At Rainforest Daycare, as a childcare provider, it is in our interest to not only keep up to date on the latest information on health and safety, but to also pass this information to you.
Most parents recognize babies require extra special attention and care, particularly when it comes time to feeding and teething. Certain items may be required to help the feeding process while other items may be used for easing the teething process. Although every item is accompanied with its own risks some risks may be reduced to proper care and attention.
Certain safety measures must be kept in mind when caring for baby bottles and nipples. Some of these measures include:
- Ensure that you always properly clean baby-feeding equipment before every use.
- Make sure to inspect the baby bottle nipples prior to and after each use.
- If a baby bottle nipple is showing signs of wear, discard immediately as this may be a choking hazard.
- Refrain from altering baby bottle nipples to increase the hole size as it could tear and cause a piece to break off.
- As your child begins to teethe, the wear on the baby bottle nipples will increase. This calls for frequent replacement.
Are you aware of what Bisphenol A is? Bisphenol A, commonly known as BPA is a carbon-based synthetic compound used in many plastic baby bottles sold prior to 2010 (in Canada). BPA is said to exhibit hormone-like properties raising the concerns about suitability for use in consumer products and food containers, according to an article on WikiPedia. Rainforest Daycare Langley and Coquitlam both practice a BPA free location in our food preparation & serving.
If you use a pacifier for your young one, ensure you never hang it around the neck of your child as this is a strangulation hazard. The pacifier should also require frequent replacement (every 2 months is recommended by healthycanadians.gc.ca. Ensure to check that any handles or rings remain firmly attached when pulled forcefully. If your child begins to use it for chewing on, make sure you replace it with a teething ring.
Depending on the item, not every teething product can be safe for your child, especially teething products that involve being tied around the neck. Such items can be considered dangerous causing serious injury or death. This includes any type of necklaces, strings, ribbons or chains. These and other such items should also never be used to attach items to a crib either.
For a full break down on baby feeding and teething safety, we recommend checking out the Government of Canada healthycanadians.gc.ca website HERE.
Being in the childcare industry, Rainforest Daycare strives to keep up to date on the latest health and safety issues and pass this information on to the parents though our blog. Visit us often and we welcome your feedback.
