The biggest concern of most parents is their child’s care, health, and safety. As a parent, you try to do everything possible to ensure the best for your children. And, let’s face it, they’re always your children, even when they are driving off to college. While it’s always important to do the best you can do for your child, the definition of “best” changes as your child grow. The purpose of this article is to discuss the different measures parents can take to care for their child’s health and safety from infancy to adulthood.
Infancy Child Care, Health, And Safety
Infants grow very rapidly in the first year of life. Therefore the rules are constantly changing when it comes to proper child care health and safety. What is safe one week may not be safe the next. The first thing you should know about keeping your infant safe is to place them on their back for sleeping. Sleeping on the back has been shown to lower the chance of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) dramatically. Also important for when your baby is sleeping is to ensure nothing is overhead, such as a mobile, which may fall and harm the infant.
Toddler Child Care, Health, And Safety
Once a child starts walking (and climbing) parents need to be sure that nothing within reach can pose a danger to the safety of the toddler. Invest in plenty of the childproofing gadgets you find in the baby department at your local stores. Put locks on your appliances, covers on your outlets and safety latches on your drawers. Protect little ones from sharp corners by purchasing the rubber edges that affix to your tables. Most importantly, buy the safety straps that attach your large pieces of furniture to the walls. Too many toddlers have been badly injured or worse from climbing no something that fell over on top of them.
Early Childhood Care, Health, And Safety
No longer your little baby, your child is ready to go to school and generally go out into the world on their own. For the first time you won’t always know exactly where your child is or what they are doing. Make certain your child knows to always wear a helmet when bicycling or skating and to always wear a seatbelt in the car. Rule of the roads, such as look both ways and cross at the crosswalk, should be taught at this age as well as what to do in the case of emergency. Be sure that your child knows areas of the neighborhood that are off limit and how often to check in with you to provide you with peace of mind.
Teenage (I’m not a child!) Care, Health, And Safety
The teenage years have the ability to make parents shudder in fear. No longer is your child the sweet eager-to-please individual who obeys every word you say. Okay, okay so they never were those children but the teenage years can make it SEEM like they once were perfect angels, at least in comparison. At this point you have taught them how to stay safe and in large part you have to trust that you did your job well. Again reinforce the rules of wearing a helmet and seatbelt when necessary. It is a good idea for teens in this day and age to carry a cell phone that can dial emergency numbers if nothing else. Set a curfew and stick to it and make sure your teen has to check in at designated times, such as when they arrive at their friends house.
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