Bath time Safety – Actually Very Interesting!

This is the factual information that most people skip over.The selected information below only strengthens our passion for our products and belief in what we are doing to help enhance our little ones bath time experience (and make life a little easier for Mum and Dad!).

Extracts

Between 1989 and 2003, six babies and toddlers in the UK drowned as a result of being left unattended while in a baby bath seat (Sibert et al 2005).

A new national (US) study finds kids are being hurt in bathtubs and showers at a surprising rate.* You might think scalding or near drowning would be the most common threat in the bathroom, but they're not. Although interventions have been initiated to prevent injuries due to submersions and hot water scalds, little attention has been paid to slips, trips and falls, which account for more than 80 percent of bathtub - and shower - related injuries.

Experts at Nationwide Children's Hospital say slips and falls are far more common, sending more than 43,000 kids a year to the emergency department. That's an average of 120 kids every day who are hurt in the tub or shower.* In most cases, parents are watching their kids, but it doesn't matter.

“Unfortunately, adult supervision isn't enough to prevent these injuries, they happen so quickly that a parent simply can't react quickly enough to prevent them.” says Gary Smith, MD, with Nationwide Children's Hospital's Center for Injury Research and Policy.

In the study publishing in the August issue of the journal Pediatrics, researchers say most injuries occur to children under age 4, and most often to the face. The most common diagnosis was a laceration (60 percent), with the face being the most frequently injured body region (48 percent), followed by the head and neck (15 percent).

"That is because young children, the ones typically injured in bathtubs tend to topple forward. They have a high center of gravity and they tend to strike their head and their face, and that ends up with injures such as lacerations," says Smith.

*Source: Injuries Associated with Bathtubs and Showers Among Children in the United States, Pediatrics, Volume 124, Number 2, August 2009.

Some Thoughts for a Safer Bath time

Bath time can be fun for you and your baby but keep these safe bathing tips in mind:

• Never, ever leave your baby unattended in the bath. Have everything you need for your bath ready in advance: towels, toiletries, clean nappy, pyjamas. If someone knocks at the door or the phone rings and you feel you must answer it, scoop him up in a towel and take him with you.

• Never put your baby into a bath when the water is still running (the water temperature could change or the depth could become too high).

• Put cold water in the bath first, then hot. This will reduce the risk of scalding your baby.

• Make the family bath safer: put in a rubber bathmat, cover the taps and attach a Splash n Bump Bumper Set to the bath walls!

• Make sure the bath water is comfortably warm but not hot; about 38 degrees Centigrade / 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit has been shown to help babies to retain body heat (Kuller 0et al 2001).

• For newborns and babies up to six months old, fill the bath with about five inches of water, or enough to allow your baby to settle in the water with his shoulders well covered (Kuller et al 2001). Never fill the bath more than waist-high (in sitting position) for older children.

• Teach your child to sit in the bath at all times.

• Avoid strong soaps or products designed for adult use.
  

• Make sure you set your water heater to a maximum of 49 degrees C / 120 degrees F. A child can get scalded in less than a minute in water at 60 degrees C / 140 degrees F.
  

• Do not allow your child to touch the taps. Even if he can't turn them on now, he'll be strong enough to do so soon and that could lead to serious injury.

• Never leave your child unattended. (Yes, it's so important we listed it twice). Children can drown in less than an inch of water - and in less than 60 seconds.