How to Keep Your Baby or Toddler Safe

Keeping your baby safe isn't difficult, but it does require vigilance. The following tips from the Consumer Product Safety Commission review the basics.

Motor vehicle

• Strap your baby into a child safety seat in the car's back seat. The seat should face backward until the baby weighs 20 pounds. Be sure it's properly secured with the vehicle's seat belt.

• Never put a child safety seat in the front seat of a car that has airbags.

• 2- and 3-year-olds should sit in a child safety seat in the back seat.

Strollers

• Be sure the stroller's locking mechanism is engaged before putting the baby in the stroller.

• Always use safety straps or seat belts.

Bedroom

• Put your baby to sleep on his or her back in a crib with a flat, firm mattress with no soft bedding underneath. Doing so reduces the risk for sudden infant death syndrome.

• Make sure the baby's crib is sturdy and has no loose or missing hardware. This will help keep the baby from suffocating or strangling by becoming trapped between broken crib parts. Avoid older or antique cribs that might have too wide of spacing between the slats.

• Don't place the crib or changing table near window blinds or curtain cords. This will keep the baby from getting strangled on a cord's loop.

• Keep the baby away from windows. Install window guards if the baby's room is above the first floor.

• Be sure the crib and changing table aren't painted with lead paint. Use a lead-paint tester kit (available at hardware stores) on furniture if you're not sure.

Bathroom

• Keep medicines, vitamins and soap where the baby can't reach them. Buy medicines with child safety caps.

• Never leave your baby alone in a bathtub.

• Always check the bath water temperature with your hand before putting your baby into the tub. This will help prevent burns and scalds.

Kitchen

• Don't leave your baby alone in a highchair. Always use the safety straps.

• Use your stove's back burners and keep pot handles turned to the back of the stove.

• Don't use tablecloths that children can reach. They might pull down hot foods or liquids on themselves.

• Keep cleaning products, knives, matches and plastic bags out of reach. If you store them under the sink, put a child safety latch on the cabinet.

Living areas

• Keep sharp objects off the floor and out of your baby's reach.

• Put safety plugs in wall sockets.

• Don't let electric cords dangle where the baby can reach them.

• Use safety gates to block off stairs, so the baby can't crawl on them.

• Don't let the baby play with small toys that could be swallowed.

• Don't leave the baby alone.

• Lock doors that go outside, to stairs or to garages.

• If you have a fireplace or plugged-in space heater, make sure the baby can't get to either one.