Sometimes it's only seemingly small things that can have a big impact. That's why I've put together some "dos and don'ts" that are easy to implement and protect your child's health. This applies not only to happy babies, but also to bright toddlers. You can also read more about child safety on my blog here read more.
Child health Outdoor
Keep the pushchair in view and under control! When you are out and about with your pushchair or buggy, never leave it unattended. And it's best to always keep one hand on the push bar. This will prevent dangerous situations. Otherwise, the pushchair and baby may set off on their own. A brief distraction, an incorrectly applied brake - and it will roll away from you. All it takes is a slight slope in the ground.
Even if you are crossing the road, you should not forget that your child is always in a pushchair or buggy. before "enters" the carriageway. After all, you are pushing the vehicle in front of you. If a car approaches or the driver even overlooks you, this can quickly become dangerous - even at zebra crossings or traffic lights. It is therefore important not to push the pushchair onto the road while you are still standing on the pavement. It is also better to use clear places to cross the road. In other words, don't cross where bushes, parked cars or bends obstruct your view.
Never leave your child alone in the car, not even for a short time! Many parents have to do things by car and take their baby with them. I can well understand that it would be much easier for stressed mums or dads to leave the baby - perhaps even sleeping - in the car, for example to quickly drop off the older sibling at nursery or pick up a parcel at the post office. You might be thinking: What could possibly happen? However, it's not about how high the risk of something happening is, but about the fact that you're not there to react if something unexpected happens. This does not necessarily mean, for example, that another car will hit your car with your offspring in it. But it has happened before! Your child needs you too, for example,
- when it has slept, then wakes up and finds itself in the car;
- if it has swallowed something;
- or if it starts to overheat. Even slight (even indirect) sunlight is enough to cause temperatures in the vehicle to rise rapidly, which can be dangerous for small people.
That brings me straight to the next point for your child's health:
Avoid heat build-up in the pushchair! Every summer you see prams covered with a thin cloth to protect the baby from the sun or insects. This is well-intentioned, but unfortunately not well done! This design lacks air circulation. The heat in the pram can then build up under the cloth, i.e. directly on the child. In the worst case scenario, this can be life-threatening for the baby, as the little body is not yet able to regulate its own temperature properly. Baby's sweat glands are not yet fully developed, so it can happen that your little one has cold feet, for example, despite summer temperatures. It is only between nine and 12 months that your child is physically developed enough to be able to regulate their body temperature better and better.
It is therefore better to use a parasol or a sun sail on the pushchair. This guarantees the necessary air circulation.
If it is a very hot summer day, it is advisable to stay at home with the baby if possible. It's easier to cool down indoors (e.g. by hanging up a damp cloth). This also protects your child from strong UV rays. You can read more about this in the next section:
Protect the baby from the sun! Make sure that your child is not exposed to direct sunlight. It must be protected from sunburn and sunstroke. The skin of babies and toddlers has not yet built up its own UV protection, which has yet to develop. Nevertheless, the Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) recommends avoiding sun cream in the first year of life. Babies' delicate skin is still very thin and sensitive. Sun cream would therefore put undue strain on it.
Nevertheless, you can do a lot to provide your child with effective UV protection:
- Favour shady places for your child.
- Dress him in clothes that protect him from the sun. There is even special UV clothing for children and babies. This includes a sun hat with a wide brim or visor at the front and a neck protection "flap" at the back. Many models are even equipped with their own UV protection. UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) 50+ is standard. This protects the small head, which only has a thin skullcap and usually only sparse hairs.
- Even if it seems tempting at the beach or lakeside: don't let your child play outside naked or only "dressed" in a nappy. This also applies to the time after the first birthday. However, you can also protect your child with a special children's sun cream that has a very high sun protection factor.
Indoor
Protect the child from the cold! Not only can heat be dangerous for your baby, but cold can also affect them. As the surface area of children's skin is very large compared to the volume of their body, their body temperature can drop quickly. If it falls below 36.5 degrees, this is known as hypothermia. This not only puts the child's body under stress (e.g. faster heartbeat), but also favours illness. As already mentioned, babies are not yet able to regulate their own body temperature sufficiently. In the case of cold, this means that it cannot react by shivering in order to generate heat through muscle tension.
Of course, this doesn't mean that you have to stay at home with your baby on cold days. On the contrary: fresh air always boosts your child's immune system, and nothing stands in the way of outdoor fun "well packed" in the pram. This includes a warm jacket or even better: a jumpsuit. A fur or blanket in the pushchair may also be a good idea for outdoors. In order to be able to react more easily to temperature differences indoors, it is a good idea to dress your baby according to the "onion principle". This can be several layers such as a bodysuit, long-sleeved shirt, romper and jacket.
It is important for me to emphasise this: For a safe baby sleep and to prevent the Sudden infant death syndrome However, it is important to protect the baby from overheating.
Keep insects at a distance! Especially in summer, it is not only important to protect your child from the sun, but also from buzzing pests such as mosquitoes and other insects. At best, a bite is simply annoying because it itches. But it can also be painful and dangerous, for example if a child is bitten by a wasp.
If an insect bites in the mouth or throat, quick action is required. This means taking the child to the (paediatric) doctor's surgery or hospital immediately.
In any case, it helps to cool the affected area well. The puncture site on the skin can be rubbed with an anthistamine gel (suitable for children) or a halved raw onion. You can also apply a Cream, which contains an extract from the nettle plant helps your child against the itching of mosquito bites.
While we adults can easily apply a chemical substance (repellent) to our skin to ward off insects, you have to rely on passive protection for small children. Insect repellents for application to the skin are not suitable for children under the age of two. not suitable. The chemical cocktail contains ingredients that can penetrate the child's still thin skin and damage the child's organism.
For passive protection light-coloured clothing with long sleeves or legs is suitable. This also protects against tick bites. If you have been in the woods or a meadow with your child: Look for it afterwards thorough for ticks. If necessary, remove the animal with special tick tweezers or a tick card and disinfect the puncture site.
Commercially available insect nets for flat windows or balcony or patio doors keep buzzing pests outside.
Don't play "angels fly" with your child! Experience has shown that even small children enjoy the well-known game of "angels fly". The child usually walks between two adults, each holding one hand, and when they shout "Angels fly!" they are allowed to swing through the air on both arms. There are variations of this where, for example, only one adult swings the child by both arms.
Whichever version is used, do not use it for children under the age of four! This strain on children's arms and joints creates a joint gap in which surrounding tissue can become painfully trapped. In addition, the connection between the upper and lower arm can become loose in the elbow joint. The same applies if you only pull your child up from the floor by the arms, for example.
Tip: Always reach under your child's armpits, for example, to pick them up from the floor, or grasp their chest.
