Published: Wednesday 09 November 2016

So baby is mobile, possibly crawling and maybe even ‘cruising’ around using furniture to propel themselves?! Not only are they on the move, but they’re interested in everything, and will try to taste as much as possible!

And what does this mean for safety around the home? Hopefully you’ve put in places some of the measures we suggested in our earlier blog pieces such as these tips on hot drinks, blinds, nappy sacks, bath time, falls, poisons and more.

Here we’ll look at the additional perils related to your quickly developing baby!

• Do a sweep around the home to remove any small items you have lying around. This could be small toys, batteries, pen lids, coins, beads, earrings, etc. Also be aware that food that you might have on the table, or in a bowl, can pose a danger like grapes or peanuts.
• If you’ve not yet thought about safety gates on the stairs, now’s the time. We have some specific advice on this here.
• Do try to adhere to the age guidance on toys. This is usually because there are small parts or batteries that can pose a choking hazard.
• It’s still a good idea to be cutting up any small, round fruits such as grapes or cherry tomatoes as they can pose a choking hazard. See our tips on how to prevent choking here.
• It’s even more important now to think about keeping cleaning products locked away or out of reach. It goes without saying that medication (and not just any stored in a first aid box) should be put out of harm’s way too.
• Fires or heaters should have fireguards (make sure it complies with BS 8423-2002) and make sure you fit it securely to the wall.
• Look into getting door jammers or hinge protectors which will stop small fingers getting caught in doors.

We’ll be looking at some of these topics in more detail over the coming weeks. Do sign up to our newsletter to get monthly updates, or come over to our Facebook page and give us a ‘like’!

Want more advice on how to prevent accidents at home and how to deal with them should they happen? If you’re a parent, grandparent or similar, we’ve our First Aid for Parents course. Those who are childcare professionals can either learn from scratch or get a useful refresher on our Paediatric First Aid course.

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