When you're a new parent, dangers seem to lurk everywhere. Yes, you need to be vigilant, but don't go overboard with worry. Rather, take these simple precautions to keep your baby out of harm's way.

Safe From SIDS
Although the cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is still a mystery, there are ways to significantly reduce your baby's risk.

• Unless your newborn has a medical condition that prevents back sleeping (check with his doctor), always place him on his back to sleep-and make sure that his other caregivers do so, too. Though putting babies to sleep on their stomach was the norm until a few years ago, the number of SIDS-related deaths has plunged more than 40 percent since 1992, when the American Academy of Pediatrics began recommending back sleeping.
• Never use soft bedding such as pillows, comforters, or sheepskins in your baby's crib, cradle, or bassinet. Instead, use a fitted sheet and a blanket sleeper.
• Keep stuffed animals out of a crib, cradle, or bassinet. Never put your infant down to sleep on a waterbed.
• Keep his room a comfortable temperature and don't overdress him, as overheating may contribute to SIDS.
• Don't smoke around your baby, and don't allow anyone else to.

Avoiding Burns
Don't hold your baby while cooking or while carrying hot food or drinks.

Crib Cautions

• Buy a crib that meets current safety standards (check for the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association seal).
• If you're using a secondhand crib, make sure that its slats are no more than 2 3/8 inches apart, that it doesn't have high corner posts or decorative cutouts, and that it hasn't been covered with lead paint. Hang crib mobiles out of your baby's reach and remove them when he can get up on his hands and knees.
• Never tie toys to the crib; the strings are a strangling hazard.
• Keep lamps, heaters, and other electrical appliances and their cords away from the crib.
• Position the crib well away from curtain ties and cords attached to blinds.

Toy Safety

• Check for buttons, eyes, beads, bows, and other small parts that could detach and choke your baby.
• When buying plastic toys, select ones with smooth, rounded edges.
• Avoid toys with ribbons or strings longer than six inches, which can become wrapped around an infant's neck and cause strangulation.
• Don't let your baby hold any toy small enough to fit through a toilet-paper tube-it could be a choking hazard.

Monitoring Your Baby
If your newborn is out of earshot, use a baby monitor so you can hear him if he cries. Check the monitor frequently to make sure it's on the right channel and the batteries are working.

Preventing Falls
Many babies love the bath-time ritual, and it often helps them relax before bed. Until your baby can sit up on his own, it's easiest and safest to bathe him in a plastic baby tub.

• Never leave your baby unattended on his changing table, a sofa, a bed, or another high perch from which he could fall. During diaper changes, use the changing table's safety strap, but remember that it's no substitute for keeping a steadying hand on your infant's body at all times.
• Make sure the drop side of your baby's crib is in the "up" position whenever he's in it.
• If the sound of the washer or dryer soothes your fussy baby, go ahead and perch his bouncy seat on the floor next to it. But never leave him in a seat on top of one of these appliances.

  ©2004 The Parenting Group Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be copied or reproduced without permission from The Parenting Group Inc. PAReNTING is a registered trademark of The Parenting Group Inc., a Time Inc. company.