Your older child can cause unseen danger to your baby in ways other than you might think. Here is what you need to know in order to protect your children.
When you bring a new baby home, you might worry about how your older child will receive the new baby. Most of the time, older siblings make the transition pretty easily, especially with the support of loving parents.
The safety concern that I want to discuss today has nothing to do with harm coming to a younger child as a result of jealousy, but rather from decisions that the parents may make regarding the siblings.
Bath time
While we all should know that babies shouldn’t be left alone in the bathtub, sometimes having a sibling who is taking a bath at the same time or who is in the room gives parents a false sense of security. I just read a report about a mom who left her 10-month old and three-year old in the tub together to answer the door. Having the three-year-old in the tub did not save the younger child. In fact, the older child was unaware that anything was wrong. Never leave children under five alone in the bathtub. Ever.
Snack time
Although parents are careful to cut up grapes and avoid choking hazards for young children, siblings may not be aware of such issues. An older child may share a snack (or even a small toy for that matter) that could make a baby choke. It is important to tell your older child about choking hazards, of course, but you should still take responsibility to supervise snack time and meal time. You can also choose to cut all of the food into bite size pieces, even for older siblings, and to avoid serving anything that could pose a choking hazard.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right.
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