With a baby or young child in your family, you know there is nothing more important than safety. Whether you're a parent or a child caregiver, there are steps you can take to keep babies and children safe. Follow these general safety rules.

• Use safe playgrounds.
• Use gates on stairs.
• Always supervise children in or near water.
• Buckle up.
• Never keep guns in any child care setting.
• Call the poison control center if you think a child has been poisoned.
• Post emergency numbers next to your telephone.

Take an American Red Cross course in first aid and infant/child CPR. Make sure that others caring for your children are certified as well. Contact your local Red Cross chapter for more information.

Other Resources:

• The ABCs of Safe and Healthy Child Care from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  
• American Academy of Pediatrics
  
• American Red Cross Babysitter's Training
  
• American Red Cross First Aid and CPR
  
• Consumer Product Safety Commission
  
• National Association for the Education of Young Children
  
• National Child Care Association
  
• National Child Care Information Center
  
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - United States Department of Transportation (DOT)
  
• DOT Auto Safety Hotline - call toll-free (8:00AM to 10:00PM ET Monday-Friday): 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236)
  
• National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care
  
• Zero to Three