Any mum coming home from hospital with a newborn baby faces information overload.
Make sure the bath’s not too hot. Likewise, the bottle. Make sure they’re sleeping, but not too much. Keep on top of feeding and don’t let them scratch their own face and by god remember to burp them hourly.
It’s no surprise then that when baby-proofing one’s home, a few everyday items remain accidentally… ‘un-proofed’. And items that were initially out of reach become hazardous as a baby learns to bum-shuffle and crawl.
“In the bathroom, we’re aware of things like keeping chords out of the way when it comes to water and electricity,” says CPR Kids Founder and former paediatric nurse Sarah Hunstead on Mamamia‘s podcast for new parents. “That’s one of the things we know.”
LISTEN: All the hidden dangers lurking in the average bathroom. Post continues after audio.
According to Hunstead, draining the water after bath time is another preventative safety measure most new mums are well and truly on top of.
There are other things, however, that slip through the cracks.
“One thing that people often forget or might not realise is that hair straighteners are one of the biggest causes of bathroom accidents when it comes to children,” Hunstead says. “They heat up to 350 degrees in seconds.”
It’s unusual that of all rooms in the house, babies would be most susceptible to burns in the bathroom. Hunstead, however, has a an explanation.
“Kids imitate us. They want to do what we do… so that crawling child who sees us in the bathroom every morning with our hair straighteners, they want to do what mummy does.”
“It’s innate for them to crawl up to that chord, pull it, and then we’ve got burns.”
Has your bub ever got hold of your hair straightener? Tell us in the comments below.
Listen to the full episode of our podcast for new parents, all about baby safety, below.
This podcast is made possible by Philips Avent.
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The Baby Bubble
