5 Unintentional Mistakes Parents Make While Taking Care Of Children

Veena was busy preparing breakfast for her 3-year-old son Hari, when her husband left for office, closing the door behind him. After feeding Hari, she gave him some toys to play with in the drawing room and got busy attending to household chores. After some time, she came to check on Hari, and got the shock of her life. The door was ajar and Hari was nowhere to be found.

Filled with panic, she ran outside to look for Hari. She was about to raise an alarm when her eyes caught sight of her neighbour walking towards her with Hari in tow. Luckily for Veena, and little Hari as well, the neighbour had found the boy wandering down the street. Finding him alone, she had sensed something was wrong. So, she decided to bring Hari home.

The inadvertent mistake by Veena and her husband of leaving the door unlocked could have proved costly for the family, had the neighbour not appeared on the scene.Children are the apple of their parents’ eyes. However, it is also true that most parents, at some point or the other, do something that can result in undesirable consequences for their child.Let’s look at some such common unintentional mistakes that parents make while taking care of their little children.

* Ignoring road safety

Most Indian parents use their two-wheeler to transport their children to school. With bad roads and rush during school hours, some parents drive dangerously fast to drop their child on time at school. Losing control and meeting with an accident at such speeds can cause grievous injuries to the child. It can also prove fatal if the child receives head injuries.

* Leaving children behind in the vehicle

Very few parents pay heed to the safety of their children when taking them around in the car.

Most parents still don’t understand the importance of car seat for children. The article titled, ‘Saving Lives with Car Seats and Seat Belts’, published on AAP.org says, “In children younger than 1 year, using car seats decreases mortality by 71%. When compared to only using a seatbelt, car seats reduce the risk of injury by 54% in children 1-4 years old, and in children 4-8 years old, booster seats reduce the risk by 45%.

* Ignoring bath and laundry-related risks

Newspapers often report babies drowning in water-filled containers, bathtubs or toilets. This usually happens when parents leave the bathroom door unlocked or leave the baby alone in the bathroom to attend to something urgent like a phone call.

Install toilet seat lid locks, keep bathtubs and containers dry, and never leave the baby unattended in the bathroom, even for a moment. Also, keep the bathroom door shut when not occupied.

* Overlooking choking hazards

Children have a habit of putting their toys in their mouth. Sometimes, they may accidentally swallow them or any loose part like a nut, which can lead to choking. So, while choosing toys for your young child, ensure that they do not pose the risk of choking.

Also, children are quick to spot objects lying on the floor and pick them up. Sometimes, they put these in their mouth and try to swallow them, which can lead to chocking. So, clean the floors regularly to remove any small items that your child might choke on.

* Leaving sharp objects lying around

Children love to imitate the actions of their parents. But, sometimes, in their attempt to do so, they end up handling sharp objects like knives, forks, graters, and razors. Children get access to such objects when parents do not store them safely after use.

So, after use, sharp objects must either be kept locked inside cabinets or in a place where children can’t reach them.