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Putting Things in their Mouths:
As soon as babies begin to develop motor skills, they begin putting things in their mouths. This is something that begins immediately, and doesn't stop until after the child is walking fairly well (sometimes, it may even continue well after this). It is something that parents have to tolerate for a long time, and keeping your child from putting something harmful in their mouth can be a very tiresome task. It is a lot more that just baby-proofing your house, it is watching your child nearly every second of every day.
This means that even after your house has been altered to provide your child with a safe environment, you will constantly need to be on the lookout for small items on the floor. This could be something you would never normally notice, such as a rock or a clump of dirt that fell off the sole of someone's shoe. This can be a hard habit to develop, but in time, you will naturally notice things you never thought you would.
When you go in public, you will want to keep an eye on the floor, as well. Babies will put everything in their mouth, including bugs, rocks, etc. They are also not partial to where these things are coming from or how dirty they are.
Small items are not the only culprits, though. You will also want to notice the larger things, as well, because children also have a tendency put their mouth on everything, and it also seems that the dirtier something is, the more quickly it goes into their mouth. For example, shopping can prove to be a pain once your baby starts doing this, because many babies will lean over and chew or suck on the bar in front of them (when they are sitting up front in a grocery cart). This is why it comes in handy to either have a baby blanket with you to drape across the bar, or to carry disposable disinfectant wipes with you. Some grocery stores have begun supplying these for people to be able to wipe the handles off before they use them, but most still don't do this, so it is a good idea to have some of your own with you.
Another very important point I must make here is that you should not give your baby toys that say "not for children under three years." While most parents will avoid giving their babies toys such as these, there are many toys that appear to be safe for babies and the parents don't even look to see if it has this warning. An example: a stuffed animal. The parent looks at the stuffed animal, and sees that it has low fur, meaning that they know that the fuzz will not come off and get into their baby's mouth. It has no small parts, and is a stuffed animal bigger than the baby's head. Seems safe, right? Except that this stuffed animal has eyes that are sewn on, and (you may not know this yet, but average thread cannot withstand the average baby) your child could pull these off and put them in their mouth. Just as dangerous, after enough rough play and being chewed on, the seams might tear. If this happens, as soon as your child discovers the stuffing, the stuffing will go in their mouth, and this stuff can be very dangerous for a baby, even more so than a button or coin. It is much harder to get out of their throat if they start choking.
Similar to the stuffed animal, there are many toys that appear harmless—they may even appear to be meant for babies—that can provide choking hazards if it were to break. The manufacturers of these toys know this, and this is why they put labels on toys that are dangerous for babies. Granted, there are those cases where a manufacturer thought a toy to be harmless, and then found out (by customers having problems and reporting them) that the toys aren't so safe after all. It is an excellent idea to keep up with any recalls or warnings by going to www.recall-warnings.com. It is also an excellent idea to report any problems that you may have with any baby toys or baby products directly to the manufacturer so that they can alert the public and possibly keep babies safer.
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