The Parenting Journal
Room by Room
Nursery Crib Safety: Placement Mattress and Bumper Guidelines
About 3,500 infants die each year from sleep-related causes in the United States, according to CDC SUID data. Most of those deaths happen in environments that looked safe to the parents who set them up. That’s the part that stays...
Room by Room
How to Set Up a Safe Nursery: The Complete Baby Proofing Guide
Every nursery looks safe before a baby arrives. The room is clean, the furniture is new, the crib is assembled and sitting in the corner like a promise. Then your baby starts moving, and you realize the room you designed...
Room by Room
Pool Safety for Toddlers: Swim Lessons Supervision Rules and Equipment
Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury death in children ages 1–4, according to the CDC. It happens silently. There is no dramatic splashing, no screaming, no moment that looks like what we see in movies. A toddler can...
Room by Room
How to Baby Proof Your Pool: Fences Alarms and Water Safety Essentials
Every summer, I walk out to our backyard and feel the same split-second of relief when I see the gate latch is still in place. It takes about three seconds to check. It takes far less time than that for...
Room by Room
Fireplace Baby Proofing in the Living Room: Screens Gates and Hearth Pads
Every fireplace in a family home is a heat source, a fall hazard, and a chemical risk compressed into one architectural feature. Most parents think about the flames. Fewer think about the glass.Glass-front gas fireplace surfaces can reach 500°F minimum...
Room by Room
Bottom of Stairs Baby Gate: Pressure Mount and Freestanding Options
About 93,000 children under 5 are treated in U.S. emergency rooms each year for stair-related injuries, according to a Nationwide Children’s Hospital analysis of CPSC NEISS data. That’s roughly one child every six minutes. If you have a mobile baby...
Room by Room
Top of Stairs Baby Gate Installation: Hardware Mount Best Practices
About 93,000 children under 5 are treated in U.S. emergency rooms each year for stair-related injuries, according to a Nationwide Children’s Hospital analysis of CPSC NEISS data. That works out to roughly one child every six minutes. If you have...
Room by Room
Toilet Safety for Babies: Lid Locks Drowning Prevention and Training
The bathroom door was open for maybe ninety seconds. That’s all it took for my younger daughter, at 18 months, to push the door wide, cross the tile, and have both hands in the toilet bowl before I got there....
Room by Room
Baby Monitor Placement in the Bedroom: Cord Safety and Positioning
The camera is sitting right on the crib rail. The cord loops down the side of the mattress, coils on the floor, and disappears under the dresser. It is a setup I see in almost every nursery photo posted in...