Playtime Safety

When preparing for playtime with your baby, it is important that you make sure the area is safe. Although creating a safe playtime area for your baby may be challenging, there are some main areas you should focus on, such as the floor, furniture, exits, and toys. For instance, the ideal playtime floor should be a soft, but firm surface (such as carpet or foam pads). It is also important that your baby's toys do not have small pieces that he could swallow and choke on.

Caring for Your Infant

An Overview of Safety During Playtime

Playtime is a great time for babies to learn, grow, and have fun. Part of making this time stimulating and fun is keeping your baby safe.

Creating a safe environment for infant playtime can be challenging. However, don't let it be daunting. To make an area safe, focus on the:

Floor
Furniture
Exits
Toys.

Making the Playtime Floor Safe

The ideal playtime floor should be a soft, but firm surface. Infants are notoriously incapable of keeping themselves in an upright position. Even those with the greatest head control and overall coordination can get distracted and topple over.

A carpeted floor with a clean blanket to play on is a great setup. Having a blanket is also a great way to protect the floor from potential mishaps, such as spit up or poop.

Another option is the interlocking foam tiles that you can pick up at any baby toy store. These are easy to clean and absorb the impact of any fall much better than most other surfaces.

You can also keep a u-shaped cushion or pillow around your little guy before he has mastered the art of sitting. Young infants that can sit up on their own are likely to fall back a number of times before they truly master the "sitting up" milestone. It's always better to be prepared than to be running to the freezer for ice packs.

(Playtime Safety Continued: Page 2)