We love holidays and we are particularly enthusiastic about summer holidays and all the outdoor family fun that comes about with these celebrations. This weekend we are looking forward to many adventures and we hope you are too. A few years ago my husband and I witnessed a tragic accident that took the life of a little one no older than 20 months. Because life is precious and we feel your babies are part of our family we wanted to put together a list for you to share as this holiday approaches.
Fireworks are a No No
Fireworks and toddlers don’t go together. Not even sparklers or hanging out around older siblings with the maturity and motor skills to handle age-appropriate fireworks. Sparklers heat up to 1,800 degrees. That is hot enough to melt gold. The sparks can cause severe retina damage that can lead to blindness. If you must enjoy the fireworks head to a location with a firework display handled by professionals are sit far away where you can contemplate the beauty of the display. Each year a little over 6,000 children are injured by fireworks. Don’t let your little one become an statistic.
Grills, BBQs, Firepits & Babies
Babies are curious and love to explore the great outdoors. If grilling is not part of the regular household routine where you already have measures in place to keep little fingers away don’t let the inaugural grilling turn into a family tragedy. Not only should you keep baby away from the grill you also need to be aware of poisoning with lighter fluid. If you are in charge of grilling let someone else be in charge of baby. As a general rule of thumb all grills must have a 3 feet kid-free buffer zone even when the grill is not lighted. Not long ago a little toddler in our community topped the grill by grabbing to it while it was not in use and suffered serious injuries when the grill partially fell on him. As a final note, if you are unsure about your baby’s allergy profile or sensitivity to smoke please keep a careful eye. A family get-together is no time to discover your little one suffers from smoke-induced asthma.
Protect Their Skin & Eyes
Sunburns at an early age have long term consequences as it relates to skin cancer. By using solar protection for the skin and eyes not only are you avoiding immediate problems you are also providing your baby with a long term benefit. Make sure you are using a water and sweat resistant sunscreen that is baby-friendly and none-irritant. In addition to sunscreen please try to keep babies in the shade heat stroke in babies can be deadly.
Water Safety for Babies & Toddlers
About one of five people who die from drowning are children. Even if your little one has taken water safety and early childhood floating classes he is still at risk. Do everything in your power to keep baby away from the water even if you feel the water is shallow. Little ones should not play in baby pools without supervision. For larger pools, lakes and the beach make sure baby always has an approved floating device on. Slip & slides and splash pads are not for little ones under three. Even if their siblings are allowed to use them and offer to supervise or assist with baby think about it twice. The risk of head injury is very high. If you are having a beach vacation don’t allow babies and toddlers to play where the tide can still reach. You never know when the tide patterns will change presenting tremendous risk to your little one.
Events, Crowds & Outdoor Risks
Babies are prone to wonder. If you are joining an event with great traffic consider their safety. If you don’t have your baby in a body carrier and you are not opposed to “baby in a leash” by all means do it. Nothing more anxiety-inducing than a misplaced pre-verbal child. Use a band with their basic contact information. Dress baby in a noticeable color. If you are going camping always be baby-aware. There are endless stories of babies wondering in the woods and suffering severe dehydration and in some situation even death. Your little one is precious do whatever it takes to always know there whereabouts.
