Toddler Safety & Your Peace Of Mindby Heather Long | More from this Blogger 10 Sep 2006 08:13 AM While you can hardly expect your toddler to take responsibility for their own safety and it is indeed the burden of the parent to provide a safe environment for their child - you can set the examples by which your child will learn about safety and keeping themselves safe as they grow and develop. As with all lessons for your children, your example is the one they will learn from the most. How you behave, maintain your home and the vigilance you keep can often mean the difference between averting disaster and serious injury for your little one. The following are all items that you need to put into regular habit and practice in order to provide your toddler with safety and to protect your own peace of mind:
The vigilance is important because it only takes inattention for a few seconds for children to hurt themselves. While you may childproof your house, when the doorbell or the phone rings, unless your child is in a secured area where you can see them - take them with you. That way you know where they are and that they can't hurt themselves. When you are overtired or stressed, you actually need to be more vigilant because exhaustion can lead to errors in judgment - like leaving a gate unlatched or leaving a knife out. Remember, it only takes one accident to injure your child severely. A first aid kit is desirable in any home, but keeping one in easy access for you and well stocked when you have a toddler can make life simpler whether you are dealing with an injury that requires an ice pack or a band-aid. Learning CPR is actually a great talent for a parent to master because it can help them to provide their child with resuscitation in the event of drowning or other airway obstruction. I learned infant CPR when I was a teenager and I remember seeing a young baby begin to choke in a restaurant that I worked in. The mother panicked and didn't know what to do - I was able to perform the Heimlich maneuver and dislodge the choke and then got him breathing again. In another instance, a baby fell into the swimming pool where I was swimming and not only was I able to get him out of the pool, I got him breathing again as well. Fortunately, while I have been able to help other children - I've never needed to use those same skills on my own - but it's still a comfort to my peace of mind that I know how to do this. The others in the list are all common sense, but it's always good to reiterate it and add it to a personal checklist. Keep a list of emergency numbers posted visibly and easily accessible. We have them posted on the fridge as well as having them programmed into our cell phones and house phones. Develop positive habits for yourself, whether it is storing all dangerous items such as knives out of reach and never leaving them out in the open to doing the same with other sharp instruments from scissors to box cutters to tools. The better your habits are, the less likelihood you will have of forgetting or making a mistake. Finally, the last one is to make sure you create a space where your child can play freely whether it is a playroom or a play yard - establish somewhere that your child can play safely and you don't have to be so hands on. While you are not likely to leave them unsupervised, you can be more comfortable with their toddling explorations and investigations. Related Articles: Childproofing Tips for Your Home Safety Education through Insurance Companies Preventing Unintentional Childhood Injuries Learn more about Heather Long  Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago. Relevantbaby tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags preventing toddler injuries, safety, safety in the home, things you can do Discuss this article
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