TOY SAFETY

Toy chests must have lightweight lids, no lids, or safe closing hinges.

Always ensure that the toys your child plays with are age-appropriate and meet her skill level and interest. A toy with many small parts, for instance, is not suitable for even a young toddler.

Balloons are always dangerous and pose a serious risk of suffocation. Children should never be allowed to play with deflated balloons, and never leave your child alone to play with inflated balloons.

Strings, straps and cords on any toy should be trimmed to less than 50cm to prevent strangulation.

Check your child’s toys regularly for damage and other hazards. An easy way to do this is to be involved with your child’s play.

Always throw the packaging materials from new toys away immediately. Plastic bags, bubble wrap, staples, nails and wire ties are all serious safety hazards for children.

stand or kneel behind them to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre.

Wrap your arms around them, and make a fist with one hand. Place your fist against their stomach, just above the belly button.

Place your other hand over your fist. Position your body up against them.

Give a series of five hard forceful squeezes. You are trying to force the air out of the victim, in an attempt to dislodge the object. If this doesn’t work, then you can try using a series of back blows to expel the object:

Position the patient with their head as low as possible.

Hit them forcefully between the shoulder blades. Repeat this action five times.

Keep repeating Heimlich thrusts and back blows until the object is released.

Give five hard slaps to the baby’s back. You should do this with the intention of shaking the object loose, so don’t be too gentle

If the object doesn’t come out, turn the baby onto his back. While supporting the entire body, place two fingers on the middle of the chest. Give up to five hard chest thrusts.

Keep repeating black slaps and chest thrusts until the object comes out. Keep checking in the mouth to see if you can see the object. If you can see it, pull it out.

If the object does not come out in the first few seconds, call for professional help. Don’t try to retrieve the object if you cannot see it.

If five back slaps are unsuccessful, hold the baby’s head with your other hand and turn him face up to lie along your opposite arm, while resting his body on your thigh.

Keep the baby’s head positioned lower than his body, with the back of his

of the following symptoms after a head injury: Blurred vision. Neck pain. Confusion. Blood or clear, watery liquid coming from the ears or nose. Pupils of different sizes. A loss of consciousness. A fit or seizure. He can’t remember what happened.

He’s sleepy and you can’t wake him easily. Vomits persistently. Not speaking or walking normally.

Has a deep cut, or one that won’t stop bleeding, despite intervention. Call for medical assistance if any of these symptoms apply. At the hospital your child will be examined and on occassion may need a CT scan that will show if there are any signs of brain injury or bleeding in the brain. Your child may need to be admitted to the hospital. bites cause a local reaction (redness and swelling). In some instances the child may have an allergic reaction and in cases of severe allergy an anaphylactic reaction.

If a wasp or bee stings your child don’t try to remove the sting with your fingers, as this will force more poison into the flesh.

Use a blunt, flat object like a plastic ruler, credit card or butter knife to scrape over the area. Use a motion that is flush with the skin.

To remove a tick, cover it with petroleum jelly. Using tweezers, hold it as close to your child’s skin as possible and pull it straight out with steady pressure. Apply disinfectant to the area of skin.

Watch for symptoms of tick bite fever, such as headaches, nausea and flu-like symptoms.

Put bath oil in your child’s

Your child’s face may turn bluish or grey.

Her eyes may upwards.

She may drool or foam at the mouth and may lose control of her bladder or bowel ( wee or poo uncontrollably).

Your first priority is to prevent your child from hurting herself.

If the child is a known epileptic and fits you do not need to call the emergency services as your doctor would have told you what to do in the case of fitting.

If your child does not stop fitting or if the child has stopped fitting and then starts fitting again, call the emergency services for assistance.

If this is your child’s first fit and you don’t know what the cause is, call the emergency services and follow the steps below. a cushion or something soft under her and loosen any tight clothing she may be wearing.

Do not try to hold her down or to force anything into her mouth. Do not give her anything to drink.

Any child who has a seizure should be seen by a doctor to determine and/ or treat the cause.

It is common for a child to be drowsy after a seizure. rule out other causes, such as epilepsy.