Safe Sleep Tips

Safe Sleep Tips

The golden rules

Here are some of the most important things for parents and caregivers to know about children's safety when sleeping:

• The safest place for an infant to sleep is alone in a crib that meets current safety regulations.
• Never let infants sleep on standard beds, water beds, air mattresses, futons, sofas, armchairs, or in cribs with soft bedding, bumper pads, stuffed toys or pillows.
• Always place your infant on his or her back to sleep -- this reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
• Provide a smoke-free environment for your child both day and night.
• Place your baby's crib in your bedroom for the first 6 months.
• Products such as carriages, strollers, car seats, infant swings, bouncers or playpens are not intended for infant sleep and should not be used for extended periods.
• Do not allow your baby to sleep in an upright or semi-upright position -- when asleep his or her head can fall forward and make breathing difficult.

Bed sharing

Bed sharing, also called co-sleeping, is when another child or an adult shares a sleeping surface with an infant. There is no evidence to suggest bed sharing reduces the risk of SIDS -- and in fact can pose other dangers. Risks to your infant include:

• Becoming trapped between your body and the sleeping surface, a wall or other object
• Falling from an elevated surface
• Suffocating on soft bedding material such as pillows or comforters