Safety Practices and Policies for Children

Section 1: Safety Practices and Policies

Infants/toddlers require constant supervision to ensure that they are safe in different environments.  “During the first few months of life, infants are not mobile and do not encounter many risks;” it’s when they become mobile that risks increase (Robertson, 2012, p.52). Toddlers are in the exploratory stage where they are at risk constantly for injury.  There are several potentially hazardous that one needs to consider with infants/toddlers.  A few hazardous for an infant are rolling over and falling, outlets, choking and stairs. A few hazards for toddlers are sharp corners, stairs, windows, chemicals and hot objects. I will summarize what the safety policies are for each potential hazard, and what measures need to be taken. For each hazard I will give parents tips to ensure safety in their homes.

For infants, rolling over can lead to falling on changing tables, couches, chairs, beds and any high objects.  The recommended safety procedures in these situations are to use safety straps for changing tables or buy a changing table that has railings around it. Infants should never be left alone on couches, chairs or other high objects. When placing an infant on a bed make sure that the infant is boxed in with safe objects to prevent him/her from falling.  When an infant starts to become mobile, like crawling, stairs become a hazard. To protect the infant safety gates are recommended to keep the infant from falling down the stairs. Placing safety gates at top of the stairs and at the bottom is recommended. Outlets are to be covered with safety plugs, as crawling infants like to explore and touch things. Infant’s fingers are small enough to fit in the outlets, or an infant can put something in them.  One thing infants are famous for is putting things in their mouths. Infants put things in their mouths to learn what the object is, thus, all small objects need to be put away. Some of the same safety precautions can be used for toddlers.

Since toddlers “have increased physical abilities and mobility” this means they like to “test their environment” (Robertson, 2012, p.96).  Toddlers are not completely stable when walking, so all sharp corners on furniture and counters need to have protective padding. Exploring stairs is another way toddlers/infants test their environment, thus, safety gates need to be at the top and bottom of stairs. Also, keep doors to cellars and attics locked at all times to prevent a toddler from falling. Windows can be a hazard, because children have fallen out of them. The recommended safety precaution is to use window guards to prevent children from leaning on or out the window. Toddlers like to open cabinets and drawers to explore the contents. Safety precautions for chemicals are to have safety latches on all cabinets and drawers to keep toddlers from swallowing or getting to the chemicals or medicine. Lastly, toddlers feel that they need to touch things to learn what they are. When it comes to fires and stoves teach them what is hot at an early age. It is a good idea to use safety gates around the fire place as a safety precaution.

Parents of infants/toddlers need to remember that supervision at all times is the most important key to keeping their children safe. All safety precautions recommended above will help parents with the supervision. Remember your children are learning about their new environment, and it is their nature to be inquisitive about things.  

In conclusion, constant supervision is the key to keeping an infant /toddler safe in all types of environments. Some hazards that one needs to consider when infants/toddlers are around are outlets, stairs, falling from objects, sharp corners, chemicals, windows and hot objects. The use of safety equipment and talking with your toddler helps to keep them safe.  Parents need to be in tune and understand that their infant/toddler is just exploring their new world, and in using safe equipment is giving the infant/toddler boundaries in which to explore their environment.

Reference

Robertson, C. (2013). Safety, nutrition, and health in early education (5th ed.). Belmont,

CA:Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.