Babies Love Babies

When you are around town, you will meet other parents with their babies. Notice how much the babies like to look at each other. Babies really do like other babies.

Make a date to meet another parent and baby at the park or at your home. Make it a fun time. See what the babies will do with each other.

It’s great to watch another parent and baby together. You can learn a lot from just watching, and they can learn from you, too.

Car Safety Seat

Always have your baby’s car seat professionally installed in the back seat of your car. Call the local police or a child care resource and referral agency to find out where to take your car to have the car seat installed.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children should always sit in the back seat. Many cars have front air bags that can hurt or even kill children if they are inflated. You may have seen other family members hold their babies in their laps either in the front seat or in the back seat, but this is not safe. We are learning new things about babies all the time. The information in this newsletter might be different from what your parents or neighbors were told when their children were little.

Keep your baby in an approved car safety seat that faces backward in the back seat until she is 1year old and weighs at least 20 pounds. For more information on car seat safety, go to this Web site: http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/carseatsafety.cfm.

Safety Alert for Parents and Caregivers: Childproof Your Home

It’s time to childproof your home. Your baby is getting more mobile now and can get into things that are dangerous.

Look everywhere for small items your baby could choke on and remove them. This may be particularly difficult if you have older children who have toys with tiny parts.

Avoid smothering possibilities by removing pillows and soft bedding from the crib. Remove all plastic bags.

Prevent burns by turning pot handles toward the back of the stove. Turn the temperature of your water heater down to 120 degrees. Lock up matches and lighters. Put knives out of reach.

Put medicines, cosmetics, cleaning agents, and anything poisonous in a locked cabinet. Put safety gates around stairs.

Make sure the paint and furniture in your house is nontoxic. Remove poisonous houseplants. Consult the Consumer Product Safety Commission http://www.cpsc.gov for more information.