Parents’ Home-Safety Practices to Prevent Injuries During Infancy: From Sitting to Walking Independently

• Published in: Journal of child and family studies Vol. 32; no. 4; pp. 1102 - 1112
• Main Authors: Bryant, Lindsay, Morrongiello, Barbara A., Cox, Amanda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.04.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Accidents; Babies; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Beliefs; Burns; Child and School Psychology; Children; Developmental Stages; Drowning; Health problems; High risk; Household accidents & safety; Infancy; Infants; Injuries; Interviews; Mobility; Motor ability; Motor development; Original Paper; Parents; Parents & parenting; Personal safety; Poisoning; Precautions; Prevention; Protectiveness; Psychology; Risk taking; Social Sciences; Sociology; Suffocation; Threats; Tolerance; Vulnerability; Walking; Young Children; Prevention; Infancy; Home safety; Injury; Parents
• DOI: 10.1007/s10826-022-02320-2
• ISSN: 1062-1024

Unintentional injury represents a significant health threat to young children worldwide, with infancy marking a particularly vulnerable stage of development. The current study identified parents’ home safety practices at two stages of development during infancy (sitting versus walking independently), with a focus on six common injury threats: burns, cuts, falls, drowning, poisoning and suffocation/strangulation/choking. This study also examined associations between these practices and parents’ beliefs about their infant’s vulnerability for injury, potential severity of injury, and need for supervision, as well as parents’ tolerance for their children’s risk taking and extent of protectiveness. A home-safety interview and measures assessing injury beliefs were administered to 146 parents of infants. Results revealed that the nature and frequency of parents’ safety precautions varied based on infant mobility status and type of injury. Different injury beliefs were associated with implementing these precautions at each motor development stage. Implications for developing safety messages to promote parents’ injury prevention strategies are discussed. Highlights Infants are a high-risk group for home injuries. Little is known about their parents’ safety practices. In-home interviews tracked practices as infants developed motor skills. Practices varied based on infant mobility status and type of injury threat. Injury beliefs of parents influenced decisions about practices.