From the category archives:

Toddler Safety

Tips for Toddler-Proofing Your Home

by admin on July 29, 2008

It is never too late to start baby/toddler proofing your home. Often times as your toddler gets older (and moving around) you will find more ways that your home needs safety improvement.

1. Use socket plugs – This is probably one of the best tips ever. These handy little plastic covers plug right into your wall sockets. You never have to worry about little fingers sticking something into an outlet again.

2. Lock cabinet doors – Cleaning supplies and chemicals in their (sometimes) pretty and colorful bottles are intriguing and harmful to a toddler. Cabinet locks come in all shapes and sizes. The most popular locks are plastic ones that slip on and off (with ease to adults) and keep kids out of lower cabinets.

3. Use a baby gate – This one is another favorite among many parents. A baby gate is a simple and easy way to keep your baby and toddler in one area of your home. It is usually a simple design, made of wood that attaches and locks itself to a door facing. As your little one gets older they will find a way to get over these gates, so supervision is always necessary. Baby safety gates are also useful on the entrances to stairs.

4. Fasten all furniture – An often overlooked and fatal danger to a toddler is large furniture such as dressers, bookcases, entertainment centers, and nightstands. Toddlers climb on and into these furniture pieces which can tip over and crush them. Use furniture fasteners to secure these pieces to your walls.

5. Door Knob Covers – Keep your little ones from getting out of the house or in rooms that are off limits by using door knob covers. Always make sure your front/back doors are locked at all times for many safety reasons.

6. Wind up blind cords – Hanging blind cords are another forgotten danger to toddlers who can get wrapped in them and potentially suffocate. Winding up the cords keeps them out of reach decreasing the chances your child will play with them.

7. Use non-toxic cleaning products – Using and keeping non-toxic cleaning products in your home reduces the risk of injury if your toddler they were to ingest them. It is also better for the environment and your health as well.

As always the best safety tool is proper supervision!

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Britax Regent Car Seat Review

by admin on July 20, 2008

About a year and a half ago I made a post about the Importance of a 5 point Safety Harness Car Seat. It contained a moving video about a little boy who lost his life in an auto accident which may have been saved if he had been in a 5 point safety seat. Unfortunately, I did not have the funds at the time and it took me a year later to be able to get the seat. I am happy to say I am now the proud owner of a Britax Regent and am happy to finally review it.

From that moment on I KNEW I wanted to get the Britax Regent for my toddler daughter. To be honest, I was not prepared for the physical size of this car seat when it arrived on my doorstep. To say the box is huge is an understatement. I thought for sure it was never going to fit in our small SUV. Once I took it out of the box I realized I was really going to get my moneys worth from this car seat as it was solid. The fabric is ultra soft and my daughter was just as excited as I was to be able to sit in it. My husband installed the seat very easily which is a good thing as he is not very handy (sorry!), and it does not look as big in the car as it did out of the box.

Since we only have 1 child (at the moment) we installed the car seat in the middle of the back seat and there are no obstructions in our rear view. My daughter is now 35lbs and she has so much room to grow in this thing. It is also much easier for me to get her in and out of this seat than our old one (Graco). I really love it and am SO happy I committed myself to buying this seat. It looks and feels so much safer than our last one. I also love the fact that the weight limits goes up to 80lbs so we have a good while left in this car seat.
Safety Features Include:

- Comfort foam and EPS protective foam

- Patented HUGS system, tangle-free 5 point harness with belly pad

- Flexible buckle LATCH system and Versa-tether

- Four shoulder slots for closer fit and one pull front harness adjustment

- Forward facing: At least 1 year old and 22 to 80 pounds

Like anything else proper installation is crucial to the overall safety of the car seat. Britax Car seats have an expiration date of 6 years after they are manufactured, this date can be found on the backside of the seat.

BabyUniverse (The Parent Company)

My daughter is riding in Britax Regent – Madison

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BPA Free Bottles & Sippy Cups for Toddlers

by admin on April 22, 2008

With the recent news that products that contains BPA may be harmful to our health, stores across Canada and some parts of the USA are taking these plastic bottles, sippys, and other products off the shelf.

In the meantime, you probably have some of bottles and sippy cups that do contain BPA’s. An easy way to spot them is to look at the bottom of the bottle or cup and look for the recycling symbol. If it has a 7 in it, it contains BPA’s. You will want to keep the bottles that have the numbers 2, 4, or 5. **It seems that not all #7 plastics contain BPA’s, however many do, so refer to the list for safe alternatives.

What is BPA? BPA stands for Bisphenol A and is a harmful chemical found in polycarbonate plastic which has been used to make baby bottles, sippy cups, and other such plastics.

Why is BPA Harmful? BPA mimics the human hormone estrogen, and when humans are exposed to even small quantities it has effects that include cancers, behavior disorders, and fertility issues. BPA Free Baby Products from Amazon

BPA Free Bottle Products
compiled from SafeMama.com

* Adiri Natural Nursers
* Avent “Via” disposable bottles
* BornFree – All bottles and cups BPA free
* EvenFlo Glass bottles
* Playtex Opaque Soft Bottle, Playtex Drop in liners
* Gerber: Gerber Clearview, Fashion Tints (also called “Plastic Pastels”), Gerber GentleFlow
* Medela: All bottles
* Sassy MAM bottles (UltiVent), Baby Food Nurser Kit
* Green to Grow Bottles
* Baby Food Nurser Kit
* ThinkBaby Bottles
* Momo Glass Bottles
* Nuby: Standard Neck Non-Drip Bottle, Wide-Neck Non-Drip Bottle, Wide-Neck Bottle with Handles and Non-Drip Nipple, Standard Neck Bottle with Handles and Non-Drip Nipple, 3-Stage Wide Neck Easy Grip Feeding System with Non-Drip Nipple.
* Nuture Pure Glass bottles
* Babisil Silbottles
* Weego Glass Bottles
* Siliskin Glass Bottles
* Dr Brown’s Glass Bottles (all vent system pieces BPA Free), Dr. Browns Polypropylene bottles
BPA Free Sippy Cups

* Avent Magic Cups
* Playtex: Coolster Tumbler, Insulator, Einstein Training Cup, Sipster, Create My Own, Quick Straw, Insulator Sport, Sip and Discover, First Sipster
* Gerber: Sip & Smile Spill-proof Cup, Easy Grip Insulated Soft Straw Cup, Insulated Cool Cup, Fun Grips Color Change Spill-proof Cup, Grins & Giggles Spill-proof Cup (source)
* BornFree sippy/drinking cups
* Klean Kanteen
* Thermos Foogo Sippy Cups, and drinking bottle with straw
* SIGG Toddler Water Bottles
* Kid Basix The Safe Sippy
* Boon Sippy
* GrowPure Multi-Stage Feeder and Sippy Cup
* iPlay Aqua Bottle
* ThinkBaby Training Cup
* Sassy Snack Time Infa-Trainer Cup
* Munchkin: Cupsicle, Cupsicle Straw Cup, Big Kid Sippy Cup, Mighty Grip Flip Straw Cup, Mighty Grip Trainer Cup, licensed character Sports Bottles, Re-usable Straw Cups, Re-usable Spill-proof Cups
* Nuby: No-Spill Sports Sipper, Insulated Soft Silicone Spout Cup, Soft Spout Easy Grip Cup, Gripper Cup with Soft Silicone Spout, 2-Handle Cup, Tinted Mega Sipper
* The First Years: Take & Toss, Spill-proof Cup, Insulated Cup, Licensed character sippy cups, Insulated Spill-proof Cup, 2 Handled Cups

BPA Free Milk and Food Storage

* Avent Via 8-oz. Nurser Kit
* Avent Snack Cup / Formula Dispenser
* Mother’s Milkmate Storage bottles
* Medela Milk Storage bottles and breastpump accessories
* Playtex Breastmilk storage kit
* Lansinoh® Breastmilk Storage Bags
* Lansinoh® Breastmilk Storage Bottles
* Gerber Breastmilk Storage Bags
* So Easy Fresh Baby Food Kit
* Baby Cubes
* Laptop Lunch System

See the Z Report on BPA for more information.

My personal opinion on the matter of BPA’s is even though there is a lot of media “hype”, even if there is just the slightest risk from the presence in baby and other plastic products it is worth it to me to make the switch. There are many plastics that do not contain any traces of BPA’s it is an inexpensive change.

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This is a very sad but important post for parents with babies, toddlers, and even older children. A woman I know from an online message board lost her dear son (just 2 weeks shy of turning 2) due to a tragic accident involving his dresser falling on him.

http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_8790513

http://www.whtm.com/news/stories/0408/508729_video.html?ref=newsstory 

Unfortunately this accident could have been prevented if his dresser had been properly secured to the wall. I know for a lot of us moms probably have furniture that is not secure and it takes a horrible accident such as this to get things taken care of.

I urge you all to look around your house tonight to make sure all heavy furniture is properly fastened/secure to the wall. This is a very inexpensive thing to do and may save your child’s life.

Here are some things you can buy to make sure furniture is securely fastened:

Kidco Anti-Tip Furniture Straps

No-Tip Furniture Brackets

Corey Halpin will be dearly missed.

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