Choking, Suffocation and Strangulation Prevention for Babies At Home
Babies are curious and will often put things in their mouths. The majority of childhood choking, suffocation and strangulation incidents occur in the home.
Minimize the risk for choking, strangulation and suffocation by removing hazards from play, eating and sleeping areas.
 Top Tips
Choking
- Supervise your baby when he or she is eating and playing.
- Avoid giving your baby small, hard or round foods, such as hot dogs, cheese sticks/chunks, hard candy, nuts, grapes and popcorn.
- Use a small parts tester to ensure toys are not so small they pose a choking hazard.
Suffocation
- Actively supervise babies at all times.
- Remove pillows, blankets and stuffed animals from your baby's sleeping area.
- Don’t allow babies to sleep on couches, chairs, regular beds or other soft surfaces.
- Don’t allow babies to play with plastic bags or in and around poorly ventilated spaces.
Strangulation
- Keep cords and strings out of your child’s reach.
- Remove hood and neck drawstrings from your baby’s clothing.
- Don't allow babies to wear hanging jewelry, purses, scarves or loose clothing.
- On older or used cribs, make sure all crib-railing slats are secure and no more than 2 and 3/8 inches apart (the size of a soda can).
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Safety Tools
There are many tools that parents can use to help to keep their babies safe from injuries. Many of them are affordable and can be found at many stores.
What You'll Need:
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