• December 2024 Newsletter: Baby and Toddler Holiday Season Safety

babytalk


Holiday Safety: Keeping Babies
& Toddlers Safe

Babies and young children make the holidays extra special. Young children love the magic of the season, and watching their excitement adds more joy to every get-together with friends and family.

With all the flurry and excitement of the season, parents and caregivers need to be extra vigilant to ensure that their little ones stay safe, especially when they are exploring new surroundings.

Early childhood health and safety is at the heart of Childbirth Graphics’ mission to nurture healthy babies and grow healthy families. Check out these holiday safety tips and a few of our infant safety education materials, models, and products that are ideal teaching tools to help parents and caregivers keep their little ones safe this holiday season.




Holiday Travel & Sleep Safety



The holiday season means traveling to visit family and friends. When traveling, infants and young children should be securely fastened in the back seat of a vehicle every time they travel. Ideally, a baby will be in a rear-facing car seat until at least age 2. Our Car Safety for Your Baby Tear Pad is a great infant safety handout for parents and caregivers that discusses rear-facing car seats, forward-facing car seats, and car seat installation.
Whether at home or during overnight stays at the homes of friends and family, infant sleep safety practices must be followed to help ensure the prevention of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Our Reducing the Risk of SIDS Tear Pad covers essential sleep safety tips, such as never sleeping with a baby on a couch or in an armchair, and our Loving Baby Care™: Sleep Safety Tear Pad helps parents create a safe-sleep environment, emphasizing smoke- and vape-free surroundings.



Childproofing & Toy Safety



When staying with friends and family, parents and caregivers should remain vigilant to ensure that conditions are safe for their babies and toddlers. Although a baby’s own home may be childproofed, the homes of friends and family may be less accustomed to taking infant safety measures. Our Mama, Make Me Safe Inside & Outside Pamphlet/Poster is a great reminder to help safeguard against potential hazards.
Nothing matches the fun of watching babies and toddlers with holiday gifts, but toy safety is a must. To prevent choking hazards, use a small-parts tester, or ensure a part can’t fit through a toilet paper tube. Also, make sure children can’t get a hold of button batteries. Our Your Baby’s First Year Booklet offers key tips for infant play safety and other important baby safety issues, such as exploring safety and keeping safe in bathrooms.


Other Important Holiday Safety Tips

  • If you decorate with a live tree, make sure your tree is fresh. Keep the tree watered using only plain water in the stand; tree-preservative mixtures can be dangerous for children and pets if swallowed. Pick up fallen needles right away; swallowing them can cause painful sores and cuts in the mouth and throat. Also, secure your tree in a strong, sturdy stand so children can’t knock it over.

  • Place fragile ornaments and decorations out of children’s reach, or wait until children are older before using them. Small, shiny ornaments and tinsel are irresistible to young children and can be choking hazards. Anything that is small enough to fit into the mouth of an infant or toddler poses a choking risk.

  • Keep poisonous and potentially harmful holiday plants (such as holly, mistletoe, poinsettias, and Jerusalem cherry plants) out of reach of children and pets.

  • After opening gifts, remove all bows, ribbons, wrapping paper, bags, tape, and other gift materials, which can pose a risk for suffocation and choking for young children.


Make Safety a Year-Round Priority


Childbirth Graphics has engaging and easy-to-understand safety education materials to help parents and caregivers keep infants and young children safe during the holidays and all year round. Find more resources in our website’s section dedicated to safety education materials and models.

The information contained in this newsletter article is not intended to replace the advice of a healthcare professional.

©2024 Childbirth Graphics®