MT. LAUREL, N.J. (PRWEB)
September 01, 2022

September is Baby Safety Month, an annual time to focus on safety considerations unique to babies and young children. Baby Safety Month was established by the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) nearly four decades ago to help parents safely navigate early childhood. With unintentional injury being the leading cause of death for children ages one to four, JPMA offers parents and caregivers critical safety tips and useful resources to help them choose and safely use age-appropriate products in the home and while on the go.

“Each year, Baby Safety Month is an important opportunity to spread awareness of critical, life-saving information to parents and caregivers of young children,” said Lisa Trofe, executive director of JPMA. “In addition to general safety tips, this year, we’ll focus on four baby safety themes: Locks & Latches; Safe Sleep; Car Seats & Child Passenger Safety; and Safety & Sustainability.”

Babies are curious and want to touch, feel, lick, smell and listen to things within their environment. A priority for parents must be to ensure a child can safely explore every room in the home. To reduce injury risks, JPMA recommends parents and caregivers start each morning with a daily safety check for potential hazards in their home from baby’s point of view—down on hands and knees—and offers the following tips to help with common safety questions. For more information about Baby Safety Month and a complete list of safety tips, visit BabySafetyMonth.org (http://babysafetymonth.org).

Locks & Latches

According to Safe Kids Worldwide, in the United States, nearly 7.7 million children are treated for injuries in emergency departments every year, and these are often serious injuries that can affect them for a lifetime. Many injuries can be prevented by using locks & latches to secure household items that are dangerous to babies and young children.

• The only sure-fire way to keep your baby safe is direct supervision.
• Place locks and latches on all cabinets in bathrooms, the kitchen, the garage and the laundry room.
• Even with locks and latches, make sure to move all chemicals and medicine to a high location where little hands can’t reach them.
• Keep the number of the poison control center in your phone and on your refrigerator in case of an emergency (1-800-222-1222).
• Consider babyproofing an ongoing process, and monitor your child’s growth and development frequently.

Safe Sleep

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, each year in the United States, about 3,500 infants die of sleep-related infant deaths. For this reason, it’s essential for parents and caregivers to learn and implement safe sleep practices for babies and young children.

• The safest place for baby to sleep is in a bare, JPMA Certified crib or other approved sleep product.
• Use a new crib that has not been recalled.
• The crib must be assembled with manufacturer hardware and following manufacturer instructions only. Keep instructions for future use.
• If baby falls asleep, move baby to their crib as soon as it is safe to do so.
• Always use a properly fitting mattress in baby’s crib.
• Follow manufacturer’s weight and developmental recommendations for sleep products.
• Never add extra bedding, pillows, blankets or stuffed animals to baby’s crib.

Car Seats & Child Passenger Safety

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car crashes are a leading cause of death for children ages 1-13. Car seats can help reduce the risk of crash injuries overall and can reduce the risk of fatal injury by as much as 71 percent. However, mistakes in choosing, installing or correctly using car seats can compromise the protection they offer.

• Delay transitions from rear-facing to forward-facing, forward-facing to booster, and booster to seat belt. Use each restraint mode until reaching the maximum height or weight allowed by the instructions for that mode.
• Keep car seat harnesses snug. Correctly adjusted harnesses limit how a child’s body would move in a crash to help reduce injury.
• Properly attach and adjust the top tether on your forward-facing car seat to reduce head injury risk.
• Use a booster seat from the time your child outgrows a forward-facing car seat with harnesses until the seat belt alone fits correctly. Booster seats help keep seat belts on strong bones to protect internal organs.
• Read and follow car seat instructions, vehicle instructions and your state law to protect your child.

Child Passenger Safety Week will be held during the third week of Baby Safety Month, Sept. 18-24, 2022. A car seat check event will take place Saturday, Sept. 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School, 1100 Harvard Street NW, Washington, DC 20009.

Safety & Sustainability

According to BabyCenter and What to Expect, 42 percent of mothers surveyed who are pregnant or have a baby under 6 months old acquired or plan to acquire baby products secondhand. While reusing products is sustainable, it’s important that baby and children’s products adhere to the latest safety standards. Beyond using secondhand products, there are other ways parents can take care of babies safely while also protecting the environment.

• To create a sustainable nursery, look for products with sustainably sourced materials, organic cotton or recycled components.
• Clothes, toys and books are great to buy secondhand, but prioritize buying new baby gear like car seats, cribs and mattresses.
• Consider multi-use or convertible baby products that take up less space and grow with your child.
• Rely on manufacturers with buy-back or repair/replacement programs and retailer trade-in programs where products are recycled sustainably.
• If you must use secondhand products, ensure they have not been recalled, meet current safety standards and have all manufacturer instructions and labeling intact.

JPMA would like to thank our Baby Safety Month Ambassadors (https://www.jpma.org/page/bsm_ambassador_logos) and the following partners (https://www.jpma.org/page/bsm_partners) for supporting this year’s Baby Safety Month: Association Headquarters, American Home Furnishing Alliance, Baby Carrier Industry Alliance, Baby Products Association, Be Safe Buy Real, Charlie’s House, ChildproofingExperts.com, China Toy & Juvenile Products Association, European Nursery Products Confederation, First Candle, Gugu Guru, Harrogate International Nursery Fair, The Infant and Nursery Products Alliance of Australia, Injury Free Coalition For Kids, International Association For Child Safety, Kids and Car Safety, National Diaper Bank Network, Pregnant Chicken, Retail Industry Leaders Association, Safe Kids Worldwide, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, The Genius of Play, The Toy Association, Twiniversity, Walmart, Window Covering Safety Council, Women Certified and Zero To Three.

About Baby Safety Month

Baby Safety Month started in 1983 when JPMA initiated “Expectant Mother’s Day.” In 1986, it was extended to a week-long celebration until 1991, when JPMA sponsored the first “Baby Safety Awareness Month.” Since then, every September has been designated as Baby Safety Month.

About the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA)

The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) is the voice of the industry on quality and safety for baby and children’s products in North America. We work to advance the interests of manufacturers, parents, children and the industry at large by advocating for safety through product certification programs and legislative and regulatory involvement. We support our broad and diverse membership through member-only programming and industry promotion, and we act as a comprehensive source for baby product information and education. Established in 1962, this year JPMA marks its 60th year of helping protect future generations by advancing the availability and safety of products used to care for babies and young children.

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