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Awareness Parenting and Childcare Travel

Avoid Losing Your Child in Public Places

Every parent’s worst nightmare is losing your kid in public places. Parents love to travel with their children or take them out. Child safety should be of paramount importance. Just as we say ‘Prevention is better than cure’ if some tips are kept in mind when you travel with small kids such fearful situations can be avoided.

Dress your child in bright colours

In public places, it is easier to spot a child in bright colours. Before entering the crowded area, help your child memorize how you are dressed. This can help your child describe what you are wearing in case your child gets lost in the crowd. This can also help people in tracing his dear ones easily.

Device a plan for the day

Try to make a plan which is specific to the place you are going to. Point out a meeting spot to your child. Help the child to recognize the spot and its surroundings well. Ensure that the meeting point that you have selected can be easily located and reached by your child. Ask him to reach there and to wait if he gets separated from the group.

Train your child on what to do when he gets lost

Children should be taught what they must do if they get lost in public places. For a child’s safety, you must teach them that they must approach a responsible adult, for example, a security guard, a police or a mother with children. Children must explain the situation to adults and seek their help. Make them understand that they should never accept a ride from a stranger or never exit the premises if he/she is lost in an enclosed area like a mall or park and never accept food items or drink from strangers.

Help your child to memorise a few important details

For a child’s security, your child should be able to tell their full name and age, their home address, their parent’s full name and their mobile number.

If your child is too small to memorize, you can write them down in a piece of paper and place it in his or her pocket. You can also think of making an ID card for your child to wear in public places.

Keep a recent digital photo of your child with you

This is in case your child does get lost in a public place. Recent photographs describing features of your baby will help those involved in the search recognize the child from the crowd.

Consider using a digital tracking device

With the growth of Technology, using a digital tracking system can be of help. This can help you keep track of your child’s location using a smartphone that has access to the GPS device’s tracking signal.

Give him a mobile phone

If your child is old enough, you can consider giving him a mobile phone. Hand him at least a feature phone just for the duration of the trip. In case he gets lost can be used to get in touch with the parents.

Stay alert

Remember that you should not get too distracted or involved in a conversation with your spouse, friends, or other family members. Have an eye on where your kids are and what they are up to. Staying alert in a public place is the best precaution that can be taken for your child safety.

Losing your child in a public place can indeed be a traumatic experience. So when you start planning to take your children out to have fun; prepare them well for what they should do in case they get separated from their parents. This will help the children to be alert and act wisely even if they get lost in a crowd, and will be doing the appropriate things as their parents have taught them.

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Parenting and Childcare

Baby Proof Your Home for Safety and Comfort

Baby proofing your house before ushering in the newborn is a task you will willingly take. You want the home to be set up as safe as possible for your little darling. This requires pre-planning because you want the best for the child.

It will take several months for your baby to start crawling. But once the baby arrives you will be too busy attending to the child’s needs to have time for the house. So here are some child-proofing tips for your home:

Baby Proofing the house for safety

  • The first step towards making your house child proof is preparing for emergencies. Some of the steps you need to take are:
  • Install electrical switches and plug points at a higher elevation so that they are out of reach of children
  • Fix door stoppers
  • If you are painting the nursery (or house), ensure that the work is done a few months before delivery
  • Stock-up the medicines and keep a first-aid kit handy
  • Install at least one landline so that you can make calls even when the mobile battery has drained
  • Keep the pediatrician’s phone number handy
  • If you are using a baby mosquito net, ensure that there are no loose strings or attachments that might choke the baby
  • Keep your neighbour’s phone numbers handy in case you need help

  • Cover sharp corners of furniture with soft padding
  • Attach non-slip padding under the rugs at the four corners
  • Decrease the lengths of curtain cords or tassels so that they are too high for the baby to reach
  • Fix child locks for drawers that are within a child’s reach
  • Store irons, curling irons, clips, pins, and sharp objects in drawers and out of reach
  • Remove toxic weeds and harmful plants from the house and garden
  • Store cleaning agents, chemical-based cosmetics, etc. out of reach
  • Take care not to keep potentially dangerous objects like buttons, beads, pins, needles, headphones, hearing aids, etc. lying within easy reach of your child
  • Buy a sturdy high chair for your toddler’s meals
  • Purchase nursery furniture according to regulatory safety standards
  • Fix child-proof fasteners on windows.

Baby-proofing the home for comfort

A comfortable baby is a happy baby! So the nursery furniture and the highchair should be designed and set up for maximum comfort. You can place a thick blanket or rug on the changing station so that your baby is not resting on a hard surface during a nappy change.

Secondly, the baby wipes and cotton should be out of the baby’s reach. Babies and toddlers tend to put everything in their mouths. So keeping potentially harmful substances out of reach of your kid is essential for properly baby proofing your house.

Place the crib, playpen, and changing station away from powerful lamps, wall pictures, radiators, curtain cords, and other items that could be dangerous for the baby. Also, avoid carrying out noisy repairs and/or painting work once the baby arrives. Paints give off toxic fumes that are potentially dangerous for the baby as they cause respiratory problems. Loud noises can scare the baby. So all repairs and maintenance work should be carried out before your baby’s homecoming.

Keep your baby safe, healthy, and happy!