Parenting is the only job we get in life without needing experience or a degree. All of us can use some pointers at times. Here are a few safety tips to keep in mind while raising your children.

1. Regular doctor visits.
It is important to have a regular physician for checkups, immunizations and emergencies. Your physician will be able to alert you if there is anything wrong before it becomes evident. Each physician has prescribed schedules of “well child checks”. It is important to make these appointments to help you keep track of your child’s height and weight and developmental milestones. (This will help you know if he is growing at a normal rate or if there could be a problem.)

2. Don’t smoke if you’re pregnant.
You’ve heard that this can harm your baby. You’ve heard that it can result in low birth weight. What you haven’t heard is that low birth weight babies have a higher incidence of health problems and developmental delays.

Don’t smoke around your child. Not only is there a risk of second hand smoke, it causes ear infections which leads to speech delays.

3. Know where your children are at all times and who they are with.
If your child attends a school or day care, make sure the providers have names of other people who have permission to pick the child up. Give your older child a code word to use in the instance that you are unavailable and have to send someone else to pick them up.

4. Keep your child’s records in a safe place.
Social security numbers, immunization records, fingerprints, passports, birth certificates, etc...

5. Stranger danger 
Play “what if” games with your child around the stranger theme. “What if a lady in a car asked you to help her find her puppy?” Provide the child with simple, consistent answers for each situation. For example, the right answer could be “Scream and run away”.

6. Don’t put your child’s names on the outside of their backpacks, coats, or clothing.
This could make them a target for a bad guy by giving him your child’s name.

7. Make sure your older child never tells a caller or person at the door that they are home alone.
If someone comes to the home or calls and asks for a parent when you’re not there, the child’s response should always be “She’s not available right now. Can I have her call you?” Practice this with more “what if” games.

8. Make sure your child know his name, address, phone number.

9. Teach children how to dial 911.

10. Make sure children know the difference between a good secret and a bad secret. 
Bad secrets will usually make the child feel “funny”, and will feel like they are doing something wrong. Good secrets are things like birthday presents, surprise parties.

11. Use your car seat. 
Never mind that it’s the law, your child’s life depends on it. Rainbows offers free car seat inspections to be sure that yours is installed properly and fits your child. It makes a difference!

12. Keep the lines of communication open. 
Ask your child about her day. Encourage her to talk with you in her “big voice”. It is important that they can be heard. Have them tell you about what happened during their day, how they handled it, and how they felt about it.

13. You are your child’s advocate. 
He/she depends completely upon you. You have to be the one to protect and stand up for your child.

14. Make sure food is cut into small pieces. 
Hot dogs, popcorn, raisins, raw carrots and celery can cause a choking hazard. Cut hot dogs length wise before you feed them to your child. This makes the diameter smaller so it can’t get stuck in the throat. Avoid popcorn all together for small children.

15. Dogs aren’t the only ones who think trash is fun.
Make sure your trash is in a safe place where a child can’t get to it. Razors, cotton swabs and used tissue can pose a hazard to a little one as can open cans and glass bottles.

16. Remember - children under the age of three are at the highest risk of a drowning accident since their skills are changing so rapidly, they are often doing the unexpected. Children can drown in a bathtub or shower, a toilet, or even an unattended mop bucket or kiddie pool.

Resources:
On The Safe Side, Cindy Wolf, Whirlwind Publishing Company, 1998
www.childsearch.us/site/saftiip.html - Safety Tips for Parents. Compiled by Sonja Ostrander, CBETS Coordinator.