This blog has been medically reviewed by Dr. Gigi Chawla, chief of general pediatrics at Children’s Minnesota.
Of all the jobs you have as a new parent, this is number one: keeping your baby safe. Count on the pediatric experts at Children’s Minnesota to help you do just that, from the first day of their life through their teen years.
Our kid experts are here to walk you through some newborn safety basics. We’ll talk you through car seat safety, water safety, food safety and more.
Of course, we know that each child is different and parents know their baby best. Because of this, we want to encourage you to use this as a guide but also reach out to your pediatrician if you have any questions.
Resources for expectant parents
The kid experts at Children’s Minnesota are here to help support new parents.Car seat safety for newborns
Congratulations – it’s time to bring your newborn home for the first time! When that time comes, we know that many new parents worry about how to put their new baby in a car seat and how to know they’ve done it right. But, we’re here to help!
A tip from our pediatrician: Don’t wait until your baby is born to install the base of the car seat. Doing this earlier can help make this a less stressful situation for the family. Plus! Don’t forget to bring the car seat to your baby’s delivery too.
Additional car seat information: Infants should be placed in a rear-facing car seat. Minnesota state law requires children to remain rear facing until at least age 2, and until they outgrow the height or weight limits of their car seat. We recommend you read the car seat and vehicle owners’ manuals to ensure the seat is installed properly. Find more information regarding your child’s car seat here.
Sun safety for newborns
It’s always nice to get outside with your family, especially if you can get outside with your newborn! Newborns’ skin is delicate so parents should try and avoid sun exposure with their baby. You can do this by keeping your baby covered and in the shade when possible.
Sunscreens are generally not recommended for infants younger than 6 months. However, you may use a small amount of sunscreen on an infant younger than 6 months if shade, clothing and a hat don’t offer enough protection from the sun.
Food safety for newborns
How you feed your newborn is the first nutritional decision you’ll make for your child. You can choose to breastfeed, bottle-feed, or formula feed your new baby. Newborns should be exclusively fed breastmilk or formula for about the first six months of their life. Generally, people start trying baby food and solid foods with their baby around 4-6 months old.
We recommend talking with your pediatrician about taking the solid-food step with your baby before you do so. You can go over basics like how much and how often babies should eat solids. You can also talk with your pediatrician about the many considerations for food safety like:
- Nutritional balance
- Potential contaminations
- Commercially produced foods
- Making your own
- Choking hazards
- Allergenic foods and timing to reduce food allergies
- Timing of thicker consistency to reduce food refusal
- And more
Find a pediatrician
Our team of expert pediatricians is dedicated to partnering with you to care for the health and well-being of your child for many years.Choosing safe toys
There are so many fun toys out there for your baby and children to play with. But, making sure the toys are safe and knowing which toy to give your baby can be hard. It’s important that all toys you choose for your baby meet safety standards. Here are some additional tips for picking your newborn’s toys:
- Always follow all manufacturers’ age recommendations. Some toys have small parts that can cause choking, so heed all warnings on a toy’s packaging. This is especially challenging when your infant has an older sibling who can play with toys with small parts. It will take a lot of daily monitoring to make sure that older sibling toys are separated from your infant, especially when your infant starts to be mobile.
- Toys should be large enough so that they can’t be swallowed or get stuck in their windpipe. The best situation is that toys should be large enough that they cannot fit in your baby’s mouth unless they are designed to be toys that are for chewing exploration.
- Avoid marbles, coins, balls and games with balls that are 1.75 inches (4.4 centimeters) in diameter or less because they can become lodged in the throat above the windpipe and cause trouble with breathing.
- Battery-operated toys should have battery cases that secure with screws so that kids cannot pry them open.
- At home, check toys often for loose or broken parts.
Check the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) website for the latest information about toy recalls or call their hotline at (800) 638-CPSC to report a toy you think is unsafe.
Injuries and emergency care
Whenever a child is injured, know that Children’s Minnesota is here for you. We have emergency departments in both Minneapolis and St. Paul. Our emergency departments are designed especially for infants, children and young adults.
Our Level I Pediatric Trauma Care Center in Minneapolis is Minnesota’s only Level I pediatric trauma care center in a hospital dedicated solely to kids. That means we’re able to provide any child the highest level of care for any emergency.
Research shows that pediatric patients have better outcomes when treated at a children’s hospital. We care for more pediatric emergency and trauma patients than any other health care system in our region.
If your child is experiencing a life-threatening emergency call 9-1-1 right away.
Emergency care
Two emergency rooms. All for kids. Expert pediatric care using the latest techniques.
Primary care at Children’s Minnesota
Find a pediatrician that’s right for you and your family at Children’s Minnesota. We can help answer any questions you may have as a new parent.
We have nine pediatric primary care clinics and one adolescent clinic that are conveniently located throughout the Twin Cities metro area so your family can access the best care, close to home.
