IN AND AROUND THE HOUSE
■ Cover exposed wall plugs so that baby's fingers don't end up in the small holes. ■ Install baby gates at the top of stairs or at balconies where a baby might fall. Ensure the bars are not so wide apart that baby might squeeze through. ■ Keep dustbins out of baby's reach and ■ For now, take tall lamps out of your lounge. It's not worth baby pulling the stand over and injuring himself, or breaking a window. ■ Remember that many common South African plants are poisonous when ingested, and others pose a choking hazard. Screen your potplants. ■ Keep all electrical cords and cables (from your landline, computer, lamps, stereos and other devices) well out of baby's reach. ■ Don't leave plastic carrier bags lying around. Your baby could chew on them or pull them over his head and choke. ■ Tablecloths are a risk! If your baby pulls himself up by grabbing onto a corner of the cloth, he could upend everything on the table on himself. ■ Gym equipment can be hazardous – baby can easily hurt fingers in the spokes of an exercise bike or become jammed in an exercise machine's moving part, or pull weights onto himself. ■ Glass-panelled coffee tables are a no-no. It could shatter under baby's weight and injure him. Remove the furniture for now or replace the glass in it with an unbreakable material.
