Baby Gear Dangers
by Molly Lyons, www.parenting.com

Cribs, car seats, strollers: They make life easier, but nearly 60,000 children are injured by them and other gear every year, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Here are a few simple fixes to help protect your child.

Car seats and carriers
14,000 injuries a year. Surprisingly, this number doesn't even include kids injured in crashes who were sitting in incorrectly installed car seats. That's right -- thousands of children are hurt each year in car seats that aren't even in the car, almost always by falls and tip-overs. Carriers pose the same risks.

Keep your child safe:
- Don't put infant car seats or carriers on high surfaces (such as tables or counters) or a bed, sofa, or other soft surface, where they can easily tip over. Keep the car seat or carrier on the floor instead. 
- Make sure the arm of the seat or carrier is locked into place and that your baby is secure in the safety belts before picking up the carrier.
- To be certain your child's car seat is also used correctly in the car, check out this car-seat safety guide.

Strollers and carriages 
10,800 injuries a year. A child can fall out if the stroller or carriage tips over, or be pinched if it collapses with him inside. More rarely, kids have been strangled when they've wiggled down and gotten their heads caught in a leg opening.

Keep your child safe:
- Buckle your child in -- every time. 
- If the seat reclines, check that the stroller doesn't tip back when he lies down. And don't hang anything on the handles -- even lightweight bags.
- If the stroller has a grab bar at the front of the seat, make sure any gaps can be closed up when the stroller is in the reclined position. 
- Keep the stroller locked in the open position when your child is in it so it won't accidentally fold up on him. 
- Always lock the brakes when you're parked, and never leave your child alone in the stroller.

Cribs
9,800 injuries a year. Most often, kids choke on loose parts, fall between the mattress and crib wall, or get body parts stuck between slats (if you can fit a soda can through the slats, the openings are too big).

Keep your child safe:
- Check for cracked or peeling paint, splinters, and rough edges, especially on hand-me-downs. Also look out for loose or broken slats or screws.
- Measure to be sure the slats are no more than 2 3/8 inches apart. Skip cribs with decorative cutouts on the headboard or footboard, as they can trap little limbs and heads.
- Be sure corner posts are less than 1/16 inch high to prevent bedclothes from getting hooked on them and causing strangulation.
- See that the mattress fits snugly, with no more than two fingers' width between the edge and the crib.
- Never place the crib near a window with draperies or blinds with long cords. It's a strangulation risk.

High chairs 
7,300 injuries a year. Kids can tip over, fall out, slip and be strangled by the waist belt, or get stuck between the tray and the seat.

Keep your child safe:
- Select a chair with a wide base (give it a good shove to see if it stays upright) and posts that go between the child's legs. Check it for sharp edges or protrusions.
- Always put the chair in the locked position before putting your child in it.
- Buckle the crotch and waist straps to prevent him from sliding down or out; the tray won't keep him safe.
- Keep the chair far enough away from the table, counter, or wall that your child can't push off from it. 
- Don't stray far from the chair when he's in it, and keep older children from playing near it or hanging on it.

Changing tables
2,900 injuries a year. Babies wiggle or roll off the changing tables and tumble to the floor, often while moms are reaching for the diapers or wipes. Babies are particularly at risk of falling around 7 months of age, when they start to roll over.

Keep your child safe:
-Always use the safety straps to buckle your baby into the changing pad. If your changing tray is on top of a dresser, be sure they attach to each other securely with straps or brackets.
- Pick the right pad. If the table or tray itself doesn't have raised sides, the pad should.
- Keep one hand on your baby at all times, even though you're using the safety straps. Stash supplies like diapers and ointments within easy reach.

Baby bouncer seats
1,900 injuries a year. As with car seats and carriers, babies in bouncer seats are injured by falling from high surfaces. The unit's motion causes the seat to edge right off counters and tables. Less frequently, injuries occur when parents mistake the toy bar for a handle and try to pick up the seat that way -- causing the seat to break and the baby to fall.

Keep your child safe: