NEW RESEARCH REVEALS PARENTS ARE NOT DOING ALL THEY CAN TO PREPARE A SAFE HOME FOR BABY

Home Safety Council ® Launches "Start Safe" Baby Safety Awareness Campaign Encouraging Parents to Take Simple Steps to Baby-Proof Their Homes

New research by the national, nonprofit Home Safety Council shows that nearly all parents (99 percent) believe it's important to create a safe home for their baby. But, while nearly nine out of ten parents bought items to fill their baby's toy chest and dresser drawers, most did not put safety on their shopping list.

The Home Safety Council understands that preparing for a new baby can be overwhelming and has launched the "Start Safe" baby safety campaign to educate parents on the simple and inexpensive steps needed to protect their baby from a serious home injury.

"Keeping their children safe is the #1 job of parents, and it starts even before the baby is born," said Meri-K Appy, president of the Home Safety Council. "Making a safe home for your little one doesn't take very much time or cost too much. Simple things like taking bumpers and blankets out of the crib and creating a family fire escape plan are the first steps to a long and happy life for your baby."

Infants depend on the adults around them to keep them safe from top home injury hazards including, choking/suffocation, fires and burns, drownings, falls and poisonings. To help new parents understand the most common dangers facing their baby and what they can do to protect against them, the Home Safety Council offers clear and simple tips.

New and expecting parents can test their safety knowledge online by taking the Home Safety Council's "New Parent Know-How: Baby Safety Quiz." After completing the quiz, parents can visit HomeSafetyCouncil.org/babysafety to learn what they can do to create a safe haven for their growing family.

Baby Safety Tips

The Home Safety Council offers the following safety tips to help keep babies safe in the nursery and throughout the home.

Safe Sleep Tips:

One of the most important things parents can do for their babies in the first year of life is to keep them safe while they sleep. Yet, the new research found that an alarming number of new parents put their babies to sleep in cribs with potential suffocation hazards, including: blankets (68 percent), bumpers (47 percent) and stuffed animals (34 percent). Follow the tips below to create a safe place for your baby to sleep:

• Put babies to sleep on their backs. Keep pillows, blankets and toys out of cribs. Do not hang anything with strings or ribbons over cribs. Mobiles should be removed once the baby starts to sit up.
• Keep baby monitors and other cords a safe distance from the crib.
• Put a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm near the bedrooms. A CO alarm will tell you if the gas level is too high.
• Make sure to have working smoke alarms inside or near every bedroom. Test each smoke alarm every month. Put new batteries in your smoke alarms at least one time each year.
• If your smoke alarms are more than 10 years old, replace them with new smoke alarms.
• Practice fire drills to make sure everyone can wake up to the sound of the smoke alarm.
• Use a baby carrier that leaves your hands free in case you have to crawl under smoke or go down a safety ladder to get outside.
• In a fire, go to your meeting place outside. Call the fire department from there. Do not go back inside for any reason.

Nursery Safety Tips:

The nursery should be a safe and nurturing environment for baby. Follow the safety advice below to protect your baby from injuries in the nursery:

• Children can choke on small things. If something is small enough to fit in a toilet paper tube, it is not safe for little children. Look in every room of your home. Pick up small items like buttons, coins, jewelry and small toys.
• Never leave the baby alone on the changing table, even for a second. Always use safety straps on high chairs, changing tables and strollers.
• All pictures should be secured out of reach. Don't hang pictures or other heavy decorations directly over a crib.
• Keep cribs, beds, chairs and other furniture away from windows.
• Install a baby gate at the nursery door.
• Replace all door stops that have removable caps that can pose a choking hazard.

Safe Bathing Tips:

Many new parents don't realize babies can drown in as little as one inch of water. In fact, one in five (20 percent) new parents surveyed didn't know they should never leave their baby unattended in the bath tub, even if there is no water in it. Follow the Home Safety Council's advice to keep your baby safe while bathing:

• Drowning can happen very fast. Most of the time you will not hear someone drowning. Stay within an arm's reach of young children when they are in or near water.
• Hot water burns like fire. Set your home water heater at 120 degrees F or just below the medium setting to prevent burns. Use a water thermometer to test bath water. The water temperature should be no more than 100 degrees F.
• Babies and young children have delicate skin. Install special tub spouts and shower heads that prevent hot water burns.