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Bath time is a very important time in the daily life of your baby. Not only does it get rid of all those nasty germs on your baby's skin, it is a fantastic, social, fun time between parent and baby. Just remember to keep safety a first priority. There are at least three possible dangers you need to know about to prevent bath time accidents.
First always be careful to check the temperature of the water. The water temperature should be a little warmer than room temperature. Some people check with their hands. As a mother myself, I find my hands a little less sensitive to heat because I have my hands in hot water all day washing things. I like to get some wrist or elbow in the water to get a proper test. Stir the water around as you are testing its temperature because sometimes there are hot or cool spots. As a wise precaution when you have children in the home, you should have your home water heater set to no more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit or 49 degrees Celsius. You can do this yourself easily be adjusting the dial on the water heater. Once in the tub you should keep your baby away from the faucet in case you accidentally knock the hot water on.
The next thing you should be careful about is injuries from falls or drops. You should always support a very young baby at all times. Be especially careful when removing a young infant from water because they are very slippery. I would always drape the towel over one shoulder before I even undressed my infant so that after the bath I could lift the baby securely with two hands and bring them straight to my body to be wrapped in the towel. With older babies and young children you need to prevent them at all times from trying to stand up in the tub or play too exuberantly because of the dangers of slipping and getting an injury. There is also a danger of getting a head or face injury from the tub spout. There are special tub spout protectors you can buy. Slips in the tub can also be minimized with rubber bathmats or adhesive stencils, but do not count on them to prevent all possible accidents.
Another serious danger at bath time is the danger of drowning. I feel the age of five years is about the right age for being able to leave a child alone in the tub for a few minutes. Any child younger than age five should not be left alone, not even for a second. Many a parent of a drowned child has said they only left the side of the tub for a moment to answer the telephone or the doorbell. Either let the telephone or doorbell ring and stay with your baby, or lift your baby out of the tub and take them with you to get the telephone or door. Be certain before you begin the bath that you have everything with you that you need to complete the bath. Either you will need to do without them or you will remove your child from the tub and take them with you while you fetch them.
With a little common sense you can keep bath time a safe and fun time for your baby. It will be a time you and your baby will look forward to each day. The safety aspects of bath time will become second nature to you, and you can give all your attention to splashing and washing.
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