Keeping Your Child Safe

As your baby becomes mobile you will need to be one step ahead in providing protection from hazards in the environment. Children need constant supervision. Your toddler will see your whole house as their playground and beyond, if they get out of that door! Whatever they find they will see as a toy. So it’s up to you to set limits on where they go and ensure that whatever they find is safe.

Expanding Horizons

• everyone in your house, including young children should know how to dial 111 in an emergency
• don’t leave your child alone on any surface such as a changing table, kitchen bench or sofa
• never leave your child unattended,  even for a few seconds, when they are in water. They can drown in a few centimeters of water in a very, very short time
• never carry your child while you are also holding a hot drink
• watch for small objects –  pieces of Lego, bits from older children’s toys -  that may be within reach of your child
• keep plastic bags away from small children
• keep your child out of walkers – they have been responsible for many accidents
• keep your child out of direct sunlight in the middle of the day.

 

Car Safety

• always buckle your child into the car seat, no matter how short the journey
• they must not travel in the car if you can’t put them in an approved restraint
• the safest place for your child to travel is in the back seat
• make sure the seat is firmly held in place by the seat belt
• make sure the harness fitting is secured correctly each time it’s used – this will change if your child is wearing thicker or thinner clothing
• never leave your child unattended in a car. A child left in a car on a warm summer day can rapidly develop heatstroke and could die
• never leave matches or anything dangerous in the glove box
• second hand car seats need checking to ensure they are not damaged
• seek professional advice regarding upgrading the car seat as your child grows.

 

It is against the law in New Zealand for a child under 12 years old to travel in a vehicle without a suitable child restraint.

 

Never place a rear facing seat in the front with an airbag. Serious injury or death  may occur in an accident.