Babies are such precious gifts. Remember the day when you became a parent? It must be one of the happiest highlights in life. You would do anything to keep your baby safe.
As more and more parents are adapting to the new norm of working from home, we would now need to reassess the way we work while maintaining productivity and making sure our babies are kept safe and comfortable.
To help you navigate around these responsibilities, we came up with a basic guide on how to choose quality baby gears for your home.
Safe Sleep
Your newborn can sleep anywhere between 2 to 4 hours at one stretch. You can get a lot done during those hours. But in all your busyness, chances are you may forget about the little one who is tucked away quietly in her cot, in the room down the hall, and that can be dangerous.
A baby monitor will greatly ease this danger as you will be alerted when the baby stirs or cries, whether via the monitor speaker, a phone notification, or even by keeping an eye on the CCTV screen while you work on your computer.
Alternatively, investing in a simple bassinet can be helpful for a work-at-home parent as it can easily be moved and placed right by your working station, allowing you to remain close to your newborn as you work.
Having said all that, be sure to check the firmness of your baby’s mattress before making a purchase. Mattresses that are too soft are not just bad for your baby’s physical growth, they pose great risks of suffocating the child and increase the risk of SIDS. The sleeping surface should be firm along with tight fitted sheets and should not indent when your baby is lying on it.
Common Toxins
One of the main things to look into is the materials your baby products are made of – especially furniture where babies spend a lot of time in, such as the playpen and the cot. Commonly used materials include: solid wood, metal, or laminated wood, and they are generally finished with paints, lacquers, varnishes, and they can also be powder-coated if they are made of metals. Therefore, it is important that parents check if the materials used meet the current safety standards and that they are free from harmful chemicals or substances.
Pay attention to terms such as formaldehyde, bisphenols, and polyvinyl chloride. Formaldehyde is used in the glue that binds solid-wood, pressed and particle boards, and plywood together; while bisphenols is the substance that powder coats metal cots, strollers, and playpens. As for polyvinyl chloride – or a more familiar term, PVC – can be found in the plastic bite guards where growing babies like to chew on.
When setting up furniture for the nursery, it is always a good idea to keep the room’s windows opened or assemble the furniture in a well-ventilated area to air out the chemical smells before use.
Safety Standards
The safety factor of all baby-related gears and products are uncompromisable. Toys are a good distraction to keep babies occupied while you get a quick chore done but be careful in your choosing as some toys have small parts that can cause choking. So be sure to heed manufacturers’ warnings on the packaging before handing the toys to your child.
Batteries and battery fluid can cause chemical burn and other serious injuries. It is best to avoid giving battery-operated toys to babies; but if you are sure of the quality of the toy for your older children, then make sure the battery cases are secure with screws.
Always check for choking and strangling hazards such as long cords, sharp ends, or small parts like googly or beaded eyes, wheels, buttons, and sequins that can be pulled loose.
Do not give children under 8 years old balloons or latex gloves either. Inflated balloons can pop without warning and be inhaled. Balloons and gloves can be a tempting item for young children to chew on too as the texture feels like a pacifier, however that poses a major choking risk.
Designed for Babies
As a general term-of-endearment, we tend to call children under 2 years old as “babies” but that does not mean all products are made equal for babies of all ages. It is important to check for age-appropriateness when choosing baby gears or furniture for your child.
For example, there are different types of high/baby chairs that suit different ages. A reclining high chair is meant for babies as young as few weeks old, but contrary to the normal understanding of a “high chair”, these chairs are not meant for feeding (yes, not even bottle feeding as it poses the danger of choking), instead it is more for keeping the baby close to you at the dining or work table where you can maintain eye contact or communication with the little one.
A walker can be really helpful for babies who can sit upright and are ready to roam the space, it gives mommy a free hand to get some work done while also keeping the little one happy by allowing her movements. However, a baby in a walker can tumble over steps or stairs or roll into sharp edges. Considering how fast your baby can zoom across the room on those wheels, she may get into danger before you can grab her to safety.
Instead, if your baby is ready to learn how to walk, consider using a stationary play station that allows your active little one a good upright view all around and bounce off the wiggles. On the other hand, if you have a newborn, why not baby-wear him? That way you can always keep him happy and close to you!
Durability
As any wise consumer would advise, always buy with long-term use in mind. It makes sense to splurge on a quality piece of baby gear to last the use of 3 or even 4 babies down the road. While we may not be able to apply this to some products like strollers and cots, we can certainly consider investing in a rocker or an activity centre to help lighten our load and keep the baby occupied safely.
A general rule of thumb is to avoid any electronics embedded in the toy or the activity centre and one that plays loud music and projects glaring lights.
The Fisher-Price® Deluxe Infant-to-Toddler Rocker is a convenient and convertible infant seat that grows with your baby from newborn to toddlerhood. It starts as an infant rocker or stationary seat with calming vibrations and two bat-at toys overhead. As your baby grows, you can easily remove the toy bar and convert the seat to a toddler chair (up to 18kg).
With an adjustable, three-position reclining seatback, machine-washable seat pad, and lightweight frame that easily folds for storage and travel, this convertible baby seat is the perfect spot for your favourite little person to sit, relax, and play!
Now you can go about your work and tasks with your baby near you, but you won’t have to keep your eyes focused there the whole time.
Fisher-Price® products are powered by PlayLab – an onsite R&D lab – that are dedicated to designing and creating the best and most practical solutions to meet the growing up needs of babies of all stages.
Every year, Fisher-Price® PlayLab has seen thousands of young families participating in its parent’s talks and toy-testing sessions! And that is why, over the decades, parents can be sure of getting premium quality for their babies from a trusted brand.
Visit Motherhood.com.my to get your favourite Fisher-Price® products today. With minimum purchase of RM180 (on any items!) you can get a Gift-With-Purchase of Thermos x Fisher-Price® worth RM145.