Babies are among the most precious things in the world.

I was fortunate to have two wonderful daughters, and luckily, they survived childhood although not as much was known back then on child safety.

Here are 10 top tips that parents, grandparents, and caregivers need to follow to keep babies safe:

1. Put babies to Sleep only in products that are safe for sleep – such as bassinets, cribs, and play yards. Always place babies to sleep on their back to reduce the risk of sudden unexpected infant death and suffocation. Always keep the baby’s sleep space bare – fitted sheet only – to prevent suffocation. Don’t use pillows, padded crib bumpers, quilts, or comforters. Inclined products, such as rockers, gliders, soothers, and swings, should never be used for infant sleep. On average, almost 100 infant deaths occur annually in unsafe sleep environments involving nursery products.
2. Keep items, such as baby monitors and mobiles, away from cribs, bassinets, and play yards. They can choke babies and toddlers.
3. Always check to see if any purchased baby nursery products have been recalled, which includes secondhand products.
4. Never leave young children alone near any water. Don’t leave a baby or toddler in a bathtub under the care of another young child. Young children can drown in even small amounts of water including bathtubs, hot tubs, spas, buckets, toilets, and other containers. Every year in the U.S., nearly 900 children and adolescents ages 0 to 19 die from drowning.
5. Make sure medications, household cleaners, laundry detergent, and other chemicals are locked up. Thirty-one children under the age of five die in the United States each year of unintentional poisonings from consumer products found in the home.
6. Keep rooms tidy so your child can’t get ahold of toys, including pet toys, and other items, such as the TV remote, with a button battery. If a child swallows a button battery, it can cause burning, corrosion, or completely destroy the tissue in the upper digestive tract.
7. Make sure your baby has the right car seat, and that it’s installed correctly.
8. Secure all TVs, dressers, bookcases, and other furniture to a wall to avoid tip-overs.
9. Baby proof your home. Remove knick-knacks from coffee tables and lock low cabinets.
10. Clean out your purse. Dangers include small items that could be a choking hazard and medications that could be swallowed.

Child safety is very important. Many child deaths, injuries, and accidents are preventable. Think safety to protect your precious children.