Recently, a baby died due suffocation from the teddy bear in her cot. Before a baby is born, we want to make everything as beautiful and welcoming as possible. However, sometimes our good intentions cause harm.
How many stuffed animals do you have in the baby’s cot?
How are they placed?
What sizes are they?
Are their risks of it falling over the baby?
Most times we buy things either because they are pretty or for other personal reasons but if we take a second to review it, we’d see it’s a potential hazard.
Ideally, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that babies sleep in an empty cot to avoid accidental suffocation or strangulation. This is because babies are small and may not be able to help themselves. You on the other hand may not always be there. You could sleep off, step out to pee, cook or even see a friend off and before you’re back the unthinkable has happened. Therefore, if you must, always bear the following in mind when putting stuffed animals in your baby’s cot:
The age of the baby
Some people believe that babies 7-12 months and above can have stuffed animals as they can roll away. However, the baby who died was 18 months, errors can happen. There are cases of children older than 12 months who have died from accidental suffocation. Therefore, mind baby’s age when considering toy placement.
The size of the stuffed animal
If the stuffed animal is small, there is a higher chance the baby will be able to nudge it away in a suffocation situation compared to a bigger one. So, keep the sizes small when babies are little.
The position
Is it dangling from above, is it placed at the cot corner or is it placed beside the child? The position of a stuffed animal has a potential to determine the baby’s safety. When dangling from above, it’s safer because it is away from the child’s reach. However, as a safety precaution, check that the equipment it dangles from is in good condition to avoid a fall. When placed at corners, it might seem like a good idea but if baby rolls or moves a lot, baby could get entangled with the animal. Placing beside the baby is a huge suffocation risk most especially if the size of the stuffed animal is big.
When we make slight adjustments, we’d be able to keep our babies safe.
