Crib & Toy Tips for Baby

Serious injuries and even deaths of babies occur each year that are entirely avoidable. Here are some valuable safety tips for your baby.

---Editor, MedicineNet.com

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Toy Tips

If you are going to have baby toys in your baby's crib remember:

• Remove crib gyms and mobiles from the crib when your baby begins to push up on his/her hands and knees.
• No strings or cords should dangle into the crib.
• Keep balloons and toys with small parts away from your baby to help prevent choking and suffocation.
• Any item smaller than 1.68 inches in diameter (a little larger than a golf ball) is a choking hazard.

Crib Tips

It is also very important to make your baby's crib safe. Here are some crib safety notes to remember.

• Check to make sure there are no missing or broken slats. This prevents the baby from getting trapped between the crib parts, causing possible suffocation or strangulation.
• There should be no corner posts over 1/16 inch high. This prevents a baby's clothing from catching on the post - a strangulation risk.
• No cut-out designs in the headboard or footboard. This prevents entrapments.
• Check to ensure there are no missing or broken pieces on the cribs hardware.
• The slats should be no more than 2 3/8 inches apart (so a soda can won't fit through the slats). This prevents a baby's body from slipping through the slats and possibly entrapping his/her head.
• The crib mattress should be firm and tight-fitting. This prevents a baby from becoming trapped between the mattress and the side of the crib.

(Source: Consumer Product Safety Commission Safe Nursery Publication)