Toddler safety at home- my experiences and lessons

As a new parent, you are never prepared for situations that could place your toddler in danger. Read on to find out 4 of my personal horrifying instances regarding toddler safety at home and how to approach each one of them.

Falling

Although falls are a common part of growing up, your child’s first fall will always remain as an unpleasant memory.

My son who had mastered how to roll over (and excitedly like a Panda Bear), was around 8 months when it happened. 

That dreadful evening, I had laid him down on our sofa, where he soon started playing with a pretty cardboard piece. I asked my husband (who was engrossed in a live cricket match) to watch over him for a few mins, while I rushed to the bedroom to get his vitamin D drops.

Suddenly I heard a “thud”, and then a horrifying screech. I ran to the spot, absolutely heartsick of what may have happened.

My husband who was trying to comfort my baby looked petrified and miserable. A few seconds of divided attention had caused the event.

Baby Steve was absolutely distressed and it took me a good 15 mins to calm him down. By God’s grace he was fine, and over the next year he had a few other unavoidable falls, but the memory of this first fall always brings back a shudder to my heart.

Toddler safety at home-measures to avoid falls before 1 year:

1. Make sure your baby is always supervised by an adult.
2. If you have to-have to, put him down alone for some time, place him (her) on the ground with a sheet underneath with no harmful things close by. You must keep checking on him (her) though.
3. Place some cushions around him (her) or keep them in an enclosed area on the ground.

From  5-12 months lot of quick developments take place in a baby. They roll over, then creep, then sit up, then stand and most of the times start walking with aid by 1 year.

So always, always keep an eye on them. That’s the only way you can make sure that they are safe. 

High Fever

At around 14 months, Steve had learnt how to call my husband “Dada”. He knew who “Amma” was, but would simply refuse to call me aloud. Just an “Aye” or “Aa” would anyway bring me to him he thought, I suppose. 

One of those weeks, he had caught the common cold. We were giving him warm water to drink and some steaming, every 2-3 hours. I was also giving him a turmeric, honey, pepper concoction to drink 2-3 times a day.

One night I noticed he had a slight fever. I was confused if I should give him paracetamol or not. We don’t like giving medicines, so I thought I’ll check the fever in the morning and give him if necessary.

“It might be because he’s warmly wrapped up, anyway”, I reasoned. 

Next morning. Steve retained the fever and so I gave him the medicine. By afternoon he seemed to have gained a little energy. However post lunch, I suddenly noticed him gazing at the ceiling in a very awkward way. I called him out and he responded weakly.

My husband, who was thankfully at home during the time, immediately picked him up and washed his face. He still behaved weirdly. I panicked!

The next few minutes I was crying, absolutely clueless as to what was happening. Steve’s eyes were going upwards, his breathing heavy and his legs had a slight shiver to them. Not wasting a minute, we rushed to the hospital and asked for emergency care. 

Immediately the nurses attended him,took off his clothes (while taking the exact details from us) and gave him an ice bath.

“High Fever- 102” they said and inserted a suppository. As the cold water flowed on his body (which he hates), “AMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAA” he cried!!!!!

Yes, my son chose that very minute, to call out “Amma”. You can imagine my heartbreak, as I cried profusely and prayed that all be well.

The nurses continued their care and I held onto him, while they rubbed his body with ice. The shout-out was a good sign that he was going to be fine, it seemed.

After about half an hour, Steve came back to his normal self, playing with all the nurses there, just as if nothing had happened.

Toddler safety at home- measures to be taken during colds and fever, for children under 2 years-

1. Keep checking for fever, every other hour. They usually grow dull and inactive, when they develop a fever.
2. For 0-3 months, always contact your doctor, if there is fever. For 3-6 month old babies, the temperature should not rise above 101 deg, yet contact your doctor, if worried.
3. If you feel your baby’s temperature is rising, try the cold cotton wipes method before giving medicine. Put a few small cotton washcloths in an ice water bowl, drench and place it on your baby’s forehead every 5-10 minutes.
4. Give the Paracetamol for children, if the fever develops specially in the night. You don’t want to over stress. Our Pediatrician advised us to “always” give the medicine, if we spot a fever above 100 deg.
5. Rush to the hospital, if your baby behaves weirdly like mine did. If you can’t immediately reach the hospital, insert a suppository tablet in his (her) anus. This has immediate effect on the fever and gives you more time.
6. Offer liquids throughout fever
7. A lukewarm bath during the fever, also helps in bringing down the body temperature.

Medicine consumption

At 18 months, Steve had started playing on his own (at least for 10 minutes), without me being present right there with him. Since we have a semi open kitchen, I would get onto my cooking, while still keeping a check on him.

He was busy building his blocks, and I got tuned into my dish. After a good 5 minutes when I turned to check on him, Steve had a small medicine tube in his hand, the cap on the sofa and his shirt and the area around the mouth, all filled with that cream.

Horrified, I ran to pick him up, washed his mouth and frantically tried to get the cream out (They don’t know how to spit at this age).

Arun, by God’s grace again, reached home, just then. I researched on the internet about this, while Arun called up his friend and my father in law, to decide what to do. I called up my dad too.

Everyone suggested us to take him to the doctor, just to avoid any risk. Steve looked fine all this time, so I didn’t panic.

At the hospital, after a few questions,our pediatrician assured us that nothing happened.

“Medicinal creams are not tasty, so I don’t think he would have eaten much.” she said and gave us some warning signs to look out for.

You can imagine our relief!

Toddler safety at home- measures to be taken to avoid this toddler terror situation:

1. Keep all medicines far away and at a good height, from the reach of children. I had kept that cream on the far end of the table (which I assumed he would not reach) but Steve still managed to find it.
2. If possible buy medicines that have safety tops or are not easy to open.
3. Discard expired medication
4. If you suspect your child to have taken a medicine, look for any sign of vomiting, gagging, stomach pain, wheezing, or anything weirdly unusual. Immediately take him (her) to the hospital in such cases.
5. If there are no signs of poisoning, but you still suspect some consumption of the medicine as in my case, offer some water to your child. Do not force him (her) to vomit. Hopefully it would come out with his (her) poop or piss soon enough.

Burns

The most recent and the most horrifying till date was the day when my son suffered a burn. This happened a day before Steve turned 4 in November, 2020.

He had had a runny nose that week and with Covid looming around us, I was trying my best to get him back to normal before his birthday. 

Our steamer unfortunately wasn’t working well and the kettle that we were using as it’s replacement wasn’t helping. On that particular day, my husband bought for us a tiny steamer. It was a pretty little thing made of plastic.

It had a small mask attached to it’s top end. A small hole helped the steam to escape through the mask. It must have been made for travel purposes because it was light and wireless.

Anyway, I boiled some water immediately and sat next to Steve encouraging him to take the steam from the mask. Soon my son insisted on holding the steamer and I gave it to him after a round of screams and crying.

The risk of having a light-weighted container filled with boiling water, in his hand, was known to me but what came after, was something I did not expect at all.

In his effort to safely hold the vessel, Steve adjusted himself a little in his seat and while doing so, the water flowed down the hole, onto his chest. 

I was right there. I had been holding the steamer too and yet this happened! In shock I put the vessel aside and immediately took off his clothes. Steve was screaming at the top of his lungs!

And what I saw on his body in that moment, was too terrifying for me to bear. A small area (about the size of a 10Rs coin) was bubbling away on his chest. I cried out in shock and he wailed. 

I rushed to put some ice on the wound. When it didn’t seem working I applied some toothpaste on it (a remedy for small kitchen burns).

I called up my husband and because I could not bear to see his pain I googled what I must do. Most medical websites had suggested against applying any ointment or putting ice. They had in fact advised pouring some running cool water.

I picked up Steve and straight away put him in the bath, showering him with water while he screamed in pain. Not knowing what else to do, I waited for my husband while I dried him up lightly with a towel and got a t-shirt on him.

By now he seemed to be feeling better. The bubble had disappeared but in its place there came a bright white patch. Steve’s screams had turned to silent sobs and when I repeatedly asked him if his pain was “big or small”, he kept saying “big- don’t touch Mama!” 

I felt and still feel really guilty about this. At the time I feared if what I had done would scar him forever. I feared if the bright white patch meant it had affected his nerves underneath the skin. I prayed earnestly in that moment that God protect us from all that could happen.

As soon as my husband arrived, we rushed to the hospital. The doctor had a look and remarked that it seemed like the wound had already been treated. “You’ve brought me a two-day old wound isn’t it?” she asked. The cool water had indeed helped. It had burst the bubble and caused his pain to reduce.

They then treated the wound and bandaged him. We were prescribed some antibiotics to avoid any infection.

Steve was back to his cheerful self the very next hour and now he shows off his tiny scar to everyone like a badge of honour (adding much to my shame)

I hope and pray this never happens to you!

Toddler safety at home– measures to take during a burn event

• If it’s a small burn just wash it in running water and apply toothpaste. It really works!
• If it’s a deep burn over a small area, place it under running cool(not cold) water for 5 minutes and then cover it with a clean cloth.
• If it’s a huge burn spread across the skin, cover the area and immediately call for emergency help
• Do not put ice on burns because it affects the nerves beneath. Do not put any ointment or medicine because it may affect the wound in some other way.
• Call for help when in doubt.

Children between 0-4 years, are especially vulnerable to accidents of this accord. The poor chaps wouldn’t even know how to communicate clearly, so it is important for us as parents or caregivers, to be extra careful in all aspects of their routine.

To God be all the glory for His grace and mercy on us, during all these toddler terror situations.

How do you ensure toddler safety at home? Please share in the comments below. 

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Hi! My name is Rubitah. I’m a Content Writer certified Life Coach, Counselor, Social Work professional and the Founder of Being Rubitah. Over the years through my professional and personal life, I have realized that prayers and love can do wonders to family life once you come to terms with yourself and surrender to God. Do you relate to me? Then you may like what I post here! Read more about me

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