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Ask the Safety Guy: I have a newborn; where and when should I begin my babyproofing?

Dana | Jul 23, 2010 | 0 | Posted in Baby Talk

It is not too early to start making your home safer for both you and your baby. You are right to recognize that you have several months before your baby becomes mobile enough to get into a lot of trouble, but here are several issues you may want to address right away.

The Basics: Be sure you have smoke detectors with fresh batteries in each bedroom, in the adjacent hallway and on each level of your home. Consider obtaining a Carbon Monoxide (CO) monitor as babies, due to their high metabolism, are more susceptible to CO poisoning. And do not overlook the importance of having a fire extinguisher mounted to the wall on each level of your home and an escape ladder for the second story. Consider keeping an extra infant carrier with the escape ladder to ease your exit with baby in tow.

Do It Now: Evaluate your furniture and securely brace to the wall anything that may topple in an earthquake. Do not overlook dressers and shelves that your toddler may attempt to climb a year or so from now. Check your water heater temperature setting to ensure it is as low as possible and not greater than 120 degrees. Finally, make sure your throw rugs have fresh grips beneath them. Otherwise, a grandparent or babysitter may slip and fall while carrying your baby. This is also a good time to prepare or purchase your disaster kits that you can supplement with baby supplies and food.

Sooner Rather Than Later: Technically, you probably do not have to address the safety hazards hidden in your cabinets until your baby is mobile. However, if you latch your “dangerous” cabinets prior to your child exploring them, you can use a lower cost and more adult-friendly latch. Latches installed after a child has explored the cabinets need to be much more sophisticated in order to be effective. Door stops with removable caps (choke hazard) are one of the first things an infant will discover and thus they should be removed or replaced with one piece units. Electrical outlets are the next potentially hazardous fascination (using the sliding plate covers rather than the old-fashioned push-in plugs).

Think About Your Guests: Many of us experience an influx of guests and visitors upon becoming parents. Many of these guests may also have young children, so you may want to accelerate the installation of some safety features (i.e. gates, pool fencing, etc.) to facilitate safe and stress free visits. And do not forget about Grandma and Grandpa. Adding railings on the stairs or grab bars in the guest bathroom with ensure a safe stay for them as well.

In summary, my advice to you is to get started right away with the above referenced tasks as soon as possible. But while you are at it, enjoy and savor this time as much as possible as the days of laying your baby on a blanket (and her actually staying there) are so special and too short-lived. Then at the first signs of mobility, jump into high gear to create a safe environment for your little to explore, grow and learn.

Submit your questions to pros@homesafety.net. Martin Simenc, The Safety Guy, is the President of Home Safety Services, Inc., the Bay Area’s largest and highest rated baby proofing company.
They can be reached at 1-888-388-3811 or www.homesafety.net

The Safety Guy is a registered trademark of Home Safety Services, Inc.

newborn, safety, childproofing (all tags)

Pampers diaper rash?

theuriettwins | May 06, 2010 | 0 | Posted in Baby Talk

Dr. Kim Mulvihill is doing a story on this issue for Channel 5 today (May 6). Apparently, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating and is collecting information from parents. If anyone whose child has this issue can talk to Dr. Kim for her tv report today, please call 415-760-1200 or email producer Sandy Lee at smlee@kpix.cbs.com. Thanks in advancel!!

pampers, diaper rash (all tags)

Ask The Safety Guy: Should I Install a Fence or a Cover to make my pool safe for my kids?

Dana | May 04, 2010 | 0 | Posted in Baby Talk

Ask The Safety Guy

The short answer to your question is that if it comes down to one or the other, a properly designed and installed fence is generally a better safety mechanism than a cover.

Fences are superior when they are equipped with a self-closing gate which allows convenient adult access but prevents a child from doing so. The gate should slam shut behind you each and every time you leave the pool area. This is a great safety feature as it is easy to leave a pool unprotected when running to answer the door or phone or just stepping away for a “few minutes.”

Mechanical covers do act as a barrier, but they are not as readily opened and closed as a gate. Hence, people tend to leave the cover all the way open or all the way closed and may not be likely to close it if they are stepping away for a short time. Some parents get a sense of safety when the see that their toddler can crawl on top of a closed cover. Unfortunately, it is a false sense as doing so may teach the child that they can crawl on water. Also, covers tend to pond water on top of them in the winter time or from sprinklers which can also be a hazard.

To further my case, the Worldwide Safe Kids Coalition just issued new pool safety guidelines that only recommended fences without mentioning covers at all. This being said, having a cover as well as a fence is terrific; and many families elect to have both.

As usual, there is more to be said on this topic. The medical and safety community have come together on this topic and agreed that the best way to prevent children from drowning is adult supervision and barriers, barriers and more barriers.

Besides fences and covers, barriers include secondary latching on doors and windows leading from the home to the yard. All windows should be latched to not open more than four inches so as to prevent a child from pushing through a screen to gain access to the yard and pool.

I am not an advocate for pool alarms and monitoring devices as they are reactive and not all that reliable. I do however encourage families with pools or other water features to consider adding a burglar alarm with a chime function that sounds a subtle alert any time an exterior door or window is opened.

Finally, remember that swimming lessons are not a substitute. Children do not have the cognitive development to save themselves consistently until at least the age of four. I do not discourage lessons at an earlier age; I only encourage parents to not get a false sense of security from them.

Submit your questions to pros@homesafety.net. Martin Simenc, The Safety Guy, is the President of Home Safety Services, Inc., the Bay Area’s largest and highest rated baby-proofing company. They can be reached at 1-888-388-3811.

baby, child, safety, summer, water safety (all tags)

Older Moms Group meets regularly--Join us!

lisabee | Oct 08, 2009 | 0 | Posted in Baby Talk

Older Moms of Western SF began meeting in May of 2009 and we've had regular gatherings and walks ever since. In parenting, as in so many things, establishing and maintaining a good support network is crucial;

older, mom, 2009 (all tags)

unusual sleep behavior?

Yali Brennan | Sep 21, 2009 | 0 | Posted in Baby Talk

Dear all, I am a new mom with a 3-week old baby boy.Ever since my son was born, I notice that when he sleeps at night, he makes lots noises accompany with arms and legs weaving and kicking, it's as if he is in an action film. I was concerned because I don't know if this is normal and whether or not he is getting the rest he needs. Lately, the action film seems to have turn into Friday the 13th series, he is literally screaming, struggling like he is trying to get himself out of the nightmare. In addition, he choke on himself a few times. Thankfully, his crib is right next to my bed that I was able to quickly pick him up. So throughout the night, I respond to his every sounds in fear that something might happen, in addition to average 2-3 hour breastfeeding. By the time morning comes, I am completely exhausted. I want to know if anyone experiences baby talking/screaming/phyhsical active like my son during the night. Is this normal or indicate medical concern? Will it go away? Thank you.

(all tags)

New in Town

marilynbrenner | Sep 01, 2009 | 0 | Posted in Baby Talk

Hi--My French daughter-in-law just arrived in the City with their 5 month old daughter. While she and my son are looking for housing they are living in the Civic Center area--could I help her connect with your group? Do you ever actually get together? Do you have playgrounds to recommend or places to go where she would feel comfortable strolling with the baby? Thanks.

(all tags)

Ask The Safety Guy: As a renter, how much do I babyproof?

Dana | Aug 16, 2009 | 0 | Posted in Baby Talk

Heather from San Francisco asks:

As a renter, how much can/should I babyproof?

I am frequently asked this important question, and my answer varies depending upon the age of your baby and the estimated length of your stay. Notice I did not say that it depends upon your landlord or the type of home you are renting. From the perspective of creating a safe environment for your child, age and length of stay should be the driving forces.

The age of your baby is a critical factor as the hazards evolve as a child grows. Parents of a newborn who will be moving out in seven or eight months, probably do not have to do much baby proofing. However, parents of a one year-old that will be staying eight or nine months should probably do a lot. The reason being that many of the greatest dangers (hazards combined with a toddler's increased mobility) present themselves during this period. A severe injury is the same whether it occurs while renting or owning, so it behooves us as parents to do what we can to prevent one from occurring.

The length of stay may also impact the level of baby proofing undertaken. For example, latching cabinets is an essential safety precaution for any toddler, but a simpler latch (i.e. Gerber) may be used if the family will move prior to the child reaching say eighteen months of age.

Parents are occasionally hesitant to use hardware mounted gates when in a rental situation. I strongly encourage them to rethink their reluctance for a couple of reasons. Firstly, if done properly, installing a gate creates screw holes no larger than those required to hang a picture and are readily repairable. Additionally, due to recent product developments, screw holes in finished wood surfaces are rarely necessary (see last month's column). Secondly, a pressure mounted gate is simply inappropriate for top of stair applications (even by the manufacturer's instructions), so using a hardware mounted gate is absolutely necessary for any multi-level rentals.

Finally, the spirit of the California Fair Housing Act would support a tenant's right to make reasonable accommodations to enhance the safety of her family. Thus, although landlords may not be thrilled to have you do some baby proofing, legally they cannot discriminate against you for having a baby nor should they dissuade you from creating a safe home environment for your family.

Submit your questions to pros@homesafety.net. Martin Simenc, The Safety Guy, is the President of Home Safety Services, Inc., the Bay Area’s largest and highest rated baby proofing company. They can be reached at 1-888-388-3811. Previous columns can be viewed at www.homesafety.net.

child safety, childproofing, injury prevention (all tags)