>> And the last topic I want to touch on in the infant
and toddler physical development chapter is safety.
And so I went and chose this image because drowning is one
of the hazards during this time period, and it only takes an inch of water to drown in.
So buckets are actually, buckets of standing water are actually really dangerous
because if a baby falls into a bucket it's quite unlikely that they're going
to be able to get themselves back out.
So some of the injuries, excuse me, that are kind of specific hazards or concerns
at this age are suffocation, drowning as I mentioned, fire and burns, falls and poisoning.
So it's important when you are thinking about baby-proofing and keeping children safe to think
about all of these different concerns.
Another really important issue is car seat safety.
And the research shows that upwards of 95% of parents
and caregivers aren't using their car seats quite correctly, whether that's due
to how it interacts with their car or you know not quite using it by instructor indications.
And so there are definite lots of room for improvement with car seat safety.
And I think one of the things is just keeping them in car seats longer more safely.
And so ideally to you keep an infant in a rear facing seat from birth until age 2 to 4,
ideally 4 because their bones in their spine ossify at that point
and they can withstand the forces
of that accident much more effectively and with better outcomes.
And then after five or after that they should stay in a forward-facing car seat
until at least five and they're booster-ready, which means they can stay in the right position
because a seatbelt doesn't work if it's not on the right part of your body.
And having been in a car accident a couple of years ago where I was safely seat belted,
even when you are seatbelts put a lot of force on the body, that would be rough.
After that you want them to be in a booster seat until they're around 4 feet 9 inches tall
and ages 9 to 12 because that's when they have the maturity
and their body is physically ready to fit in the car seat belt.
Because seat belts in cars are designed for adults not children and so it's important
that the seat belt fit correctly.
And most people get children out of boosters way too quickly.
Sleep also comes into play here with safety and wanting
to keep children safe while they're sleeping.
So I think it's interesting to look at how much sleep changes.
So 16 1/2 hours of a 24-hour period at birth, that's down to 15 by one month,
14 by six months, and by about age two it's down to 10 hours.
And they go from about 50% of their sleep being in rapid eye movement to only 25 to 30%.
So lots of things are happening with the brain that impact how much sleep needs to happen.
But the safety aspect is really safe sleep.
And so it's really important to follow safe sleep recommendations to reduce the risk
of sudden infant death syndrome or SIDS.
We don't know what causes SIDS so we can't prevent it but we know there are things
that we can do that reduce the risks.
We also know that there are children that are at higher risk.
So babies that sleep on their stomach or they sleep on soft surfaces
or with softer loose bedding, they get too hot.
That have been to exposed cigarette smoke either in the womb or in their current environment.
Or that co-sleep in a bed with parents, other children or pets.
So some of the things that we can to reduce those risks are kind of obvious.
We can put them on their back to sleep, we can put a firm and flat surface
with only a tight fitted sheet no other bedding or soft materials.
Breast-feeding reduces the risk.
Sharing a room with the baby but not a sleeping surface also does.
Pacifiers have also been shown to reduce the risk of SIDS.
Keeping the temperature comfortable, getting regular healthcare including vaccines.
And avoiding any procedures or products that claim to protect children
from sudden infant death syndrome including breathing monitors.
Unless they come home with one from the hospital you don't want
to use those as a way to promote safe sleep.
And in fact there were some strangulation hazards with some of those monitors.
So something that was supposed to keep babies safe actually resulted in the exact opposite.
So it's really important to be aware of those, whether you are putting the baby to sleep
for the night or just for naps those safe sleep recommendations need
to be followed at all times.