in partnership with With the support of Ministry of Health Malaysia Contents Make It Safe For Kids 4 Prime Safety Tips 5 Preparing For Baby’s Arrival 6 When Baby Arrives 7 Feeding Safety 8 Toy Safety 9 When Baby Begins To Explore 10 When Child Is Able To Understand 11 15 Safety Tips You Can Teach Your Child 11 Safety In The Living Room 12 Safety In The Kitchen 13 Safety In The Bedroom 14 Safety In The Bathroom 15 When You Are Not Around 16 Recognising An Emergency 16 First Aid Kit Must-Haves 19 Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) 20 TECHNICAL TASKFORCE The ‘Make It Safe For Kids’ Manual was produced for the Malaysian Paediatric Chairman Association by VersaTrend Sdn Bhd. No part of this publication may be Professor Dr Zulkifli Ismail reproduced without the written consent of the Malaysian Paediatric Consultant Paediatrician Association. Any reproduction, whether in part or in full, must be attributed to the ‘Make If Safe For Kids’ campaign by the Malaysian Paediatric Association. Members Dr Rosnah Ramly The reprinting of this booklet is made possible with the support and assistance Principal Assistant Director from Health Education Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia. Violence and Injury Prevention Unit Ministry of Health A Word To Readers Professor Dr R. Krishnan The information and advice in this manual are relevant to boys and girls. Consultant Paediatrician & Family Throughout the manual, we shall be using both the masculine noun ‘he’ and Physician feminine noun ‘she’ interchangeably. This manual is intended only as a guide Dr Shyam Ishta Puthucheary and not as a substitute for medical advice, where required. Consultant Paediatrician Dr Mary Joseph Marret For further information and media enquires, please call the MISK Secretariat: Consultant Paediatrician VersaTrend Sdn Bhd, 12A, Jalan PJS 8/4, Mentari Plaza, Bandar Sunway, Yam Phak Hong 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel No: (03)56211408 Johnson & Johnson Sdn Bhd Email: [email protected] Honorary Advisor Acknowledgements Dato’ Dr Shafie Ooyub The Malaysian Paediatric Association and the MISK Technical Taskforce would Deputy Director General Public like to thank: Health • Malton Berhad Ministry of Health • Metrojaya Berhad The Malaysian Paediatric Association does not endorse any • Dr Lim Wei Leng brand or product. MessageMessage from MISK Chairman Under the best circumstances, bringing up a child is not an easy task. As your child begins to crawl and explore, the home surrounding can be truly dangerous as they are not aware of the danger the home surrounding can pose to them. As a result, children below the age of 4 are at a higher risk of injuries at home compared to motor vehicle injuries. It is a sad fact that some home injuries can cause children to be badly injured or may even be fatal. But with careful planning and adjustments, you can make your home a safe home for children to live in. As parents, you can avoid some of the worst injuries at home through some simple preventive measures. Realising the need for child injury prevention knowledge and exposure, Malaysian Paediatric Association (MPA) initiated a public education campaign on child injury prevention known as Make It Safe for Kids (MISK), a campaign made possible with a philantropic grant from Johnson & Johnson. This manual has been planned and written to bring forth the objective of providing parents with the appropriate knowledge on safety measures and precautionary techniques to avoid injuries from happening to their children at home. Throughout this book, the word ‘accident’ is substituted with ‘injury’ because the former has a ring of inevitability and inability to prevent. On the other hand, injury denotes a disease entity that can be prevented. And, prevention is the ultimate aim of this manual. So, with careful planning and adjustments, you can child-proof your home making it safe for children to live in. Learn how to protect your children from home injuries with simple tips in this manual. Children’s safety, Parents priority! Professor Dr Zulkifli Ismail Make it Safe for kids As parents, we love our 1,000 make emergency children and try to give room visits. In Malaysia, them the best we can. injury is a leading cause We worry endlessly of death among children about their nutrition, below the age of 14. growth, health, development, education Situations that could and a million other potentially lead to things. One of the injuries occur everyday, greatest challenges we inside and outside the face as parents is home. Those most at risk protecting our children from home from harm. That could be injuries anything ranging from are diseases like whooping children cough and dengue fever under 4. to physical dangers like world in abduction and violence. We may think that safety. It also gives you injuries seem to occur peace of mind. In fact, the greatest threat without warning. to a child’s life today is However almost all, even This manual offers Injury. Throughout the those that are fatal are information to help you developed world, preventable. Anticipating identify and eliminate childhood injury claims these dangers rather than potential hazards in your more lives than all reacting after the event home to make it safer for childhood diseases is crucial to the safety of your child. combined. International our children. data shows that for every child who dies from an Making your home as injury, approximately 40 safe as possible allows more are hospitalised and your child to explore his 4 Prime Safety Tips 1. Never leave your 5. Make sure the 10. Stop smoking. baby or child alone or electrical wiring in Smoking is bad for locked in a room. your house is safe. Do health. It can also 2. Store all detergents, not overload outlets or cause fire and burns. cleaning products, run wiring under rugs. 11. Never leave kids bleach and other Ensure that there is no near water damage to the outer unattended. This cover of the electrical includes the bathtub. wire. Children can drown 6. Use plug socket in just a few covers to prevent your centimetres of water. child 12. Have an escape from route out of the sticking house in case of fire, her that everyone in the fingers house, including potentially harmful or other children, knows chemicals out of objects into electrical about. Determine an children’s reach or in outlets. assembly point a locked cabinet. 7. Wipe or mop up any outside the exit. Never put them in spillage on the floor other containers that 13. Store all medications immediately to in a locked cabinet, kids can mistake for prevent slips and falls. food or drink. far from children’s 8. Keep a properly reach. Never leave 3. Keep small jewellery, stocked first aid kit in them on the kitchen perfumes and your house and make table or bedside colognes, belts, sure other adults in tables. Never tell a scarves and ties out of the house know child that medicines reach to prevent where it is are “sweets”. Never choking and kept. take your medicines strangulation. 9. Try to have at in front of your 4. While cooking, least one fire children. whether in the kitchen extinguisher or outside (barbecues, and smoke ‘kenduri’ and such), detector in the do not allow children house. Follow to be near the cooking its proper area at any time. maintenance Flammables such as and service matches and candles schedules. should be kept out of reach of children. 5 Preparing for Baby’s Arrival Before a newborn baby comes home, remove or fix possible household hazards. Start with the basic precautions. As the baby develops, modify them regularly. A cot is the safest place for baby to sleep. ‘Sarong cots’ or ‘buai’ and beds are unsafe as baby is at serious risk of falling out. What You Should Know About Baby Cots 1. Screws and bolts must be securely installed to prevent the cot from collapsing. 2. The cot must be free of sharp edges and exposed screws or bolts that could scratch or cut baby or catch baby’s clothing and potentially cause strangulation or other serious injury. 3. The mattress should fit snugly against the sides of the cot. Check this by ensuring no more than 2 fingers can fit between the mattress and the side of the cot. (See diagram) 4. Follow these measurements: Space between bars in the cot No more than 6 centimetres apart. If the space is too wide, your baby could slip through and 65 cm get strangled between the bars. Adjustable top rail of cot In its raised position, the top rail of the mattress adjustable side of a cot must be 65 centimetres 6 cm from the bottom of the cot’s mattress to prevent falls. In its lowered position, the top rail needs to be at least 23 centimetres from the cot’s mattress support. (source: American Academy of Pediatrics – Infant Furniture Safety) Height of cot All cots have 2 or 3 adjustable heights. You start with the mattress base at the highest and lower it as your baby grows. On the highest level, the distance from the top of the mattress to the top of the cot side should measure not less than 30 centimetres. 5. Install cot bumpers all around the cot, and attach each bumper to the cot with safety straps to ensure a tight fit. 6 6. Check that the cot has a durable, non-toxic finish which will not harm your child. 7. Do not use plastic mattress pads. The plastic can cling to her face and cause suffocation. 8. Do not place the cot near windows, curtains, lamps, electrical cords and appliances (such as fans) or any other piece of furniture that your child can use to climb out of a cot.