Despite the long-held popularity of the lullaby Rock-a-Bye baby, the song’s lyrics are actually kind of disturbing. What parent wants their baby’s cradle to come crashing down?!

Falls can range in severity from minor to fatal. And that is just one of a number of unintentional injuries that can occur in the home.

Fortunately, baby proofing and child proofing supplies have become more commonplace. However, child proofing does not and really cannot account for all injuries.

The experts suggest parents-to-be baby proof their home before their bundle of joy arrives. Each year 2.5 million children are injured in the home - and many of these injuries are preventable.

A few tips:

• Children should never be left alone in the kitchen
• Turn off burners when not being used
• Never leave a hot oven door open
• Put the microwave out of toddlers reach
• All pools should be fenced in with a self-locking gate
• Buckets should always be emptied after use.
• Never leave a child in the bathtub alone
• Always check the temperature of tap water
• Keep plastic wrap and bags away from children
• Keep balloons away - they can be inhaled and cover the windpipe
• Never let your children run or play while eating

These tips are simple and yet may seem overwhelming. If taken one at a time, each is manageable. Use common sense.

And, please, sing a different lullaby…

Approximately one infant (12 months & under) suffers an unintentional injury every 1.5 minutes.

Causes of injury:

• FALLS - leading cause of injury; more likely to be male than female (~55% vs. ~ 45%)
• HEAD or NECK area: puncture injuries, bruises, foreign body injuries and abrasions most frequent
• FRACTURES: more than 1/3 of fractures were to the arm or hand
• The BED is the most common product as being involved in the injury in every age except:
• 2 months - the car seat became the most frequently noted product
• 12 months - the stairs because the top “product” involved in the injury

Social environment, physical environment and products change as infants grow through their first year of life.

Safety and awareness must continue to adapt as your infant grows. Actually, what’s cool about SafetyMate for the New Parent is it can grow with your family. Not only does it have information for infants, it also has information for children and adults.

Be prepared to know how to deal with these emergencies. We don’t often think of infants getting injured. They seem so passive, soft, sweet, and resilient. These stats make it evident accidents do happen. We all hope it won’t happen to us. Underneath that, we all kind of believe it won’t happen to us.

It could. I think that’s why gifting SafetyMate to a friend can help break through that denial we all have that it won’t happen to us. Once the SafetyMate is in hand, learning about what to do in case of a fall is simple. Just press a button. It becomes less scary and more manageable once you know what to do. Be ready. Learn how to handle first aid issues.

Best wishes for health and well-being in all your families.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission, together with the White House and other governmental agencies, such as the EPA, have designate October to be Children’s Health Month.

Parents are urged during the month of October to do a “safety check” where by an inventory is taken of environmental hazards in their home. Taking a few simple steps can help reduce or eliminate home-based non-intentional injuries and deaths.

Some of the most common home emergencies include burns, head injuries, accidental poisoning, strangulation, drowning, and suffocation.

A few ways to prevent such injuries:

• Keep medicines and hazardous household chemicals locked up and out of sight. Use child-resistant packaging for medicines and hazardous household chemicals, and call 1-800-222-1222 if a poisoning occurs.
• Cut the loops on window-blind cords.
• Turn pot handles on the stove towards the back where toddlers can not reach.
• Stay within arm’s reach of your baby while your child is bathing or near any container of water.
• Babies on adult beds risk suffocation from hidden hazards such as entrapment between the bed and wall; entrapment involving the bed frame, headboard and footboard; or soft bedding such as pillows or thick quilts and comforters. Co-sleeping side beds are becoming more popular as these risks become more well-publicized.

Always call 9-1-1 first in case of medical emergency.

For other potentially life-saving tips, go to www.healthierus.gov or www.childrenshealth.gov. Finally, know what to do if an emergency does happen. Take a class, remain vigilant of environmental hazards as your child continues to grow, and make sure any caregivers are trained in first aid/CPR.

This month marks the 25th anniversary of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers’ Association (JPMA) sponsoring of Baby Safety Month - to bring public focus to an important issue. This year, the JPMA is focusing on car seat and booster seat safety.

When it comes to your baby, every safety issue is critical - from having a child-proofer help make your home a safe haven for you and your baby to having essential safety gear available when needed.

Look around. Plan ahead. Learn first aid and CPR. Leave your child with a competent, trained babysitter. And, of course, check out SafetyMate for the New Parent - which in a most timely, well-placed debut, is launching this month!

Be the ROCK STAR at your next baby shower and give the gift that shows you care!

Check it out at www.safetymate.com/home/index.html

So…you’re going out for your first night on the town after your baby is born. Lots of emotions vibrating through your body. Who do you leave your baby with? Is it a family member, a neighborhood teen, a good friend or an elderly woman who comes with recommendations…?

I guess the big question is - will it be a positive or negative experience for you, as a new parent?

A recent survey commissioned by iVillage.com found one out of four mothers questioned had a negative experience with a babysitter. Surprisingly, ten percent of the mothers reported mistreatment of their child by a babysitter.

Perhaps even more surprising to me is how willing many parents are to leave their child with someone who does not know how to deal with potentially life-threatening situations.

• A full one-third of mothers polled said they do not believe their babysitter knows how to help a child who is choking!
• Almost half of those polled do not believe the babysitter knows how to perform CPR.
• Over ten percent of mothers do not believe their babysitter can handle any medical emergency at all!!

With how fast we all know accidents happen and emergencies occur, these stats are shocking!

Babysitter training classes are available at local organizations such as American Heart Association and American Red Cross. Talking first aid devices such as SafetyMate for the New Parent can help teenagers or any caretakers refresh the information they learn in those classes in between annual trainings. www.safetymate.com/home/index.html

We all know if you don’t “use it,” you “lose it.” Unless you are a paramedic who is performing life-saving actions or CPR every day, there is no real way to become expert at dealing with crises.

Information is power. Learn, re-learn, practice, teach others…

I’m curious…what are the main fears parents have when bringing their newborn home from the hospital?

I’ll throw a few items out and I’d love to hear back from different members what your thoughts are.  Feel free to add others.

1. Will I know what to do?
2. Basic care issues (diapering, feeding, sleep schedules)
3. Medical concerns/First aid issues (what if baby stops breathing? what if baby falls? what if baby has seizures? what if baby is allergic to something and has a reaction?)
4. Will I ever be able to leave my precious baby with someone else? (competent babysitters, spouses, grandparents, etc.)

I am sure there are more. Please comment. I’d love to get your feedback.