Safe Sleeping
Most parents feel a little anxious from time to time at the
thought of leaving their young child to sleep through the night.
But there is usually nothing to worry about, as long as you take
some sensible precautions. Use the Karvol parent's checklist
given here as a guide:
- Don't use a pillow for at least the first year. Young babies
have poor control over their bodies and if your child's face
rolls on to the pillow, he may not be able to lift it away again.
- For the same reason avoid large bulky toys which could press
into your child's face. There is also the added risk that as he
gets older he could stand on them and fall out of his cot.
- Clothing, bedding and toys should not have long ribbons or ties
as these could get tangled around your child's neck.
- Your child should sleep on his back from birth - research has
shown that this is the single most important factor in
preventing cot death. Cot bumpers are not recommended.
- Although you don't have to keep the room where your child sleeps
at a fixed temperature, check that your child doesn't get too
hot or cold. As a guide, the room temperature should be around
18 degrees C.
- Use a few layers of lightweight blankets, rather than a single
duvet, which can be too warm, so that you can add or remove
layers if your child does get too hot or cold.
- A child with a fever needs to keep cool, even if he feels
shivery - so avoid the temptation to overwrap him.
- It is wise to use a guard across the top of the stairs,
particularly if your child tends to get out of bed during the
night.
- Try to keep the area around your baby smoke-free.
- If you think your baby is unwell, seek medical advice quickly.
|
In this section
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4Preventing
Problems
4Setting
a routine |
