately happened following such falls. Make sure the baby is safe and sound in the crib. Alternatively, you might decide to take the cot apart and put the mattress on the floor, or get a bed for a toddler.
Step 2. Prevent your baby from hurting himself while in the crib
Make sure you buy a suitable mattress. There are several types of mattress that can help fight SIDS.
- It is important that when you bring your baby home from the hospital, you make sure that the cot mattress has been placed in the highest position. This will create fewer back problems when you have to lift your baby out of bed and when you have to put him back in.
- To prevent the baby from getting hurt when he starts to sit up, make sure the mattress is placed in the lowest position of the cot. This will prevent him from falling off the cot.
- Be aware of the location of electrical outlets within the room. Usually, parents don't even notice that there is an electrical outlet behind the cot until they have lowered the mattress to its lowest level. At this point your baby is able to reach it, so be sure to apply a sliding cover on the electrical outlet.
- When your baby is sleeping, make sure there are no pillows, stuffed animals or toys in the cot. All that should be in the cot is an untucked blanket and your baby. It might seem like it goes against your wishes to keep your baby in a comfortable and welcoming environment, but it's more important to keep him safe. The American Association of Pediatricians strongly recommends that you follow these rules to prevent them from harming themselves.
- Remove any dangling items. Many parents like spinning toys or nets hanging on the cot. While objects like these can make a baby's room beautiful and elegant, once he is old enough to pick them up and pull them down, they can pose a strangulation risk and be very dangerous for the baby. Remove these items from the cot and place them in another part of the room, out of her reach.
Step 3. Buy a baby monitor
Buying a baby monitor is a must for any parent whose home is large enough that they cannot hear the baby from one end of the house to the other. This lets you know what your baby is doing when you are not around him. You will be able to hear if he is crying and reach him immediately. If your child is in the crib, playing and having fun safely, it is because you have followed all the safety rules outlined in this article. In this way, your baby is not subject to any kind of danger, because a baby monitor allows you to let him play and have fun in the cot.
Step 4. Choose a good baby monitor
The quality of the audio is extremely important, as is its range. When buying a baby monitor it is important to take the following things into consideration:
- Make sure you keep the receipt. Some monitors work very well, but not all.
- You need the best quality audio possible.
- Make sure the channel is set to your home channel, as you may be picking up your neighbor's frequency. These monitors also pick up the frequencies of cell phones and landlines, so pay attention to this aspect.
- If your monitor doesn't work when you bring it home, change the channel of your landline phone and then that of the baby monitor.
- Check the signal range of the monitor. Does it work with one of the monitors found in the baby's room? And if, for example, you want to be on the veranda in front of the house, does it work even at that distance?
Step 5. Put the baby monitor in the right place
The most effective place to put the baby monitor is near the cot, but Not in the cot; many parents make this mistake. When your baby is a little older and is able to sit up, make sure the baby monitor is out of his reach, as if he takes it, it means he can reach for electricity and batteries, and can get burned or hurt. a shock. Keeping it anywhere near the baby is fine, but not within arm's reach.
Step 6. Childproof the windows
If you live in a multi-story house, securing the windows on the second or upper floors is a very, very important thing to make sure your baby doesn't fall over.
- Use fall protection nets to make windows childproof. They come in different colors and can match the line of the room. When choosing a window net, be sure to find one that has an emergency latch. It will allow you to get out, in the unfortunate event of a fire. This way you can grab the safety ladder from under the bed, put it out the window and get everyone to safety.
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On the other hand, if your house is on one floor, you can use different types of window locks to make them childproof.
- There are aluminum devices that can be fixed to the base of the window to make it safe; or
- It uses a suction cup device, which works well with sliding glass doors or large framed windows, as well as small windows. It can be used to make double-leaf windows and any other type of windows childproof. It is also a great way to keep the window open, perhaps about ten centimeters, so that you can maintain ventilation, while the device prevents the child from going out.
- Know that mosquito nets are not childproof devices. The children will look out the window and press their face, nose and hands against the mosquito net, trying to see the dad or the dog or whatever; in this way, the mosquito net yields and the child falls. Therefore, Not under no circumstances should the mosquito net be a safety measure for the child.
Step 7. Make sure the chest of drawers cannot fall
Children are climbers, and they want to get on a chest of drawers, a changing table and any piece of furniture in the bedroom or at home. You have to make sure that the furniture is firmly in place and that it cannot fall on them, crushing them.
Install a fixing accessory to prevent furniture from falling; there are several types. Nylon ones are good, because they offer a lot of flexibility; therefore, if the pressure cap is not located exactly behind the furniture, it can still move and be safe, without danger of it falling. Another great thing is that, in the event of a move, you just have to remove the device from the wall and leave it fixed to the furniture, move to the new home and install it again on the wall. This is a great way to keep children safe from falling furniture. Remember: children climb, so you need to make sure you prevent the possibility of dangers and accidents
Step 8. Make sure that the cords of the blinds and window blinds are completely out of the reach of the child
Ropes and blinds can pose a strangulation hazard to your baby. You must therefore make sure that they are tied out of the reach of your children, using a simple accessory such as a hook to collect the ropes. It costs about a dollar and can be installed right next to the tent. It is a very quick and easy thing, which you can do on your own.
Step 9. Use doorstops to prevent children from getting hurt
It often happens that their little fingers get locked in doors. These products can prevent this kind of injury.
- Get a doorstop or something that can be installed in the jamb to prevent children from closing doors on their hands and pinching their fingers.
- Be aware, however, that some doorstops can pose a strangulation hazard. If you take a look around the house, you might find spring-loaded doorstops with a small rubber stopper on the end. This cork can be swallowed by children, choking them. Hence, it is important to install a one-piece doorstop, so that the door does not close against the wall, but at the same time does not present a risk of strangulation for your child.
Advice
- Some families are unable to afford, or choose not to have, a separate, furnished bedroom for their child. You can put the crib in your bedroom to make breastfeeding easier at night, or have your baby sleep with you by using a crib with a safety barrier next to your bed. In this case, you will need to make your own bed childproof, following many of the tips provided on this page.
- Note that some hospitals and midwives, especially in Australia and New Zealand, completely advise against the use of cot protectors. They could present a choking hazard if the baby gets stuck in them while sleeping.
- Due to the choking hazard of older children's toys, be careful when moving a toddler or preschooler into the bedroom with an older sibling. These toys could risk suffocating him!
Warnings
- Make sure everything in the room is soft and comfortable.
- As always, make sure everything you use is safe for your baby. When childproofing a room, safety is the top priority.
