Children can injure themselves in the blink of an eye. You could turn your head away for a moment and the child could pull down a boiling pot of food, or swallow something he could choke on. It's hard for new parents to anticipate all the potential dangers or safety problems around babies and children. The trick to keeping a safe environment for your children is to stay one step ahead of them at all times. By spotting dangers before an injury happens, you can protect your children from harm and protect yourself from stress and heartache.

If you are a new parent or expect to be one soon, the first step in providing a safe environment for your child is to prepare your home properly. After you have prepared your home, the next step is to always be on the lookout for dangers by becoming familiar with some of the common injuries and how they happen.

Listed below are some of the common injuries and tips on how you can prevent them.

Traffic injuries

Always hold your child's hand near streets and parking lots.
Make sure you cross streets at the designated crosswalk.
Teach your children it is critical to look both ways when crossing streets or walking near traffic areas.
Make your children wear safety helmets when riding bicycles, skateboards or when skating.
When riding in a car, buckle up your kids in a child safety seat, booster seat, or with a lap-shoulder belt if they are above the recommended age. The child should always ride in the back seat of a vehicle until they are at least the age of twelve. Infants should ride in a rear facing child seat in the back seat unless you are able to deactivate your passenger side airbag. Check the car seat regularly to make sure it is properly installed, maintained, and fits your child well.

Drowning

Never leave a child in or near water unattended, even for a second.
When your children are in the bath tub or are swimming, always stay nearby and watch them carefully.
If you own a pool, keep it surrounded by a self-locking gate.
Don't keep large buckets or containers of liquid around the house, children can fall head first in to the container and not be able to get out.

Scalds and Burns

Never drink a hot beverage with a child in your lap
Never pass hot drinks to or near children.
Keep containers that have hot drinks inside away from the edge of tables.
Do not place hot fluids on tablecloths in case the child pulls on the tablecloth.
Keep electrical cords that are connected to cooking appliances out of reach.
Turn pot handles towards the back of the stove.
If you only need one burner on the stove, use the back burner.
Never leave a child unattended in the kitchen when you are cooking.
Always check bath water temperature before putting a child in the tub.
Keep matches and lighters out of reach.
Do not leave an iron unattended.

Choking and suffocation

Use a safe crib with a snug fitting mattress that cannot get pulled away from the corners.
Make sure the crib has no areas with gaps more than 2 inches so the baby's head cannot get stuck.
Do not leave a baby unattended with a bottle.
Make sure to keep all loose threads, ribbons, frayed clothes or blankets trimmed to prevent them from becoming wrapped around the baby's head.
Keep hanging curtains or blind cords, string and rope out of reach.
Keep all plastic bags out of reach.
Keep all small objects such as coins, batteries, marbles, and buttons out of reach.
Do not leave a baby unattended while he or she is eating.
Do not feed small food like popcorn or peanuts to babies.

Cuts and other injuries

Keep all sharp objects and tools out of reach.
Never let your children run with something in their mouth.
Never let your children run with something sharp in their hands.
Never let your children walk with glass objects in their hands.
Keep an eye out for sharp objects on walls, toys, cribs, playpens, or strollers.
Use plastic instead of glass, whenever possible.
Place a safety gate in front of sliding glass doors.