Parenting for Beginners

While designing your baby nursery decor is an enjoyable and thrilling time, it’s also the perfect time to learn about key safety issues relating to newborns. As you set up your nursery decorations, always ensure that each item you place in the room is completely child proof. By learning about infant hazards, you’ll be able to establish a truly safe and functional area for your baby.

The crib is the primary piece in any baby nursery decoration scheme. Since some older cribs might not meet new safety standards, it’s best to buy a new one rather than use a family heirloom. Cribs that convert into beds and round cribs are a good and safe investment. If you are reusing a fairly new crib, make sure that all the screws, nuts and bolts are in place and tight secured. Also ensure that the mattress and bumper guards correctly fit with the crib and are still very sturdy. If the mattress or bumper guards appear worn, it’s best to buy new ones so your baby is well supported.

A common baby nursery decoration for over the crib is a mobile. But it is also something that could fall and injure your baby if it is not properly installed. When adding mobiles and other colorful and playful nursery decoration pieces on the sides of the crib or over it, it’s important not to make any modifications to the installation directions.

Changing tables are also a key nursery decoration furnishing. If using a hand-me-down, check all the hardware to ensure it is installed correctly, is tightly fastened and in good working condition. When buying new, consider furniture that adapts to your baby’s growth, such as changing tables that can be converted into a dresser or chest.

As your child begins crawling, standing up and walking, your baby nursery decoration pieces might need some enhancements. Or you might need to redesign your baby nursery decor. Any furniture pieces that are unsteady or can topple over if a baby uses them as support for standing up should be anchored to the wall with furniture safety brackets. You also want to be sure furniture or other things that a baby can climb onto are away from windows. In addition, nursery decoration items like lamps, delicate knick knacks, or anything else that can break if the baby gets a hold of them should be moved to a higher location or affixed to the furniture.

When planning your baby nursery decoration for the windows, any cords from blinds or other window treatments should be secured on a bracket installed high along the wall or contained in a cord wind up device. Remember to install electrical plug covers on all electrical outlets, as well as smoke detectors.

Your little one is depending on you for its safety. Taking a few minutes to inspect your baby nursery decoration items will ensure that your newborn is well protected and remains safe and secure within the baby nursery décor you selected.

Bethany Bien really loves being a mother, decorating nurseries and sharing advice and ideas on baby nursery decoration with mom’s everywhere. Since you’ll likely be spending quite a bit of time in the new nursery, it’s worth while to ensure that it’s secure, comfortable and pleasantly decorated. You can peruse her complete selection of essential items for your baby at http://www.BethanyBaby.com

Baby proof your home as soon as your babies start learning to sit and crawl to prevent accidents when they become more mobile.

Babies learn about the world through their senses. They learn about the relationships between human beings from the people who care for them. Eventually, if they have been loved and cared for properly, they learn to trust the world around them. This is exactly what you as a parent would want for your baby.

As important as baby’s trusting his environment is, when the baby starts moving around, his safety becomes a serious issue. Once a baby starts crawling or taking steps, he’ll begin to explore by grasping, touching, hitting, rolling, and grabbing at objects. This learning process can become quite dangerous if extra care is not taken. Even in a strictly baby-proofed home, for example, a crawling baby can easily tug at a table cover and get hurt by the objects falling from the table.

Taking into account that you already have defensive safety measures such as carbon monoxide and smoke detectors and safe toys, a few more precautions are in order for your baby-in-motion. To begin with, you can place a screened barrier around anything that can burn the baby’s skin, such as space heaters, furnaces, fireplaces, stoves, and radiators.

Range knobs, reachable pot handles, and oven doors can be risky, too. Plus, a door to any large appliance can be easily opened to trap a small child or a toddler inside. Installing locking latches and putting knob covers on cooking ranges or other appliances with knobs are good ideas.

In addition, you should cover the electric outlets with large plates, but not the small ones the baby can pull out and choke on. You should store away electric cords especially those with extensions that are easily reachable or you should watch them very carefully when the baby is in the room. Placing furniture in front of the electric cords or radiators does not baby-proof them since babies can crawl inside tight places.

Accordingly, put out of the baby’s reach all strings, ribbons, and cords that can wrap around his neck. This means shortening the curtain and blind cords, also. Sharp and small objects the baby can swallow, household detergents, pesticides, matches, lighters, and firearms, if you have them, should be locked away.

It is a wise move to glue plastic or felt corner bumpers on sharp-edged furniture. Also, make sure the baby’s furniture does not have wide-enough slats that can trap any part of him. Even if you have covered most of his crib and playpen with soft bedding equipment, active babies can pull them apart.

Moreover, test all the standing furniture for stability. An active toddler can pull the drawer out of an unstable chest and stand on it, causing the entire chest to fall on him.

Learn the specifics of the indoor plants you have, and give away the ones that can be poisonous if ingested. Lock away decorative glassware and other knick-knacks. You can put them back where you want them once the child grows up a little and learns to heed your warnings.

Some babies and toddlers seem to pay attention to gentle admonitions, but this behavior should not be trusted, because a baby is full of surprises. To guarantee a safe environment for a crawling baby or a toddler, after taking all the precautions, make sure he is being attended to vigilantly by a responsible adult. No matter how extensive the precautions you take, a baby or toddler who is not watched carefully can put himself in danger within a second’s time.