Preventing Accidental Injury. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 8, 2011 Contact: Cherie Sage, 785-296-1223, or Daina Hodges, 785-296-0351

KDHE Reminds Parents, Caregivers to Make a Safe Space for Baby

Safe Kids Kansas offers baby safety tips

Topeka -- September is Baby Safety Month, and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Safe Kids Kansas program reminds parents and caregivers to plan ahead to make safe spaces for babies “at home, at play and on the way.”

Safe Kids Kansas provides the following basic safety tips for children ages zero to three:

In the nursery:

• Create a safe sleeping environment. Remove pillows, soft bedding such as blankets or bumper guards and toys out of your baby’s crib. Check for crib and child product recalls at www.cpsc.gov. 
• Infants should always be placed to sleep on their backs (face up).  For more information on safe sleep visit www.safesleepkansas.org .
• Unaccustomed sleep is dangerous. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), infants who are normally placed to sleep on their backs, who are then placed on their stomachs to sleep, are as much as 18 times more likely to die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Talk to everyone who provides care to your infant, and make it a rule they should always be placed on their back to sleep. This important conversation needs to take place before the child is cared for by a relative, babysitter or child care provider.

In the kitchen:

• Don’t cook or carry hot food or beverages while holding your child. 
• Cook with pots and pans on back burners and turn pot handles to the back of the stove, and keep sharp objects out of reach.
• Don’t let children under age three eat small, round or hard foods such as hot dogs, grapes, hard candy, nuts or popcorn.

In the bath:

• Set your hot water heater to 120 degrees to help prevent scalding, and always check the temperature before putting the baby in.
• Never leave a baby alone in the bath. Drowning happens quickly and silently.

In the play room:

• Follow the age and safety information on toy warning labels and check for toy recalls at www.cpsc.gov.
• Keep toys with small parts or other choking hazards away from children under age three.
• Toys, window blinds and other items with strings, straps or cords longer than seven inches can accidentally strangle children.
• Children under age eight should not use toys with electrical plugs or batteries.
• Make sure toys are stored safely. Choose toy chests with hydraulic lids to prevent entrapment, or remove the lid. Make sure toy chests have ventilation holes, to prevent suffocation in case a child becomes trapped inside.

In the home:

• Install smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors on every floor and outside all sleeping areas.
• Install safety gates at top and bottom of stairs. 
• Always strap babies into high chairs, swings, changing tables and strollers.
• Keep cleaning products, medicines and other poisons locked and out of reach. Keep the poison control hotline number (800-222-1222) and emergency numbers by every phone and programmed into cell phones.

In the car:

• All children ages 13 and under should be properly restrained in a back seat on every ride.
• The best car seat is the one that fits your child, fits your vehicle and that you will use correctly every single time.
• Always read and follow the instructions according to the car seat and vehicle manufacturers.

Baby Safety Month is an annual observance led by the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association since 1991. For more information about Baby Safety Month, visit http://www.jpma.org. For more information about Child Passenger Safety, visit www.safekids.org.

Visit us at www.safekidskansas.org and on Facebook.