How To Choose Safe Toys For Babies and Toddlers

Baby and toddler toys are monitored by the government with safety regulations to ensure that manufacturers place specific labels on toys for recommended ages of use. You should follow these guidelines at least, when choosing safe toys for your children. Yet, you may want to play even a closer amount of attention to the toys they have. Even with the best intentions, there is no way to know how a child may manipulate a toy and potentially hurt themselves or others with it.

Age Appropriate

The age restrictions placed on baby toys and toddler toys are there for a reason. These toys may have small pieces to them that small children may put into their mouths. They may also have working pieces where fingers can get snapped or pinched in the process. Small hands can get stuck in some devices, too. Never give a toy with a choking hazard to toddlers or babies, as their first reaction is to put things in their mouths. Of course, it also makes sense that the younger child will not use many of the older toys for children properly. Not only could this be a risk for their safety, but it will likely frustrate them, too.

Look Closely At All Toys

All types of toys could have the potential of being an injury for the child. For example, most people love to give their children a cute, cuddly stuffed animal to play with. While these dolls, action figures and stuffed items may be a great toy, some do contain potential choking hazards. Can an eye or accessory pop off these items and go in the child’s mouth? If it can happen, assume it will happen.

When choosing toys, you should look at the design of the toy. How can this hurt your child? A sharp edge on the toy can easily cut or scratch them. You may find a wheel that pops off the car. You may find that if the child chews on the toys too long they could rip it and choke on the plastics. For toys that are electronic, be sure they are safe toys for the child’s age. Battery compartments can come off, fingers can get stuck in keys and the toy can be tossed around which may break it.

What’s It Made From?

In today’s eco friendly environment, not only should you look for safe toys that fit within specific requirements for choking and safe play, but also from what the toy is made. A variety of products is on the market that is eco friendly and just as fun to play with. For example, you may wish to look for toys made from recycled products or made from organic cotton instead of man-made products.

It is also important to know what is contained in the toy. For some children, especially those who suffer from allergies or who have sensitive skin, fabric dyes and chemicals contained in the toys can be harmful to them.

What To Look For

When buying toys, keep these things in mind. Safe toys that fit within these requirements are out there and easy to find, too.

• Look for toys without strings, which can wrap around their neck and choke the child. Some toys may be comprised of strings wrapped around objects. Look for these and avoid buying them.
• The size of the toy is important of course for swallowing risks. Be sure that anything that could come off the toy is large enough not to fit into the child’s mouth.
• Avoid peeling surfaces or toys with any type of material in them that could potentially be dangerous if the toy is broken open.

Perhaps the most important protection for children is to give your child supervision when playing with toys. Even safe toys can be picked up and thrown or dropped on a foot. It is important to watch your child interact with the toy. When you notice them doing something that could potentially be dangerous, take the toy away from them. Over time, teaching your child how to play with toys correctly can limit problems, but nothing will protect them better than your watchful eye.

Child Proofing Your Home With Adults In Mind

It is important to begin child proofing your home as your toddler begins exploring, mainly for child safety reasons. A number of great tools and products are on the market to help make your home as safe as can be for your new baby. By the time your baby is six months old, he will likely be exploring the home is his own way. This gives you just a small amount of time to get anything and everything out of the way so that he can’t hurt himself or break anything in the process. Today’s baby proofing products are more adult friendly to use, but there are often better choices available than those you may remember using in the past.

Crawl Like A Baby

The best way to find potential problems within your home is to see your home as your child does. Get down on your hands and knees and crawl around. Make a list of all the potential problems you expose your child. At this level, you will see electrical outlets, cords for televisions or lamps, small fringe or other small items on tables that can be picked up, thrown or put in their mouths. Look for corners on tables or other surfaces that are sharp. Look for stairs or places within the home they can get to as they crawl and later stroll around. This may include cabinets, closets and doors.

With a list in hand like this, you can start finding the solutions to your problems. Luckily there are many great products on the market that can help you to child proof your home without a lot of worry about expense or the difficulty in using your home as you would like to.

Child Proofing So Your Home Is User Friendly For You

Your baby’s safety is the most important consideration but you do not have to compromise the ease of living you currently have. The following are some of the most important tools available to you to both protect your child while still have easy access to your home and things.

• Safety Latches

Perhaps you have drawers and cabinets that baby can get into. It is important to keep these locked so that your child can’t get into them and access poisonous chemicals and medications. Latches are available that can be attached to these cabinets (with minimal if any damage to the cabinet itself) You will want to buy latches that are durable can handle the pulls that your child is likely to do to them. Still, many of these products are very easy to install and easy to use.

• Corner Protection

As you crawled around you may have bumped into the corners of tables and chairs along the way. Either remove those with a point from the area or they should have a corner bumper installed on them. These will soften the edge and allow the child to bump into them with little or no effect. Most are widely available for just a few dollars. Choose bumpers that stay snuggly in place.

• Outlet Covers

One of the most effective ways to prevent baby from being hurt is with outlet covers. A package of 20 or more can cost just a few dollars. These plastic covers are in the sockets throughout your home, keeping fingers out of the outlet. Parents can easily remove them and replace them when the outlet is in use.

• Safety Gates

Older models of safety gates were hard to put in place and often were cumbersome to deal with. Newer models make getting through them must faster and safer. Protecting baby from stairs and areas of the home that are too dangerous is one of the best ways to child proof your home. These gates are available in a range of sizes and styles to accommodate virtually any home’s design.

There are many other things to add to your home to child proof it. You may wish to add locks to doors to rooms where you do not want your toddler to venture. Every home should have carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms installed in them. Be sure to secure all items on tables safely or otherwise remove cords that could cause an item to fall on the child.

There’s a lot to do but by making a few simple changes to your home you will successfully protect your child from all the problems that usually affect children. Since thousands of children end up in the hospital each year due to injuries or poisonings at their home, don’t overlook the safety in child proofing your home. It is an important part of your parenting responsibilities.

A Guide to Toddler Safety in Your Home

Mishaps around the house are the leading cause of death in children in North America. Toddlers in particular are curious and want to explore their surroundings with their new found mobility. But all too often, their curiosity gets them into trouble.

Many of these incidents, however, could have been avoided completely. Some basic precautions are all it takes. If you want to keep your child from harm, follow these toddler safety tips for your peace of mind.

Throughout the Home

* Any items of furniture that can easily tip over, such as a bookcase, must be secured to the wall with brackets.

* Doorknob covers are required for any room that you don’t want your toddler to enter, for safety reasons or otherwise. As well, she won’t be able to escape from the house when you’re not watching.

* If you have blinds on your windows, make sure the cords aren’t looped. If they are, hang them out of reach. Young children have been known to strangle in them.

* Electrical outlets should always have protective covers. This prevents small fingers and other objects from being inserted into them.

In the Kitchen

Be sure to install safety latches on all your kitchen cabinets and drawers. This helps prevent young children from accessing your cleaning products, many of which are toxic. As well, they won’t be able to get hold of sharp objects such as knives or scissors from the drawers.

When you’re cooking, use the back burners of the stove. Any pots should have the handles turned inward so your little one can’t grab them. If the oven is on, block access to it so your little one won’t get burned.

In the Bathroom

You’ll also need safety latches on the cabinets and drawers of your bathroom. Household cleaners and medications must be locked away where your child can’t get at them. Unplug electrical appliances such as your blow dryer or curling iron immediately after use. Store them safely out of a child’s reach.

If you have a toddler, you need a toilet lock to keep the lid down. Young children have a higher center of gravity and can easily fall into a toilet if they lean in to play in it. Remember that a small child can drown in less than an inch of water. So it’s essential to supervise them in the bathroom at all times.

Check your house carefully for any other potential hazards. Deal with them immediately. With these precautions and some common sense, raising toddlers can be easy and fun.

Disarming your Toddlers Biting Problem

Around one and three years of age, a toddler will frequently begin to bite others. The most frequent cause of this behavior is that there are only so many ways a toddler can communicate with those around him. Not all children are biters, however. Some of them shove, hit, pinch or grab. That’s probably just as bad!

Also, toddlers sometimes start biting because their motor skills and ability to communicate are so restricted, that they have to express themselves somehow.

A toddler likely finds it amusing when mommy jumps straight up, or a little friend starts crying. Another reason for biting is that the toddler is teething or because they just think everything should go in their mouth so why not someone’s arm? Sometimes the problem is something as simple as hunger.

What means can you use to help your child learn not to bite? You must make it perfectly clear that biting is wrong and hurtful. Let them know how much pain the other kids feel when your toddler bites them. Make sure you tell your toddler that biting is unacceptable and wrong and that mommy and daddy do not appreciate it.

If you think that your little one is biting out of frustration, help your toddler find another way to communicate that they’re having a hard time. Although it seems a gargantuan effort for your toddler to communicate with words, this is a great time to start teaching them the right words for a situation.

As an example, “When you need to tell mommy that you need some help, you can’t bite.” Or “Let mommy know what you need, but no biting. You’ll hurt her if you bite, and I know you would never want to hurt mommy.” This may bring a cloak of shame of what they are about to do and they may think their actions over again before actually biting.

Parents should not let biting become the center of attention. This will be true for any type of behavior that you want to discourage. Let your toddler know, firmly yet gently, that biting is not permitted, that it’s wrong and that it hurts everyone, grownup or child.

Visit Toddlers Now for more great tips on raising a little one.