Safe Sleep & Other Safety Tips

SUID - Sudden Unexpected Infant Death

SUID is any sudden and unexpected death, whether explained or unexplained. SUID includes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). 

Keep Your Baby Safe While Sleeping

Thousands of deaths occur each year while children sleep. Setting up a safe sleep environment lowers the risk of all sleep-related infant deaths. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) outlines the following precautions: 

Place your baby on their back for naps and at night
  • Babies are at far less risk when placed on their backs every time they sleep.
  • Even if your baby has reflux or GERD, they should sleep flat on their backs.  
  • If your baby is able to roll from back to front and front to back and they roll onto their stomachs completely independently, you do not need to keep turning your baby to their back.
  • Continue to make sure their sleep space is free of any blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, pacifier clips, or crib bumper.
Babies should sleep on a firm, flat surface
  • Babies should be put down to sleep in a crib, bassinet, or play yard that meets current safety standards of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
  • Use the mattress supplied with the play yard only.
  • Bassinets should only be used with the mat/mattress that comes with the product.
  • In cribs, use a firm mattress that meets ASTM and CPSC standards. Do not use a crib with a mattress that allows you to fit two fingers between it and the sides of the crib.
  • If your baby falls asleep in another device such as a car seat, stroller, or swing, move them to an approved sleep surface as soon as possible.
  • In an emergency, using a box, basket, dresser drawer, or other similarly designed product is appropriate.   
Consider room sharing not bed sharing
  • Keep baby in the same room in their own sleep space for the first six months.
  • If breastfeeding in bed, return baby to their sleep space when done.
  • If there is a chance you may accidentally fall asleep with your baby in bed, prepare your bed by removing any pillows, blankets, or other items that may obstruct their breathing or cause overheating 
Avoid additional items in your baby's sleep area
  • The only items that should be in a baby's crib, bassinet, or play yard is the baby, a swaddle or sleep sack, and a pacifier.
  • Swaddling should stop at the very first signs of rolling, anywhere from 2 to 4 months of age and possibly sooner.  
  • If worried about warmth, use layers of clothing and wearable blankets. 
Safety tips for your baby's nursery
  • Install smoke alarms outside every room.
  • Install carbon monoxide (CO) detectors on every floor.
  • Keep cribs, bassinets, or play yards away from windows.
  • Use window guards or locks to prevent falls.
  • Consider toy storage that does not have a lid.
  • Do not use any crib bumpers, whether mesh, padded, or braided. This includes covers on crib railings.
  • If choosing to use a mobile on the crib, remove it as soon as baby can push up on hands and knees or by 5 months old.
  • Be sure to lower the crib mattress down as the child meets milestones (pushing up, sitting up, and then standing).
  • If baby climbs out of the crib it is no longer safe to use. A crib mattress on the floor of a completely baby proofed room is the safest option until a toddler bed is available at 15 months of age.
  • Do not modify cribs or other sleep spaces in any way. Contact the manufacturer for questions about replacement parts. 

Other Things to Consider

  • Breastfeeding is considered a protective factor against SIDS. When possible, breastfeed exclusively or as much as possible for the first six months.
  • Evidence shows that the use of a pacifier can help reduce the risk of SIDS, even if it falls out once a baby falls asleep. Do not use the pacifier attached to a stuffed animal or clip.
  • Avoid using substances during pregnancy and obtain routine prenatal care.
  • Do not smoke or use nicotine during pregnancy or anywhere near your baby after they are born. This includes vaping and e-cigarettes.
  • Be wary of products that claim to reduce the risk of SIDS. There is no evidence of any product that can help reduce this risk. If choosing to use a cardiorespiratory monitor, know that unless prescribed by a physician, this is a wellness device and should never be used as a substitute for following safe sleep guidelines, nor is it known to prevent SUID/SIDS.
  • Never use products that do not meet safety standards for infant sleep. This includes inclined sleepers, nests, loungers, breastfeeding pillows, or car seats outside of the car. 

Additional Resources

A child safety seat may not protect your child in a crash if it isn't used correctly and installed properly in your vehicle. Take a minute to check to be sure.

Washington State Child Passenger Restraint Law dictates:

  • Children under 13 years old are to be transported in the back seat where it is practical to do so.
  • Children up to their 8th birthday, unless they are 4'9" tall (whichever comes first), must use a child restraint.
  • The restraint system must be used correctly according to the car seat AND vehicle manufacturer's instructions.
  • Vehicles equipped with lap-only seat belts are exempt from the requirements to use a booster seat for a child weighing more than 40 pounds.
  • Children 8 years of age or at least 4'9" who wear a seat belt MUST use it correctly (never under the arm or behind the back) or continue to use a child restraint.
  • Always follow the manufacturer's instructions and guidelines for both the child restraint and the vehicle.

Keeping kids safe is more than a law. Recommendations from research can be found at National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

Additional Resources

  • Store firearms unloaded and locked.
  • Use a firearm safe, locked box, trigger or chamber lock to store firearms.
  • Store and lock ammunition in a separate place.
  • Remove firearms from your home if you have a depressed or suicidal family member.
  • Ask family and friends to use these safe storage steps.
  • Before you send your child to someone's house, ask if firearms in the home are stored unloaded and locked. Ask if the ammunition is stored separately. Ask about shotguns and rifles too, not just handguns.
  • If you have doubts about the safety of someone else's home, invite the children to play at your home instead.
  • Present your concerns with respect.
  • Talk with your children about the risk of firearm injury in places they may visit or play.
  • Teach your child if she finds a firearm to leave it alone and let an adult know right away.

Additional Resources

Keeping Children Safe In, On, and Around the Water

Each year, approximately 200 children drown and several thousand others are treated in hospitals for submersion accidents and accidents which leave children with permanent brain damage and respiratory health problems.

Remember, it only takes a few seconds for a small child to wander away. Children have a natural curiosity and attraction to water.

  • Maintain constant supervision. Watch children around any water environment (pool, stream, lake, tub, toilet, bucket of water), no matter what skills your child has acquired and no matter how shallow the water.
  • Don't rely on substitutes. The use of flotation devices and inflatable toys cannot replace parental supervision. Such devices could suddenly shift position, lose air, or slip out from underneath, leaving the child in a dangerous situation.
  • Enroll children in a water safety course or a swimming lesson program. Your decision to provide your child with an early aquatic experience is a gift that will have infinite rewards.
  • Parents should take a CPR course. Knowing these skills can be important around the water and you will expand your capabilities in providing care for your child.

General Water Safety Tips

  • Learn to swim.
  • Always swim with a buddy.
  • Swim in a designated area and make sure an adult watches you.

  • Wear a life jacket:

    Life jacket safety tips provided by Seattle Children's Drowning Prevention

    • Children 0-5: Put your child in a life jacket when playing in or near the water, on a dock or in a boat, raft or inner tube.
    • Children 6-11: Even if your child knows how to swim, have them wear a life jacket when swimming or playing in open water outside of a life-guarded area, in a river or the ocean.
    • All ages: Children and teens should wear a life jacket any time they are on a boat, raft, inner tube or swimming in open water like lakes, rivers or the ocean.
  • An air mattress of swim ring does not take the place of a life jacket.
  • No drugs or alcohol.
  • Obey all "No Swimming" and other warning signs.
  • Never dive or jump into unknown waters.
  • Watch out for the "dangerous too's"--too tired, too cold, too far from safety, too much sun, too much strenuous activity.
  • Pay attention to local weather conditions and forecasts. Stop swimming at the first indication of bad weather.
  • Know how to prevent, recognize, and respond to emergencies.
  • Never swim in a canal.

Practice fire safety in your home

Children of all ages set over 100,000 fires annually. Over 30% of fires that kill children are set by children playing with fire.

  • Supervise young children closely. Do not leave them alone even for short periods of time.
  • Keep matches and lighters in a secured drawer or cabinet.
  • Have your children tell you when they find matches and lighters.
  • Check under beds and in closets for burned matches, evidence your child may be playing with fire.
  • Develop a home fire escape plan, practice it with your children and designate a meeting place outside.
  • Take the mystery out of fire play by teaching children that fire is a tool, not a toy.
  • Teach children the nature of fire. It is FAST, HOT, DARK and DEADLY.
  • Teach children not to hide from firefighters, but to get out quickly and call for help from another location.
  • Show children how to crawl low on the floor, below the smoke, to get out of the house and stay out in the case of fire.
  • Demonstrate how to stop, drop to the ground and roll if their clothes catch fire.
  • Install smoke alarms on every level in your home.
  • Familiarize children with the sound of your smoke alarm.
  • Test the smoke alarm each month and replace the battery at least once a year.

Replace the smoke alarm every ten years, or as recommended by the manufacturer. 

Additional Resources

Before your baby is born

  • Get early prenatal care. Early prenatal care is important for you and for your baby's health.
  • Talk to your doctor if you have been involved in risky behaviors. Get help with drug and alcohol problems, and ask your doctor to do HIV tests and GBS screening if you are at-risk.
  • Keep your family and friends involved with your pregnancy. A strong family support system is part of good health and baby safety.
  • Be Prepared and Plan Ahead: Parenting education can help you become a more confident and more effective parent.
  • Maintain a healthy and safe pregnancy exercise program. Appropriate exercise under your doctor's supervision can help you feel good throughout your pregnancy and prepare you for labor.

Additional Resources

  • First Steps - program that helps low-income pregnant women get health and social services.