Dr. M.J. Bazos, MD, Patient Handout
12 Month Old Anticipatory Guidance

• Get down on the floor and check for new hazards now that the toddler is walking.
• Switch to a toddler car seat and make sure it is properly secured each time it is used.
• Reexamine the hot water heater thermostat to ensure that it is set at less than 49 degrees Celsius.
Continue to test the water temperature with your wrist to make sure it is not hot before bathing your toddler.
• Supervise the toddler constantly whenever he is in or around water, buckets, the toilet, or the bathtub. Young siblings should not be left alone to supervise a toddler (e.g. in the bathtub or in the house). Continue to empty buckets, tubs, or small pools immediately after use. Ensure that swimming pools have a four-sided fence with a self-closing, self-latching gate.
• Put sunscreen on the toddler before he goes outside to play.
• Continue to keep the toddler's environment free of smoke. Keep the home and car nonsmoking zones.
• Test smoke detectors to ensure that they work properly. Change batteries yearly.
• Do not leave heavy objects or containers of hot liquids on tables with tablecloths that the toddler may pull down.
• Turn pan handles toward the back of the stove. Keep the toddler away from hot stoves, fireplaces, irons, curling irons, and space heaters.
• Ensure that electric wires, outlets, and appliances are inaccessible or protected.
• Keep all poisonous substances, medicines, cleaning agents, health and beauty aids, and paints and paint solvents locked in a safe place out of the toddler's sight and reach. Never store poisonous substances in empty jars or soda bottles. Keep Syrup of Ipecac in the home to be used as directed by the poison control center or the health professional. Keep the number of the poison control center near the telephone.
• Keep cigarettes, lighters, matches, and alcohol out of the toddler's sight and reach.
• Do not give the toddler plastic bags, latex balloons, or small objects such as marbles.
• Continue to use gates at the top and bottom of stairs and safety devices on windows. Supervise the toddler closely when he is on the stairs.
• Confine the toddler's outside play to areas within fences and gates, especially at a child care facility, unless he is under close supervision.
• Keep the toddler away from moving machinery, lawn mowers, overhead garage doors, driveways, and streets.
• Ensure that a toddler riding in a seat on an adult's bicycle is wearing a helmet. Wear a helmet yourself.
• Teach the child to use caution when approaching dogs, especially if the dogs are unknown or eating.
• Choose caregivers carefully. Discuss with them their attitudes about and behavior in relation to discipline. Prohibit corporal punishment.
• Enroll in a child cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) course.