Baby Safety Tips ER Doctors Want You to Know

We talked to pediatric ER doctors about the baby safety basics that can prevent you from ever having to meet them

As a mom of five, I've endured my fair share of babyproofing "oops" moments, like finding out the hard way that the edges of a coffee table are sharper than they look. Accidents and near-misses can happen under the watchful eye of even the most safety-conscious parent.

"While some injuries are difficult to prevent, many are unintentional and can be prevented," says Meera Kotagal, MD, MPH , director of Trauma Services at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Medical Center. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accidents are the leading cause of death among children from 1 to 4 years of age.

"The advice I give most parents is, think of your new baby like a puppy: They are hard-wired to explore, get into things, and be completely unaware of their own size and capabilities," says Anita Patel, MD , a pediatric critical care attending physician at Children's National Hospital and associate professor of pediatrics at George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C.

We asked five emergency room doctors what types of injuries they see most, and how babyproofing can keep your baby safer. Here's what they want parents to know about preventing the accidents that are, well, preventable.

When you think babyproofing, your mind might head right to baby gates —for good reason. They can help prevent falls, especially related to stairs, and especially if they are " auto close " so that you don't have to remember to perfectly click the latch closed every time. Stanford Medicine reports that more than 1.1 million children ages 4 and younger are treated in ERs for injuries from falls each year .

But it's not just stairs that have landed babies in the ER. Experts want parents to know that setting your baby down on an elevated surface—even in an infant car seat or bouncer seat—creates a serious fall risk.

"Whether baby is awake or not, do not set them up high—on a chair, countertop, or other elevated surface," says Darria Long Gillespie, MD , creator of the No Panic Parenting Baby Proofing Course and a board-certified emergency physician and clinical assistant professor at the University of Tennessee School of Health Sciences who resides in Atlanta. "We see babies just move a little bit and flip the car seat—and the average age of that is 4 months—often because the baby is so small and parents don't realize they're able to create that kind of movement."

Tip-Overs

Every 53 minutes, a child is treated in a hospital emergency department for injuries related to a furniture, TV, or appliance tip-over . That's why it's so important to anchor furniture to reduce the risk of a tip-over incident (and why CR championed the 2022 STURDY Act to help drive safer standards).

"When babyproofing your home, it can be helpful to get down on the floor to see what is accessible from your baby's level," says Sarah Miller, MD , pediatric emergency medical director and clinical associate professor of emergency medicine for University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City, Iowa. "Babies will pull themselves up on furniture and can pull furniture over onto themselves."

There's nothing that an exhausted new parent loves more than a hot cup of coffee after a terrible night. But be extra careful with that mug of liquid treasure: ER docs say that spilled coffee and other hot liquids have been known to lead to baby burns.

"A common source of significant injuries for us is the stove. Not the burners or the pots, it's the spilling liquid inside them," says Graham Snyder, MD , emergency physician and medical director of the Medical Simulation Center at WakeMed Health & Hospitals in Raleigh, N.C. He says that as babies start to be able to crawl, walk, and reach the burners or pot handles, parents can look to babyproof the stove and even simply turn the pot handles away from the edge so that kids can't reach. "This includes the coffee pot," he says.

The safest place for your baby or toddler while you're cooking, eating, or otherwise have your hands full in the kitchen is in a play yard or buckled into their high chair. Burns are more likely to happen if your baby is left to crawl or toddle around the stove or other hot appliances.

Pro tip: Your baby's monthly milestones are a great reminder to retest alarms every month, and their birthday is also a helpful reminder to replace smoke detector batteries each year—unless you have a smoke detector with a sealed, long-lasting battery.

Many parents worried about sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) have endured an anxious night watching their babies sleeping to make sure they can breathe. Accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed is still the source of 27 percent of infant deaths , and according to Stanford Medicine, suffocation is the top cause of unintentional injury-related deaths for children under the age of 1.

The good news is that babyproofing a crib is quite simple and involves taking almost everything out of the crib. "Nothing in the crib besides baby and (non-weighted) sleep sacks, and maybe a pacifier. No pillows. No blankets, despite what some cutesy nursery of an influencer on Instagram may show, and no bumpers. Not even mesh ones," says Long Gillespie. Safe sleep guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics call for a firm, flat crib mattress and a fitted sheet.

Parents should also avoid letting babies sleep on couches, armchairs, loungers, or pillows. Another unsafe sleep environment to avoid: inclined baby products, which since new federal rules in 2022 can no longer be marketed as safe for sleep, in order to avoid suffocation and other injuries. If your baby does fall asleep in a lounger, car seat, or sleeper, you'll want to move them promptly (and gently) into a safe sleep environment such as a crib or bassinet.

Improper Car Seat or Seat Belt Use

Speaking of car seats, pediatric emergency care doctors say that proper car seat placement and installation are crucial. "We see infants after car crashes—those who are in a rear-facing infant car seat that is correctly installed are much less likely to have significant injuries," says Miller.

Safety risks can also come from loosened or partially buckled car seat straps. "If a baby falls asleep in their car seat and you take it out of the car, do not loosen the straps to allow them to sleep unattended. We see some of the worst outcomes, in car seats, when they're out of the car," Long Gillespie says. "Particularly, if someone loosens a strap—in a well-meaning effort because the baby looks uncomfortable—that can lead to suffocation and strangulation."

Parents can minimize injuries in the car by ensuring they have the best car seat for their child's age and size , and that it's properly installed and used .

Swallowing Something Dangerous

As a parent of many kids, I can attest that one of the best babyproofing devices we own—especially with older kids in the house—is the vacuum . Our baby's crawling area was often littered with little pieces, from small toys to parts of an art project on the playroom floor. Frequent babyproofing "sweeps" of that area became a must, when we weren't enclosing the baby in a specific gated play space.

"Assume your baby will put everything they can reach in their mouths. Small objects can be choking hazards. Button batteries can cause serious injuries if swallowed," says Miller.

"Babies can accidentally ingest medications, cleaning products, or other household (toxic) substances. We store all of these items in babyproofed cabinets or out of reach. I can't go a month as a PICU doctor without taking care of an accidental or non-accidental medication/substance ingestion," Patel says.

Move cleaning products, medication, and other swallowing hazards—such as water beads or high-powered magnets —up high and out of reach, or in a securely babyproofed cabinet for safety.

You're likely to deadbolt your hotel door when you travel. But is there a deadbolt between your baby and your backyard pool? Snyder says this $3 purchase should be installed 6 feet high, where babies can't reach.

The most common and tragic water safety risk inside the home, however, is the bathtub, Long Gillespie says. "Get everything you need before you put the baby into the water. And if you realize after the baby is in that you need something, just grab a wet baby—[wrap] him in a towel if you want—and take the baby with you, drips and all." She warns parents to never assume that nothing can happen if they leave a baby unattended in the tub. "Drowning happens in 1 to 2 minutes, and it's absolutely silent."

Bites and Lacerations

Puppies and babies—could there be a cuter combination? But pediatric ER doctors want parents to know that even the most docile family dog can cause significant biting or scratching injuries, "often to the face," Miller says.

Parents can start teaching children dog etiquette from an early age. Snyder says dog bites usually happen from children hugging dogs, touching their faces, or touching them while they are eating. Until babies are old enough to understand how to interact with dogs, stay present and aware when dogs and babies are in the same space. You can also use a play yard to separate the dogs and babies.

Some Final Words of Wisdom from ER Doctors to Parents

"Start babyproofing early—babies develop quickly and can sometimes surprise you with what they are able to do," Miller says.

If a mile-long checklist of babyproofing to-dos feels overwhelming, start with the common baby safety concerns listed above. "I steal a process that we use in the ER to handle life when there's too many things—triage," Long Gillespie says. "I let parents know first what the biggest priorities are, and then we dismantle and decrease risks one by one."

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