Bathing your baby

We worry about things happening to our babies and children but did you know that the leading cause of death amongst children is accidental injury.

In fact the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) tells us that accidental injury puts more children in hospital than any other cause. Approximately 2 million children a year are taken to hospital after being injured in accidents.

For babies and toddlers the most common accidents are caused by fire, burns, falling and travelling in the car. However, if you have a new baby the most frightening thing can be bathing them. In fact hundreds of thousands of children under 5 are admitted to hospital every year after being scalded by hot bath water. This shocking statistic has caused some governements to consider making it compulsory to have bath taps regulated to make sure the water does not exceed 46^oC.

As a parent it is probably easier and safer right now just to make sure that you keep your little one away from the bath until the temperature is just right. The best temperature for a small person’s bath is between 36⁰C and 38⁰C.You can either use a water thermometer or your elbow, whichever you use (or you could use both!) is up to you.

Keeping your little one away from the bath until you are ready for them to go in it is also the safest way of preventing another cause of scalds which is babies falling into baths that are already full with water. However, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) gives some useful safety information if you do have to deal with scalding:

• Run the scalded area under cold water for at least 10 minutes
• Do not try and remove anything that is sticking to the scalded area
• Cover the scald with sterile non-fluffy materials (the ideal material would actually be cling film!)
• Do not apply creams, instead seek professional medical help

The main thing to remember is to never leave your baby in the bath on there own. Accidents are more likely to be avoided if there is a watchful parental eye around to check that they are ok. This of course can not stop all accidents from happening but being on hand with safety information will mean that if accidents do happen they can be dealt with as quickly as possible which could prevent the event having lasting effects on your child.