Nursery Safety Tips – Safety 1st Twitter Party

Your child will spend a large amount of time in the nursery. I have a few safety tips to help ensure they have a safe play and sleep time in their space!

Nursery and Toddler Room Safety Tips from Julie Vallese, Safety 1^st Consumer Safety Expert.

Cribs

Recommendations and regulations for cribs were updated in 2011 prohibiting the sale or resale of drop side cribs. These new standards also require the crib’s mattress support, slats, and hardware to be more durable and manufacturers have to test to new more stringent requirements to prove compliance. Cribs are an expensive baby purchase and are often handed down or borrowed. It important to check with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ensure your crib meets these new standards.

To prevent suffocation and strangulation, be sure that the crib sheet stays tightly in place. Don’t keep pillows, extra toys, stuffed animals, or blankets in the crib. When your child is a newborn these items could pose a suffocation hazard. Later, an older child can use these items, as well as crib bumpers, as a “stepping stool” for getting out of the crib.

Monitor Cords

Since 2004, there have been seven deaths associated with monitor cord strangulations as a result of baby monitors being placed in or near the crib. Recently the Juvenile Products Manufacturing Association issued a public service announcement on how to use a monitor safety. Most important always keep the monitor at least six feet away from a crib or bassinet. If kept closer to a crib, baby can reach out and become entangled in the cords causing injury or death.

Furniture Tip-Overs

As babies get older and transition to toddler beds all new safety hazards are introduced. Toddlers will now have access to their room, and potentially the entire house, without adult supervision. Also keep in mind that furniture, even wide dressers, can be surprisingly tippable. Toddlers open drawers and use them as a ladder to reach items that are on top of a dresser. These open drawers, plus the weight of a toddler, can make even the sturdiest of dressers tip over. Secure furniture to the wall to prevent tipping.

Windows

Screens are meant to keep bugs out, not children in. Properly install window guards to prevent unintentional window falls. For windows above the first floor, include an emergency release device in case of fire. Install window stops so that windows open no more than four inches.

Cold and Flu Season/Infant Health Chat

Fall is here and that means cold and flu season is upon us. This Twitter party will be designed to be a place for parents to share tips on what to do when a child is sick.

I was able to check out the newest Safety 1^st Advanced Solutions collection and am very impressed! Join me and I chat about the new solutions and safety tips Ive learned through Safety 1^st and their partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Twitter Party Info:

Julie Vallese will be the moderator for the Twitter party.