Keeping your baby safe

Never shake your baby

(Welcome to your new baby magazine page 31.)

It is very important not to hit or shake babies. 

Shaking your baby can cause brain damage. 

If you are feeling very angry, put your baby somewhere safe and take a break until you feel calmer.

You want to teach your baby lots of things. 

However, punishment, such as hitting, ignoring or shouting, does not work as babies don’t understand why they are being hurt or left. It will just make them afraid instead of learning to trust.

After 6 months or so you can say ‘No’ and give a simple explanation when your baby does something you don’t want. For example, if he bites you, move him away and say, ‘No. That hurts’.

But don’t expect him to really understand for many months yet. 

---

Keeping your baby safe

(Welcome to your new baby magazine pages 35 to 38.)

One of your most important jobs is to keep your baby safe. 

Check your home regularly, right from when you bring your baby home, especially when she begins to roll over and crawl. (See Safety for babies for more information about making your home safe.)

General safety:

Home is where most accidents happen because it’s where you spend most time with your baby. 

• Know what to do in an emergency – have emergency numbers for police, ambulance, fire (000) and poison information (13 11 26) near the phone  and know how to give first aid.
• Make sure your house has smoke alarms – check and change the batteries every year on 1 April if they’re not wired in.
• Make sure you have an Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker in your fuse box. This will cut off the electricity supply if there is a fault.
• Keep all potentially poisonous products up high and locked away.
• Set your hot water system to deliver hot tap water at 50 °C. 
• Check that your pram, cot and other baby equipment meet Australian Safety Standards. 
• Check that grandparents’ and other carers’ homes are safe if your baby spends time there. 

Safe sleeping (also see Sleep):

• Your cot and portable cots should meet Australian Safety Standards.
• Do not put additional pillows, mattresses or padding in cots or portable cots.
• It is not safe to put babies on a waterbed or beanbag.
• Keep your cot away from blinds and curtains with dangling cords, and from power points.
• Don’t put mobiles or toys with stretch or elastic cords in the cot.
• If you have a cradle, make sure the locking pin 
• is secured, and that your baby or toddler can’t pull it out.
• If your baby uses a dummy, don’t attach it to his clothing when he's in his cot.
• Remove any jewellery, bibs and headbands before putting your baby down to sleep.

When your baby starts moving around:

• Always supervise babies and children around water.
  Make sure there's no uncovered water in the house or garden. This includes:
  • nappy buckets
  • dog’s water bowl
  • grey water collection
  • pots that might fill with water after rain 
  • ponds.
• Cover all power points with a child safety cover, and tuck all power cords out of reach.
• Make sure there are no small or sharp objects that your baby can reach. Your baby will put most things she picks up into his mouth.
• Lock away all poisons, including:
  • dishwasher detergent from under the sink
  • medicines from your bedside table and handbag.
• To avoid scalds and burns, don’t drink hot drinks while holding your baby. Don’t use tablecloths – babies can pull drinks down on themselves.
• Use the back elements on stove tops first, and turn pan handles towards the back of the bench out of your child’s reach.
• Secure TVs, chests of drawers and bookcases to the wall to stop them falling onto your child.
• Don’t use baby walkers. These can cause injuries by babies running into things, tipping up or pulling things down onto themselves.

---

Safety and the car

(Welcome to your new baby magazine page 36.)

When you travel in a car, it is important to make sure that your baby is safe. Never leave a baby alone in a car, even if the car is in the shade.

Babies under six months:

• must use an approved rear-facing child car restraint with a built-in 5-point harness.
• must stay in the rear-facing position until:
  • they are at least 6 months old and
  • they have outgrown the height marker or weight limit on the restraint.

Keep your baby in a rear-facing child restraint until he reaches the maximum size limit (weight/height) and can sit without help.

Infants at least six months to four years:

• can use a rear or forward-facing child car restraint with a built-in 5-point harness. 
• babies who have outgrown the rear-facing child car restraint must use a forward facing restraint with a built-in 5-point harness until:
  • they are at least 4 years old and
  • they have outgrown the height marker on the restraint.

When you are choosing a restraint check:

• it has Standards Australia sticker AS/NZS 1754
• it is fitted before your baby’s first trip in the car
• you know how to use the restraint properly.

If you are using a second-hand baby restraint, check that:

• it has Standards Australia sticker AS/NZS 1754
• it has no signs of wear and tear:
  • the adjusters and buckles work properly
  • there are no signs of mould
  • the outer shell is not cracked
  • the foam in the headrest is not cracked
• it has not been in a car crash.

If you can’t tick all of these, the restraint may not protect your baby in a crash.

Other things to consider:

• Never place a rear-facing baby restraint in the front seat, especially if there is a front passenger airbag. Airbags can cause serious injury or death to a baby.
• Make sure there are no loose objects in the car that can fall onto your baby. If you have a station wagon, a cargo barrier will prevent things like the stroller moving forward.
• Do not smoke in the car.
• Protect your baby from the sun by shading the windows with a screen that blocks the sun, but still allows you to see out of the car.

Kidsafe WA can help with advice, fitting, checking and hiring baby and child car restraints.

---

Heat and sun

(Welcome to your new baby magazine page 37.)

Babies can get stressed by heat and need extra care in very hot weather. If you feel uncomfortably hot, your baby will too. 

• Give your baby extra breastfeeds during hot weather if she seems thirsty. She probably doesn’t need water. 
  • If she is formula-fed, give her extra formula or small drinks of cool, boiled tap water if she seems thirsty.
• A ‘tepid’ bath can help keep your baby cool. The water needs to be warm enough to be comfortable. Don’t use cool or cold water.
• Put your baby in the coolest part of the house. But make sure she doesn’t get cold.
  
  • If you have a fan, don’t point it right at her, but use it to keep the air in the room moving. 
  • Try putting a damp towel in front of the fan so that it cools the air. 
  • If you have air-conditioning, make sure the room does not become too cold – between 24 ºC and 26 ºC is probably low enough.
• Avoid travelling in hot weather if possible, 
• or do it early in the day. 
  • Babies can overheat very quickly in cars. 
  • Never leave a baby alone in a car, even if the car is in the shade.
  • Make sure your baby is in the shade in the car – a baby’s skin can burn through car windows.
• Dress your baby lightly – a singlet and nappy. But cover her arms and legs if she is outside.  

If your baby starts to be floppy or unusually irritable, this could be a sign of heat stress. Give her more drinks and take your baby to a doctor or hospital immediately.

Babies in the sun

• A baby’s skin is very thin. It will burn and get damaged from the sun much faster than an adult’s skin.
• Babies under 12 months do not need to be out in the sun. In Australia, they will get all the sunlight they need just by being outside in the shade – unless all of their body is always covered.
• Keep your baby out of direct sunlight, especially between 10am and 3pm. If you need to go out in the sun, remember that a covered pram or stroller can reach dangerously high temperatures, just like a parked car. 
• Try and cover your baby’s body, arms and legs with light clothing and cover her head with a wide-brimmed hat.
• Protect any exposed skin, such as your baby’s hands and face, with a SPF 30+ broad-spectrum sunscreen made for babies or toddlers. Reapply it according to the instructions on the label.
• Don’t forget baby sunglasses to protect her eyes. 

---

Smoking and your new baby

(Welcome to your new baby magazine page 38.)

Cigarette smoke is bad for babies.