As parents, we all remember that highly anticipated first drive home from the hospital after having a new baby. We strap their tiny body nice and snug into their car seat, checking the chest clip a dozen times. We snap their car seat into the base in the back seat of the car, jiggle it a bit to be extra-sure it’s secure, and drive as carefully as ever the whole way home. It’s our first opportunity to keep our baby safe, and we take it very seriously!

After our kiddo’s first ride home, there are a million opportunities for us to protect them and keep them safe – from germs, during sleep and in the bath! But we don’t always know it all! Our parental instincts only go so far, and sometimes a little advice and a few tips and tricks from an expert are exactly what we need to be sure we’re keeping our babies as safe as can be.

Our friend and board-certified pediatrician Dr. Molly O’Shea is our go-to person for advice on babies, kiddos, health and wellness! She is an advocate for all things safety, and tells us just what we need to hear when we aren’t quite sure what’s best for our littles.

It all starts before our kiddos get welcomed into the world. As we’re adding things to our baby registries and planning our parenting styles, we’re thinking about and doing research on the things we know we can do to keep our kiddos safe. We buy a crash-tested car seat and keep our babies home and away from germs after getting home from the hospital. We think about safety in all aspects – and water safety should be included!

Dr. Molly filled us in on some ways we can prepare our homes and our bathtubs to make sure we’re ready for all of life’s moments with our babies:

  • Turn down the temperature on your water heater to make sure water from the bath or sinks won’t cause harmful burns to curious hands and bathing babies.

  • Keep your eyes on the prize – your baby! Never leave them unattended – especially in the bathroom or the kitchen where water is accessible. Save your email checking, text message responding, and chores for when they are safe and secure – taking a nap or being supervised by another adult.

  • Baby-proof your home! Go ahead and install those cabinet locks and bathtub spout covers, and move all hazardous things out of the reach of little ones.

  • Enroll in formal swim lessons so your kiddos have the water safety skills they need to be safer in and around the water – bathtubs, toilets, sinks, backyard pools and weekend lake trips!

It’s never too early! At Goldfish Swim School, we start swim lessons at four months old, because we know that the sooner little ones get comfortable in water, the sooner they’ll learn the water safety skills they need! Afterall, drowning is the #1 cause of accidental death for children ages 1 to 4, but participating in formal swim lessons can reduce that risk by up to 88%!

We don’t often think about needing swim lessons to protect our kiddos from in-home water sources like bathtubs or toilets, but the truth is – babies can drown in as little as 2 inches of water. Swim lessons teach littles how to float on their backs, approach the water with caution, and know what to do in case of a water emergency. A total must for keeping our babies safe! In fact, the American Association for Pediatrics even states that children can benefit from swim lessons as early as one year old!

Because we know new parents and seasoned parents alike are thinking about all of the ways to keep their kiddos safe, it just made sense to partner with a brand that believes in safety the same way we do. National Baby Safety Month in September is the perfect time to kick off our partnership with Ziebart – a premium automotive brand! Teaming up with Ziebart allows us to do what we care about most – keep kiddos as safe as can be, protecting what matters most – in the backseat, on the road, at the lake and in the pool!

In honor of National Baby Safety Month, we encourage you to think about your safety plan for your new or future baby. From the back seat to your home to a family vacation, safety should always be your #1 priority!

Learn more about swim lessons to put your mind at ease and to give your little one the skills they need to be safer in and around the water at a Goldfish Swim School near you!