As a parent, you worry all the time about your kids. When they are infants, you worry a lot, but most of your home is safe from accidents, because infants aren’t all that mobile. However, once your child is a toddler, that’s no longer the case. Toddlers are everywhere all the time, so you need to be prepared now for that time your toddler isn’t content to stay in their playpen. Here are some tips for keeping your toddler safe in the car and at home.
How to Keep Your Toddler Safe in the Car
One of the easiest ways to keep your toddler safe in the car is to check out the car seat. Your toddler’s car seat is different from an infant’s car seat. The toddler seat is upright and sturdy, to protect the toddler in case of a car accident. Be sure that your toddler is in the right car seat for their age. To switch car seats from an infant to a toddler, your toddler needs to weigh around 30 pounds. Their heads also need to be an inch or less from the top of the infant seat when they are securely buckled in.
To keep your toddler safer in their car seat, you can also find car seat head support for toddlers. This is important, especially if you have a toddler who loves to nap. At times, napping toddlers’ heads may slow the flow of oxygen to their brain, which no parent wants. Having a head strap or head support for toddlers means that their heads will be supported even while they are napping. You also want to make sure that their chest straps are secure. Some toddlers might require chest strap padding to ensure a good, comfortable fit.
Does your family car have child safety locks? These locks protect your toddler from opening the car door while the car is moving. Since toddlers love to play with anything they can reach, this safety item is important. Nearly all cars currently on the road have child safety locks on the rear doors, but you can check online to make sure yours does.
Keeping Your Toddler Safe In The Home
Because toddlers are more mobile, they are far more likely to injure themselves at home. There are ways that you can prevent a lot of toddler accidents. First, it is really important that an adult keeps an eye on toddlers at all times. Any parent of a toddler can tell you stories about a toddler racing towards a street, or shinnying up a bookcase in seconds. As children get older, they need less monitoring, but toddlers have to have constant supervision.
Second, you need to make sure that heavy furniture, such as dressers and bookcases are bolted to the wall. Toddlers are naturally inquisitive, and they will reach for things on shelves to get to them. Hundreds of toddlers are injured each year because they pull a dresser, bookcase, or other heavy piece of furniture on top of them. Bolting a piece of furniture to the wall prevents it from tipping over.
You’ll also need to secure doorways. Doorways can be dangerous for a toddler. Not only can they crush their fingers in doorways, but doors can lead to dangerous places, such as streets and stairwells. You’ll want to put a lock high up on the door, out of the toddler’s reach, to make sure the doors are secure. If you have stairwells that lead to different floors of your home, you need to make sure you have safety gates on the stairwells to prevent falls.
Toddlers love to investigate, so be sure and leave a cabinet or drawers in the kitchen or bathroom open for exploration. For example, most toddlers love to make noise, so leaving a cabinet full of pots and pans with lids will ensure hours of curious play. If you have drawers or cabinets with dangerous or poisonous objects in them, you need to secure them with cabinet locks. That way, your toddler can play safely while you’re working in the kitchen or preparing their bath in the bathroom.
Having a toddler is fun and exciting, and you’ll want to enjoy this age. By keeping your toddler safe in the car and in the home, you’re ensuring tons of happy memories of your child at this age. If you have protected your home and your car, you’ll be able to focus on toddler fun rather than worrying about what trouble your child is going to get into.
