I'm sure every new parent worries about the safety of their new baby. After all, the moment your baby is born is the moment they become the most precious thing in your whole life. Taking a few simple safety precautions will put you more at ease in the knowledge that you have done all that you can to keep your little one safe and away from harms way. This can be aided by the purchase and use of a few essential safety items.

Obviously, your top five safety products will probably change slightly as your baby grows and becomes increasingly mobile. However, I believe it is important to be adequately prepared for all eventualities long before you really expect your little one to become mobile. After all, it really is amazing when one day you leave the room, only to return to discover they have rolled over for the first time, or managed to pull themselves up whilst you had your back turned!

So here is my list of the five must have safety products for new parents:

1. Car Seat. This needs to be appropriate for your child's size. Importantly, it needs to be fitted correctly into your car, having made sure before purchase, that your car is designed to accommodate that particular seat. The adequacy of fitting should be checked each time the seat is used. It is amazing that although the majority of parents own and use child car seats, the majority are not fitted correctly.

2. Baby Monitor. This will give you peace of mind that you will hear if your baby is distressed when in a room distant from you. Many modern monitors also have the facility to display room temperature, which is really useful to ensure your baby is not overdressed or in too hot an environment; a factor that has been linked to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

3. Fire Guard. Anyone with a fire at home should ensure that it is always guarded with a fireguard which is fixed to the wall. Indeed, in some countries, this is law for all houses with a fire. Young children are naturally inquisitive and fires are very interesting to them.

4. Stair gates. Falls are a leading cause of injury and death in young children, and can happen so easily. Stair gates should be fitted at the top and bottom of stairs. It is also important to purchase travel stair barriers for when on vacation, and to ensure that any stair banisters or rails are close enough together to prevent young children slipping through.

5. Door slam protectors. Young children trapping their fingers in doors is unfortunately a common occurrence and a leading cause of hospital visits. Although not life threatening, finger tip injuries can be very painful, and in young children may require surgery with a general anesthetic. Door slam protectors are simple and cheap safety items that can help prevent this. They are easily removable by adults if you want the door shut once the child has gone to bed.

In conclusion, these are my top five safety items for new parents. However, none of these items are any use if incorrectly installed and used. In fact, an incorrectly used car seat or stair gate can actually be more dangerous. Common sense should always prevail.

Learn more about this author, Sarah Staples.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Five must-have safety products for new parents?
We want to hear your view. Write now!