In the summer of 2011, a group of friends in Jeddah were discussing the vital issue of child safety in the home. They were a group of parents with six children among them, and one child had recently sustained an injury from an accident. They came to the conclusion that there was a desperate need for professional evaluation and the application of home safety measures in Saudi Arabia. As a result, in October 2012, Baby Safe Homes Arabia was born.

In their quest to find answers to their concerns, they found that a company called Baby Safe Homes was founded in San Diego, California almost two decades ago. The first step was clear, they needed to bring such services to the Kingdom. It was then that they came in to contact with the founders in San Diego. Their initial concerns elevated to a mission, which led to the establishment of Baby Safe Homes in Jeddah. According to a member of the BSH team in Jeddah, Muhammad Al-Abbasi, it became their mission “to provide families with peace of mind and making homes a safer place for their babies and toddlers to explore, learn, and grow.” Al-Abbasi and his team are certified with the International Association for Child Safety as child proofers. More recently, he became certified to train and actually certify other child proofers, the only one in the region. This will eliminate the need to travel across the globe to become a licensed child proofer in the Middle East.

Aside from training and certifying, BSH offers on-site indoor and outdoor consultations for residences, schools, and other childcare providers. After consultations, they provide the necessary installations of their various safety products they have available to ensure the securest environment for playtime and reassurance for the adults. BSH also provides after care services to help maintain the safe environments they strive to create.

BSH has been actively participating in spreading child safety awareness. It has become their goal to foster a culture of child safety in the home. “We are obligated to spread awareness about child safety as much as we can. To achieve this, we have invested a lot of time and resources in joining exhibitions, printing awareness booklets and free consultations,” Al-Abbasi explains. As a result, their efforts are not going unnoticed. The BSH team is being met with interest and encouraging positivity. Through exhibitions and surveys, they have found that parents across the social spectrum are captivated audiences when BSH addresses their safety concerns and gives them advice. So far, mothers constitute the majority of the people that contact BSH with concerns and an interest in their services. When fathers reach out it is usually at the behest of the mothers. After successfully baby proofing a home and the quality of the work is satisfactory to the parents, around 70 percent of the time, grandparents will contact BSH for safety services.

In general, the BSH team comes across many dangers in homes they visit for consultations and installations. By far, the most common danger is definitely tip overs. Flat screen televisions or furniture not securely fastened to a wall may easily fall on a child and potentially lead to fatalities. Most parents are not aware of this danger, but this accident is the number one indoor fatal threat to children.

BSH recommends beginning the baby proofing process once a baby is able to move in his or her crib. Crib safety alone is vital for parents to learn and be educated in. Once children begin to crawl, baby proofing through out the home should be considered. Parents who encounter safety concerns or are interested in beginning the process are able to reach the BSH team for advice over the telephone or they can schedule a free awareness visit.

For the future, Baby Safe Homes hopes to continue their mission of instilling the concept of child safety in the home to ensure a secure atmosphere to grow and thrive. Their next goal is to open branches in Riyadh and Dammam in order to continue the spread of awareness and protecting the sacred and special time we call playtime. Baby Safe Homes in Jeddah may be reached through their Instagram account @BabySafeArabia for scheduling or advice.

—

Email: [email protected]