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Toddler-Proofing:
Safety Check-List For Your Home
When your baby started to crawl, you baby-proofed
your house. Get ready to "toddler-proof"
your home. Your toddler has the ability to open
more cabinets, drawers and bottles than before.
The last thing you want is to hover or discourage
your toddler's growing independence and discovery.
So make sure surroundings are safe and then supervise,
but don't discourage your toddler.
Use this check-list to make the safety rounds at
your home to make sure your adventurous toddler
is safe and sound.
- Windows: Install window gates to prevent falls.
- Stairs: Put safety gates across top and bottom
of steps.
- Electric outlets: Plug them with plastic caps.
- Electric cords: Keep out of reach so a toddler
can't pull lamps and appliances over.
- Houseplants: Many are poisonous, so hang or
place all plants high out of baby's reach.
- Tippy furniture: Test for wobbles and remove
shaky pieces that could fall on a toddler.
- Toy boxes: Large ones with heavy lids can
injure toddlers. Use shelves or small storage
bins instead.
- Knives and sharp tools: Keep well out of baby's
reach.
- Needles, pins and small objects: Keep out
of reach.
- Matches and ashtrays: Keep out of reach. Cigarette
butts can be fatally toxic if swallowed.
- Cleaning supplies, laundry products and paints:
Many of these are fatally toxic. Keep on a high
shelf or locked in a cabinet.
- Pots on stove: Keep the handles turned toward
the wall so they don't get pulled down on top
of anyone.
- Medicines: Keep in a high locked cabinet.
Ask pharmacists for childproof caps. Put emergency
numbers near the phone and be sure to include
the number of the local Poison Control Center.
In case of accidental poisoning, call Poison
Control before taking action.
- Outside the house: Steps: Put safety gates
across steep porch steps.
- Access to the street: Fence in the yard where
a toddler plays.
- Pools: Fence in swimming pools. Don't leave
a toddler unattended near a portable wading
pool.
- Driveway and garage: These are dangerous places
for a toddler. The garage is full of hazardous
materials and cars come into the driveway without
warning.
When you visit: Friends and relatives without
small children usually do not have toddler-proofed
houses-and this includes loving grandparents.
So be extra careful when you're in someone else's
home.
Be watchful, while allowing your child the freedom
to explore and discover-an important step towards
independence.
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12
Great Ideas for Healthy Nibbles
"No eating between meals" may be a good
rule for dieters, but not necessarily for toddlers.
Often toddlers can't eat enough at one regular meal
to keep them going till the next, and a nourishing
snack can save the day, especially when mealtime
appetites are finicky.
The secret to keeping between-meal eating healthy
is to make sure that junk food is simply not on
the menu. Resist buying sugary treats, soft drinks,
imitation fruit drinks, salty chips and pretzels.
Instead, opt for nutritious snacks.
Need some ideas on healthy nibbles? Try these Toddler-Approved
healthy snacks:
- Bite-size chunks of cucumber or tomato
- Slices of apple or banana
- Orange or grapefruit sections
- Pieces of pineapple
- Bits of scrambled eggs
- Dry cereals
- Whole-grain breads and muffins
- Slices of cheese
- A dish of yogurt
- A bowl of cooked rice and milk
- Canned fruit. You can get rid of most of the
sugar by dumping the fruit into a strainer and
rinsing it briefly under the tap.
- Here's a quick recipe for healthy pudding:
cottage cheese mixed with applesauce and decorated
with raisins. As toddlers grow, they love to
help make this simple dish-all it takes is a
spoon!
Safety note: Be aware that some foods can cause
choking in toddlers. Some examples include hot
dogs, hard candy, nuts, grapes and popcorn. Peanut
butter is a no-no, too; it can get stuck in the
throat.
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Finicky
Eaters
Now that your baby is becoming a toddler, you'll
probably notice a dramatic drop in appetite. This
is perfectly normal development. While babies often
triple their weight in the first year, they usually
gain only five or six pounds in the second year.
Discriminating Palates: a.k.a "Picky Eaters"
Changes in eating habits at one year reflect not
only changing bodily needs but also growing independence.
Toddlers show definite likes and dislikes when it
comes to food. This is a sign of their emerging
individuality. Instead of pushing your child to
eat a particular food, offer a variety of healthy
foods and let your baby choose. In one well-known
experiment, 1-year-old babies who were allowed to
choose from a range of wholesome foods with no pressure
from adults, selected what they required-and ate
balanced diets over a month's time.
Impatient Diners
Sometimes a baby who has just learned to walk hates
to sit still for mealtimes. So respect this desire
to be on the move and don't keep an active baby
confined in the high chair for periods of more than
10 minutes or so.
The Scoop on the Spoon
Now is the time to let your child experiment with
a spoon. Parents need to be prepared for messier
meals and to call on all their diplomatic skills
to strike a balance between helping their child
and letting the child do it alone. Some parents
have found that using two spoons helps: The child
practices with one, while the parent pops at least
a few bits into baby's mouth with the other.
It will probably take many months before your baby
becomes adept at using a spoon, however. Some toddlers
can use a spoon efficiently by the time they are
16 months old, but others need much more time.
Remember that you'll want to reduce your part in
the feeding more and more and let your toddler take
over. If you keep on feeding now, you may find that
your child will lose the urge and demand that you
do all the work.
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