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With their tiny fingers and tiny toes, babies fill our lives with joy. In turn, you want to fill their lives with love. One of the most impactful ways to demonstrate that love is to create a warm, welcoming, and safe space for them to grow. You’ve decorated their nursery to perfection, but if you haven’t already done so, it’s time to turn your attention to your whole home. It’s a sad fact, but – given their natural curiosity – a baby’s world is filled with potential perils at virtually every turn.

Traditions of Braselton is proud to be home to hundreds of families, many of whom have a baby or two in their midst, whether they be the children or grandchildren of our homeowners. With that in mind and Baby Safety Month underway, we’ve scoured the internet in search of some sobering statistics and the best tips for baby proofing your home. Fortunately, new tools and guidelines are rolled out regularly, making the job of keeping our little ones safe a great deal easier.

A World of Dangers

Suffocation or Strangulation

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, airway obstruction is the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death in children under one. It’s also a common cause of injury or death in children younger than four, whether that be from choking on food or small objects. Little ones can also suffocate on plastic bags or pillows, blankets, comforters, and soft toys in their cribs, or be strangled by window blind cords, jacket drawstrings, and more.

Suffocation and Strangulation Safety Measures

1) Only give babies and small children age-appropriate toys to play with, and inspect all toys to make sure there are no small parts that could become detached.

2) Don’t place extra items in the crib with your baby – just a firm, flat mattress with a fitted sheet. To keep them warm, either swaddle them or dress them in a cozy pair of pajamas.

3) Do not allow your baby to nap on soft surfaces unobserved, like a sofa or a bed with extra bedding.

4) Since strangulation is also a significant risk, make sure all window blind cords are up and out of reach and remove drawstrings from outerwear.

5) Follow your pediatrician’s guidelines when introducing new foods and make sure the food is cut into tiny bite-sized pieces.

6) As an added measure, learn the Heimlich maneuver and/or have a choking rescue device readily accessible in your kitchen.

Poisoning

Accidental poisoning is another major risk among children, with an estimated 31 under the age of five dying in the U.S. each year, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Included among the top products that led to accidental poisoning among children in 2023 were blood pressure medications, dietary supplements, acetaminophen, bleach, antidepressants, ibuprofen, laundry packets, and illegal drugs.

Poisoning Safety Measures

7) To keep baby safe, make sure all medications are out of reach – using cabinet or drawer locks as an added measure.

8) The same goes for kitchen and laundry cabinets – to keep cleaners and laundry pods out of the hands of curious pint-sized explorers.

Drowning

Global healthcare company, Merck & Co., issues the warning that drowning – a leading cause of death and injury in children – can occur in water as shallow as one inch among children four and under. Even if they survive, children who have experienced near drowning can suffer from organ failure, brain damage, hypoxia, and hypothermia.

Drowning Safety Measures

9) To decrease the risk of drowning, preventive measures include:

• • swimming lessons
  • close supervision of children around water
  • the use of U.S. Coast Guard-approved flotation devices or life jackets
  • taking your children to pools where trained lifeguards are on duty

10) Take a CPR course at a Red Cross facility near you
11) Never leave small children unattended in the bathtub or near a pool
12) In the event of drowning, resuscitation measures should begin with rescue breathing. Call 9-1-1 to continue life-saving measures and transport your child to the hospital to test for injury

Falls

According to the National Institutes of Health, falls are the most common injury among children. Every day, roughly 8,000 children are treated in emergency rooms all across the nation for fractures, head injuries, and soft tissue injuries due to a fall. Babies just learning to walk are more likely to fall.

Falls Safety Measures

13) Scour the floors of your home – both inside and out – to search for obstructions that could lead to a fall.
14) If you have older children, have them clean up any toys that could cause a fall and make sure there are plenty of soft places for babies to land, i.e., carpet and rugs.
15) Place baby gates at the top and bottom of any staircases and put up temporary barriers that block the baby from crawling through balusters in your stair railing.

Burns

The National SAFE KIDS Campaign indicates that 65% of children four and younger who are hospitalized for burn-related injuries had been scalded by hot water – whether on the stove or in the bathtub. Another 30% were from contact burns.

Burns Safety Measures

16) To minimize the danger in the kitchen, place a stove guard over the dials and make sure all pan handles are turned inward – out of reach of little hands.
17) Always test the temperature of bath water before placing your child in the tub, and keep watch over little ones around hot irons, curling irons, and power outlets.
18) Place outlet covers throughout your home to prevent your little one from sticking items in the holes – an easy and low-cost measure.

Bumps and Bruises

You’ll never realize how many sharp angles are all over your home until you really pay attention. Go room-to-room, taking note of sharp corners that they might hit with their head or limbs when crawling or walking. Try crawling to gain a “baby’s-eye-view” perspective. The most common culprits are fireplaces and coffee tables. Also, look for furniture that might tip over, possibly causing far more damage than a bump or bruise. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, approximately 6,400 children are treated for injuries related to furniture tip-overs each year. Between 2000 and 2022, 472 children incurred fatal crush injuries due to furniture tip-overs.

Bumps and Bruises Safety Measures

19) You can place soft bumpers at the corners and edges of sharp-angled furniture that your baby is likely to encounter
20) Check all furniture for possible tip-over and secure each one by anchoring it to a wall

Unexpected Explorations and Escapes

Small children are naturally curious. Once they’re tall enough to reach door handles and learn how they work, you can expect them to explore every room. The same goes for the front and back doors of your home, where they might suddenly find themselves outdoors.

21) Place doorknob covers and lever locks on all your doors – leading from room to room and to the outdoors
22) For an added measure on exterior doors, place swing bar door locks or other security reinforcement locks – up and out of your baby’s or toddler’s reach

Find Yourself Right at Home at Traditions of Braselton

While the last thing you want to imagine is something bad happening to your child, you’ll need to put yourself in that headspace to keep them from harm. By creating a safe home – and a safe play environment that’s free of hazards – you’ll be doing your most important job as a parent or grandparent… protecting your child or grandchild.

At Traditions of Braselton, we take the safety of our residents of all ages very seriously. Our community pool is surrounded by fencing, gates feature safety latches, and a lifeguard is on duty throughout swim season. If you’d like to learn more about our master-planned community and lifestyle-enhancing amenities, we invite you to visit our website and then come see it in person. Your first stop should be to our Discovery Center – located at 401 Delaperriere Loop in Jefferson – where our team can point you in the right direction of available homes or the ideal builder to fit your vision. We look forward to meeting you – and your precious little one!

Sources: https://momlovesbest.com/child-injury-statistics-and-facts
https://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/injury-prevention-program/choking-and-suffocation
https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/injuries-poisoning/drowning/drowning#Prevention_v1115338
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6328948/
https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=fire-safety-and-burns-injury-statistics-and-incidence-rates-90-P02978
https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/2023_Annual_Tip_Over_Report_Posted_2024Feb_FINAL_0.pdf?VersionId=ZR3HHjY2zM.NIE6XRpKj2WU5qpm6nViz

KB 8/25/25

baby proofing, tips