While you’re busy making sure that you get all your bases covered for baby’s daily care regimen, feeding, bedding, and more, don’t forget his environment. Newborns quickly turn into toddlers, and you’ll find it will greatly benefit both you and baby to be prepared. One of the best ways to ensure that you’re providing a safe place for baby to grow and explore is to rid your home of potentially harmful things. Here are a few tips to provide the safest and healthiest space possible for your child.
Protect Sensitive Skin
One of the first steps you can take in your goal of making your home healthier is to evaluate what type of soaps you’re using. For example, there are special brands of baby shampoo and soap that are formulated specifically for sensitive skin. Look for items that are phthalate, paraben, and fragrance free.
The same goes for other substances that come in contact with the skin, such as sunscreen, powder, and wipes. However, one thing that’s easy to forget is laundry detergent. While you might be willing to wash all of baby’s clothing separately, as you’ll learn, there is an endless line of baby garments that will require frequent washing. Between spit-up and diapering, you’ll be turning to the washing machine often.
This is an easily solvable problem, though, if you use something organic. Honest makes hypoallergenic detergent that’s free of toxic chemicals. Not only is this type of laundry detergent created specifically with babies in mind, but it’s strong enough to launder the rest of your family’s clothing as well.
Hand Washing
Cold and flu season takes up almost half the entire year, and you should always be on the lookout for ways to protect your little one that go beyond the basics of vaccinations. The Bump recommends requiring that anyone who’s going to be holding your baby wash their hands first, which prevents the spread of viruses to your child. Just as hospitals and other healthcare settings require frequent hand washing practices, a good way to make sure that you’ve washed your hands thoroughly and for long enough is to sing the happy birthday song. Scrub under nails and on both sides of the fingers.
No Shoes Indoors
While it’s common practice to require guests to take off their shoes at the door to maintain the cleanliness of your floors and ensure that outside dirt doesn’t get ground into the carpet, there are other reasons, too. What To Expect suggests requiring all guests to remove their shoes at the door, especially if your little one is at the stage where he or she is crawling, for the purpose of preventing the dangers of dirt and other outside toxins that could be tracked inside.
Double Check Preexisting Materials
While most building codes have banned asbestos, and paint no longer contains lead, there are still loopholes to these rules. For example, in some cities, it is permissible for a landlord to have lead paint in the home if an acknowledgement is signed by the tenant. Thankfully, as Web MD points out, checking your paint for lead is deceptively simple, but extremely important. This is especially true if you live in an older building or house constructed before the 1970s, since that’s when lead paint was primarily used. Generally speaking, if you’re not sure about what kind of paint is on your walls or other building materials, hire an expert to come in and inspect. You can also never go wrong with a fresh paint job on your walls. Make sure to also examine your floors if you have carpet, since dust and other small particles can become caught after years of use and cause allergies to flare.
Burn Prevention
It’s common sense to check the temperature of water before bathing baby and ensure that a bottle isn’t too hot, but you may not think about the water heater. According to Parents Magazine, a baby or toddler who endures any contact with water over 140 degrees F can experience scalding within five seconds. It’s recommended turning your hot water heater down to 120 degrees F. This can help prevent accidents and severe burns. It’s important to remember that baby’s skin is especially sensitive, and even too much time in the sun can have devastating effects.
Creating a safe space for baby requires vigilance, planning, and forethought. As long as you’re thorough, though, there’s nothing to fear or stress about. And, making your home healthier and happier for baby is also beneficial for you and the rest of your loved ones. Eliminating toxins, harmful substances, and other dangerous elements in the home will be a blessing to everyone living under your roof.
About Amy @ Oh So Savvy Mom
