1. When returning to your car/minivan from the grocery store/etc with your child in a stroller or cart ALWAYS unload your child first. Even if you are just putting your kids in the car (with the car off), then at least they are out of harms way from other drivers who are not paying a lick of attention to what they are backing up into. I have seen on at least 3 occasions babies almost getting backed over (one where I had to scream at the driver to stop b/c the mom was in the car organizing things), or the grocery cart started to roll away with the baby in it (into a backing up car). I've been a super hero of the parking lot too many unnerving times.
2. When it's hot outside and you're loading things from your shopping cart into the car and go to return your shopping cart, leave a door/gate/window open. This one may be a little over the top, but if you were to become incapacitated as you're returning your shopping cart to the corral (again, drivers not watching where they are backing up) no one would know that your baby was stuck inside the car as it was getting hotter and hotter. I usually leave my tail gate open while I'm doing this - you know, because I'm paranoid.
3. Don't open (or fully open) bottom opening windows on 2nd and 3rd floors where there is just a screen and you have little kids that are walking/crawling/pulling up. This one I hadn't really thought about until we moved to our townhouse that had a window that was perfect for breezes and my in-laws mentioned this to me. There are several items on the market you can use to guard against little ones toppling through the screen. Naturally you don't want to make a fire hazard for rescue, so here is one that addresses the issue nicely (I haven't tried this one yet). Child Safety Window Guard
4. When you are crossing the street with your stroller, walk and push the stroller from the side where the traffic would still be coming from (making right hand turns) instead of pushing from behind. We call this "buffering" in our house, so if my husband is with me he gets on one side and I get on the other - the idea is that the car coming is more likely to see a walking adult versus a stroller which is low to the ground. Pushing the stroller into the intersection first always stresses me out.
5. Rear-face your toddler until they max out the weight or height requirement on your car seat, until they are 4 years old. This is a newly introduced safety concern. Until I was researching car seats for our new baby on the way I didn't realize that the NHTSA recommends rear facing toddlers until they turn 4, see the info here. One study found that children that were rear facing were 5.53 TIMES safer rear facing than front facing if they are within the car seats rear facing guidelines, see article here. My first worry when considering turning Sidonie around was - will she freak out? How will her legs fit? Luckily my Britax Advocate CS has a RF max weight of 40 lbs (she's about 34 at 3 1/2), so we tried it and she's bizzarely fine with it. We spun it that it was the cool new way to sit and she bought it. She sits cross legged, frog legged or with her legs up the back of the seat - we take her shoes off and it's much more comfy for her. To see images of older kids and how they sit RFing longer click here.
6. Stop using bumpers in infant cribs. The American Academy of Pediatrics has come out against the use of baby bumpers in infant cribs. "According to the AAP, there is no evidence that crib bumpers protect against injury, but they do carry a potential risk of suffocation, strangulation, or entrapment because infants lack the motor skills or strength to turn their heads should they roll into something that obstructs their breathing."
7. Remove blinds from baby/kids bedrooms. There are multiple strangulation hazards with blinds, from the pull cord to the chance your child could get their head between the blinds and strangle themselves. If you do decide to keep the blinds, it's particularly important to not put your child's bed/crib near a window where there are blinds.
8. Put a carbon monoxide detector in each bedroom, or outside of each sleeping area and one on every level of your house including the basement. The National Fire Protection Association suggests these placements, and to interconnect them throughout your house if possible.
9. Don't put a bumbo seat on an elevated surface (desk, counter top, chair, etc.). Little ones are too tipsy and doing this spells head trauma.
10. Have a safety game plan for your family in case of an emergency. Figure out which parent gets which kids and where to meet outside, or inside in the event of a tornado, fire, or carbon monoxide emergency.
Phew.. now I feel better barfing all my safety concerns onto a blog! Hopefully this will help you detect some things you hadn't quite worried about yet - you're welcome! lol.
