Safety promotion and injury prevention : 8 to 12 Months of Age

8 to 12 Months of Age

• Major Developmental Accomplishments
  • Crawls or creeps
  • Stands, holding onto furniture
  • Stands alone
  • Cruises around furniture
  • Walks
  • Climbs
  • Pulls on objects
  • Throws objects
  • Is able to pick up small objects; has pincer grasp
  • Explores by putting objects in mouth
  • Dislikes being restrained
  • Explores away from parent
  • Increasingly understands simple commands and phrases
• Injury Prevention
  • Aspiration
    • Keep small objects off floor, off furniture, and out of reach of
    • children.
    • Take care in feeding solid table food to give very small pieces.
    • Do not use beanbag toys or allow child to play with dried beans.
    • See also under 4 to 7 Months of Age.
  • Bodily Damage
• • • • • • See under 4 to 7 Months of Age.
          • Avoid placing televisions or other large objects on top of furniture, which may be overturned when infant pulls self to standing position.
        • Falls
          • Avoid walkers, especially near stairs.
          • Ensure that furniture is sturdy enough for child to pull self to standing position and cruise.
          • Fence stairways at top and bottom if child has access to either end.
          • Dress infant in safe shoes and clothing (soles that do not “catch” on floor, tied shoelaces, pant legs that do not touch floor).
        • Suffocation and Drowning
          • Keep doors of ovens, dishwashers, refrigerators, coolers, and front-loading clothes washers and dryers closed at all times.
          • If storing an unused large appliance, such as a refrigerator, remove the door.
          • Supervise contact with inflated balloons; immediately discard popped balloons and keep uninflated balloons out of reach.
          • Fence swimming pools and other bodies of standing water such as decorative fountains; lock gate to swimming pools so only adult can access.
          • Always supervise when near any source of water, such as cleaning buckets, drainage areas, ponds, toilets.
          • Keep bathroom doors closed.
          • Eliminate unnecessary pools of water.
          • Always keep one hand on child when in bathtub.
        • Poisoning
          • Administer medications as a drug, not as a candy.
          • Do not administer medications unless prescribed by a practitioner.
          • Return medications and poisons to safe storage area immediately after use; replace caps properly if a child-protector cap is used.
          • Have poison control center number (800-222-1222) on telephone and refrigerator.
        • Burns
          • Place guards in front of or around any heating appliance, fireplace, or furnace.
          • Keep electrical wires hidden or out of reach.
          • Place plastic guards over electrical outlets; place furniture in front of outlets.
          • Keep hanging tablecloths out of reach (child may pull down hot liquids or heavy or sharp objects).
        • Controlling diaper rash
          • Keep skin dry.
          • Use superabsorbent disposable diapers to reduce skin wetness.
          • Change diapers as soon as soiled—especially with stool—whenever possible, preferably once during the night.
          • Expose healthy or only slightly irritated skin to air, not heat, to dry completely.
          • Apply ointment, such as zinc oxide or petrolatum, to protect skin, especially if skin is very red or has moist, open areas.
          • Avoid removing skin barrier cream with each diaper change; remove waste material and reapply skin barrier cream.
          • To completely remove ointment, especially zinc oxide, use mineral oil; do not wash vigorously.
          • Avoid overwashing the skin, especially with perfumed soaps or commercial wipes, which may be irritating.
          • May use a moisturizer or non-soap cleanser, such as cold cream or Cetaphil, to wipe urine from skin.
          • Gently wipe stool from skin using a soft cloth and warm water.
          • Use disposable diaper wipes that are detergent- and alcohol-free.