Choking can be a preventable situation. If you need some guidance on how to help prevent your child from choking, the following tips will help:
Infants should only sleep in cribs that are appropriately equipped for safety: the majority of infant suffocation instances occur in sleeping environments. Additionally, it is unwise to allow infants to sleep on soft surfaces, such as standard beds, chairs or couches.
Infants should be placed on their backs on a flat, firm mattress with a fitted sheet, in a crib that has met national safety standards, as evidenced by it's JPMA label.
Soft products should be removed from cribs, such as stuffed toys, comforters and pillows.
A swaddle or sleep sack should be used to keep babies warm. Alternatively, a blanket that reaches no higher than the baby's chest can be tucked around the infant.
Always supervise youngsters when eating, as this will lessen incidences of choking.
Children age three or younger should not be allowed to eat hard, round or small foods, such as popcorn, grapes, nuts, hard candy and hot dogs.
Get on your hands and knees on the floor to reach eye level with the child. Observe for small items such as stones, nails, pins, nuts, coins and jewelry and remove them immediately. All plastic bags should be kept out of reach, and strangulation hazards, such as strings and cords that are seven inches long or more should never be within reach of a child or infant.
Choking hazards must be kept out of the child's reach.
If an item such as a ribbon or string is hung above the crib, it must be no longer than seven inches.
Never use ribbons or cord-like necklaces on an infant. Bibs with ties should also be avoided.
Short leashes should be used to clip pacifiers to clothing, as opposed to long cords.
Remove neck and cord drawstrings from the youngster's clothing and outerwear.
Do not allow children to wear clothing, scarves, purses, necklaces or helmets with drawstrings while playing.
Tie up and secure all drapery and blind cords, or cut the ends and secure them with safety tassels. Cord stops should be fitted on the inner cords of blinds.
Never buy toys if their cords are longer than seven inches.
Ensure that toys and other playthings (such as toys that come with fast food meals) are not associated with suffocation or choking hazards.
Make sure youngsters play with age-appropriate toys. This can be accomplished by carefully reading strangulation and choking hazard safety labels. Regularly inspect new and old toys for damage that may result by the breaking off of small pieces. Consider buying a modest size parts tester to definitively discover whether or not toys and other objects in your dwelling represent choking hazards to youngsters.
Make sure toy chests have safety hinges or are lid-free. Never permit youngsters to access appliances in the home in which they could become trapped, such as dryers or refrigerators.
Children under the age of eight should not be allowed to blow up balloons. Shun latex balloons in lieu of Mylar balloons, and if latex balloons are your only option, they should be stored out of children's reach and discarded immediately after use.
A child's sleeping environment is vitally important up to age eight. Youngsters under eight years of age should never be placed on a top bunk bed. It is also important to make sure that the spaces between the bed frame and the guard rail, as well as footboard and headboard spaces, are less than three and a half inches.
The Heimlich maneuver for choking and CPR for children and infants should be learned by all adults in the household.