Infant Safety
Safe Sleep
Blankets, pillows, bumpers, stuffed animals and sleep surfaces other than cribs remain the leading causes of accidental suffocation among babies four months old and younger.
Helpful Tips for Safe Sleep:
Try room-sharing! Place the bassinet or crib by your bed. This way, your baby can sleep safely in their own safe sleep area and you can sleep better knowing your baby is near. Room sharing decreases your baby’s risk of SIDS by 50%.
Do not sleep with your baby or fall asleep with your baby.
Provide “tummy time” when your baby is awake and supervised.
Breastfeeding is recommended.
Don’t smoke or allow others to smoke around your baby.
Exhausted parents feeding in the middle of the night should set an alarm on their phone as a reminder to put baby back into the crib.
To create a safer sleep environment for your infant, remember the alphabet.
A-Alone
Your baby should always sleep alone. Infants should never be left to sleep on sofas, armchairs or sitting devices.
B-Back
Back to Sleep - for every sleep - until the child reaches (1) year of age. Side sleeping is not safe & is not advised.
C-Crib
Placed in a safety approved crib on a firm mattress. Remove all loose bedding, comforters, quilts, wedges, stuffed animals, bumpers & pillows. Infant sleep clothing is better than blankets or other coverings to keep the infant warm.
When buying and putting together a crib:
Check that the crib is undamaged -
Do not use cribs more than 10 years old or that have been modified. Follow the instructions provided with the crib. The crib should meet the safety standards of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) and the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA).
If the crib was used previously -
If the crib was used by an older sibling or relative make sure to check and see if it has been recalled at www.recalls.gov.
Make sure there are no gaps -
The mattress should fit snugly in the crib and you should not be able to put more than two fingers between the mattress and crib.
Put nothing in the crib -
The only thing in or on the mattress should be a sheet that fits tightly. Stuffed animals may look cute, but they could be a hazard.
Make sure it is a safe crib -
If the sides of the crib can go up and down, DO NOT USE IT. Also check that the corners posts of the crib to not stick up more than 1/16 of an inch from top of side rails.
Car Safety
Did you know that three out of four car seats are either not used or not properly installed? Or that injuries on the road are the leading cause of preventable deaths and injuries to children in the United States. It’s so important to have a good car seat installed correctly when you are ready to take your baby home from the hospital. Here are some tips courtesy of Safe Kids Worldwide.
Right seat
Check the label on your car seat to ensure it's appropriate for your child's age, weight and height. Like milk, your car seat has an expiration date, so be sure to check that too.
Right place
Kids are VIPs. (Just ask them.) VIPs ride in the backseat, so keep children in the backseat until they are big enough to ride without a booster seat.
Right direction
Keep your children in rear-facing car seats for as long as possible, usually until around age 2. When they outgrow their seats, move them to forward-facing car seats. Attach the top tether after you tighten and lock the seat belt or lower anchors.
Inch test
After installation, shake the car seat at the base where the seat belt fits. Can you move it more than an inch side-to-side or front-to-back? It should not move more than an inch.
Pinch test
Ensure the harness is tightly buckled and coming from the correct slots (check car seat manual). Pinch the strap at your child's shoulder with the chest clip at armpit level. If you can’t pinch any excess webbing, you're ready to roll.
Safe install
If you want a trained child safety expert to check on the car seat, you can find a car seat check near you by calling Safe Kids Palm Beach County at 561-841-3500 ext. 4011 or downloading the Children’s Services Council SafeMap App, available for free at the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.
Source: Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County Pregnancy Guide, 2023
