Your baby’s first year is full of beautiful moments—and plenty of questions. From preparing bottles to settling your little one to sleep, everyday decisions can feel overwhelming, especially when advice from family, friends and the internet seems to conflict.
You don’t need to be a perfect parent to give your baby loving, safe care. Understanding a few important safety principles can help you feel more confident and make informed choices.
This guide covers 17 common mistakes to avoid during your baby’s first year, grouped into sleep, feeding, safety, and everyday care. For each one, you’ll find an explanation of the concern and practical, safer alternatives.
If you recognise something you’ve done before, try not to blame yourself. Parenting involves learning, and you can use what you learn to make safer choices going forward.
This article provides general information, not personalised medical advice. If you have concerns about your baby’s health, feeding or development, speak with your GP, paediatrician or child health nurse.
Safety Risks: Avoid These Dangerous Oversights:
1. Using Loose Bedding or Soft Mattresses
Why Dangerous:
A soft mattress can sink beneath your baby’s face, while loose bedding can cover their nose and mouth. Pillows, quilts, cot bumpers and soft toys can also create risks of suffocation, entrapment or strangulation.
Even products advertised as cosy or comforting are not necessarily safe for infant sleep. Your baby’s sleep space should be simple: a firm, flat, level mattress made for their cot or bassinet, covered with a tightly fitted sheet.
Safe Alternative:
✔ Use a cot or bassinet that meets your country’s current safety standards, with a mattress that fits correctly and leaves no gaps around the edges.
✔ Keep pillows, soft toys, quilts, loose blankets, mattress toppers and cot bumpers out of the sleep space.
✔ If your baby needs extra warmth, use suitable sleep clothing or a correctly fitted, non-weighted baby sleeping bag. Make sure their head cannot slip through the neck opening.
✔ Avoid weighted blankets, weighted sleeping bags and weighted swaddles.
✔ Keep the same clear, safe sleep space for daytime naps and overnight sleep.
Practical tip: Before each sleep, check that the fitted sheet is secure and that nothing has been added to the cot—including toys or blankets left by older siblings.
Source: American Academy of Pediatrics — Safe Sleep
2. Putting Baby to Sleep on Their Stomach
Why Dangerous:
Putting a baby to sleep on their stomach or side increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Side sleeping is not a safer alternative because babies can roll from their side onto their stomach.
Back sleeping is recommended for every sleep during the first year, including naps. Healthy babies are not more likely to choke when sleeping on their backs, and babies with reflux should also sleep on their backs unless their specialist advises otherwise.
Safe Alternative:
✔ Always place your baby on their back at the beginning of every sleep, on a firm, flat, level mattress.
✔ Once your baby can roll independently in both directions—from back to tummy and tummy to back—you can leave them in the position they choose after placing them on their back. Keep their sleep space clear.
✔ If your baby can roll only one way, gently return them to their back when you notice they have rolled onto their tummy.
✔ Stop swaddling as soon as your baby shows signs of trying to roll. Do not wait until they have mastered rolling.
✔ Never use pillows, wedges or sleep positioners to hold your baby in place.
Practical tip: Tummy time is different from tummy sleeping. Give your baby opportunities to play on their tummy while awake and supervised by an awake adult. If they fall asleep, move them onto their back in their safe sleep space.
Source: American Academy of Pediatrics — Safe Sleep Guidance
3. Bed-Sharing (Especially on Soft Surfaces)
Why Dangerous:
An adult bed is not designed as a safe sleep space for a baby. Pillows, duvets and soft mattresses can obstruct breathing, and babies can become trapped between the mattress and a wall or bed frame. A sleeping adult can also accidentally cover a baby’s face or body.
Falling asleep with your baby on a sofa or armchair is particularly dangerous. Bed-sharing risks are also greater when a caregiver smokes, has consumed alcohol, has taken drugs or medicines that cause drowsiness, or is extremely tired. Premature and low-birth-weight babies are especially vulnerable.
Safe Alternative:
✔ Keep your baby in your room, close to your bed, but in their own cot or bassinet for at least the first six months.
✔ Use a firm, flat, level mattress with a fitted sheet, keeping the sleep space free of pillows, toys and loose bedding.
✔ After feeding or comforting your baby, return them to their own sleep space before you go to sleep.
✔ Avoid feeding on a sofa or armchair if you might fall asleep. Ask another adult for support when possible.
✔ If you bring your baby into bed to feed and might doze off, clear away pillows, duvets and anything that could cover their face or overheat them. This does not make bed-sharing safe. Return your baby to their own sleep space as soon as you wake.
Practical tip: Set up your baby’s cot or bassinet within easy reach before bedtime. Having a separate sleep space nearby makes it easier to settle them safely after night feeds.
Source: American Academy of Pediatrics — Safe Sleep Guidance
4. Overheating the Nursery
Why Dangerous:
Overheating increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). A warm room, too many clothing layers or heavy bedding can make your baby uncomfortably hot during sleep.
There is no single room temperature that guarantees safe sleep. Pay attention to your baby’s clothing, the room conditions and signs that they are too warm, rather than relying only on a thermostat.
Safe Alternative:
✔ Keep the room at a temperature that feels comfortable for a lightly clothed adult.
✔ As a general guide, dress your baby in no more than one extra layer compared with what you would wear comfortably in the same room. Consider the warmth of their sleeping bag as part of their bedding.
✔ Check your baby’s chest or upper back. Sweating, a hot chest or flushed skin can indicate overheating. Cool hands or feet alone do not necessarily mean your baby needs another layer.
✔ Keep your baby’s head and face uncovered during sleep. Remove indoor hats once you are home from hospital, unless your healthcare professional gives different medical advice.
✔ Keep the cot away from heaters and direct sunlight. Never put hot-water bottles or electric blankets in your baby’s sleep space.
Practical tip: Recheck your baby’s clothing when the weather changes. Follow the sleeping-bag manufacturer’s guidance, and remove a layer if your baby feels hot or sweaty.
Source: American Academy of Pediatrics — Safe Sleep Guidance
5. Giving Water Before 6 Months
Why Dangerous:
Babies under six months generally get the fluid they need from breast milk or correctly prepared infant formula. Giving extra water can fill their small stomachs, leaving less room for the milk that provides essential energy and nutrients.
Too much water can also upset the balance of salts in a baby’s blood. In serious cases, this can cause seizures. This is one reason you should never dilute formula with more water than the instructions specify.
Safe Alternative:
✔ Offer breast milk or correctly prepared infant formula as your baby’s usual source of nutrition and hydration during the first six months.
✔ In hot weather, offer more frequent milk feeds rather than routinely giving extra water. Follow your healthcare professional’s advice if your baby has individual medical needs.
✔ Always measure formula powder and water exactly as directed. Water used to prepare formula correctly is different from offering extra drinking water.
✔ From around six months, offer small sips of water from a cup alongside solid foods. Breast milk or infant formula should remain your baby’s main drink until 12 months.
✔ If your baby is unwell, feeding poorly or showing signs of dehydration, seek medical advice rather than trying to treat the problem with plain water.
Practical tip: Let grandparents and other caregivers know what your baby drinks. A well-meaning offer of water, especially on a hot day, may come from advice that differs from current local guidance.
Source: Pregnancy, Birth and Baby — When Can Babies Drink Water?
6. Feeding Honey Before Age 1
Why Dangerous:
Honey can contain spores of the bacteria that cause infant botulism. In a baby’s developing gut, these spores can grow and produce a toxin that affects the nerves, causing muscle weakness and potentially serious breathing and feeding difficulties.
Infant botulism is rare, but serious. Avoiding honey during the first year is a simple way to reduce the risk. This applies to raw, organic and pasteurised honey, as well as foods containing honey.
Safe Alternative:
✔ Wait until after your baby’s first birthday before offering honey.
✔ Do not add honey to your baby’s food, water, formula or expressed breast milk.
✔ Never dip a dummy or bottle teat in honey.
✔ Check ingredient lists on foods such as cereals, biscuits and snack bars. Avoid products containing honey while your baby is under 12 months.
✔ Do not assume cooking or baking makes honey safe for babies. The spores can survive ordinary cooking temperatures.
Practical tip: If your baby accidentally eats honey, it does not mean they will develop botulism. Stop offering it and contact a healthcare professional for advice. Seek urgent medical attention if your baby develops poor feeding, a weak cry, unusual floppiness or difficulty swallowing. Breathing difficulties require emergency help.
Source: NSW Health — Infant Botulism
7. Improper Formula Mixing
Why Dangerous:
The balance of powder and water in infant formula matters. Adding extra water reduces the nutrients your baby receives and can dangerously disturb their body’s salt balance. Using too little water makes the feed overly concentrated and can contribute to dehydration.
Powdered formula is also not sterile. Clean equipment, safe preparation and correct storage help reduce the risk of harmful bacteria reaching your baby.
Safe Alternative:
✔ Wash your hands and clean the preparation surface. Use properly cleaned and sterilised feeding equipment, following local health guidance.
✔ Measure the water into the bottle first, then add the exact amount of powder specified on the container.
✔ Use only the scoop supplied with that formula. Make scoops level rather than heaped or tightly packed.
✔ Follow your local health authority’s water-preparation guidance alongside the product instructions. Water-temperature recommendations differ between countries, and babies born prematurely, under two months old or with weakened immune systems may need additional precautions. Ask your healthcare professional which method to use if you are unsure.
✔ Never add extra powder, cereal or other ingredients unless your baby’s healthcare professional specifically instructs you to.
✔ Prepare feeds fresh where possible. Follow local guidance for storage times, and discard milk left in the bottle after a feed.
✔ Never microwave formula. It can create hot spots that burn your baby’s mouth. If you warm a bottle, check its temperature before feeding.
Practical tip: When changing formula brands or stages, read the new instructions carefully. Scoop sizes and mixing ratios can differ, so do not assume your previous measurements still apply.
Sources: Pregnancy, Birth and Baby — Making Formula and CDC — Formula Preparation and Storage
8. Introducing Solids Too Early
Why Dangerous:
Starting solids before your baby is developmentally ready can make feeding unsafe because head control and swallowing skills are still developing.
The usual starting point is around six months, when readiness signs appear—not before four months. Interest in your food alone does not mean your baby is ready.
Safe Alternative:
✔ Look for readiness signs together: your baby can sit with support, hold their head steady, open their mouth for food and swallow it rather than consistently push it out.
✔ Begin with small amounts of puréed or mashed food, progressing to more varied textures as skills develop.
✔ Include iron-rich choices such as iron-fortified infant cereal, puréed meat or mashed lentils.
✔ Keep your baby seated upright and supervise every meal.
✔ Introduce common allergens in suitable forms during the first year, including well-cooked egg and smooth peanut butter thinned into food. Introduce one new allergen per meal, and continue offering tolerated allergens regularly. Never give whole nuts or thick spoonfuls of nut butter.
✔ Continue breast milk or infant formula alongside solids.
Practical tip: If feeding is difficult or your baby is not eating solids by seven months, speak with your child health nurse, GP or dietitian.
Source: ASCIA — Introducing Solid Foods to Babies
9. Propping Bottles Up
Why Dangerous:
Bottle propping means using a pillow, rolled blanket or other support to hold a bottle in your baby’s mouth instead of holding it yourself.
Milk can continue flowing when your baby needs a pause, increasing the risk of choking. Without someone holding and watching them, signs of feeding difficulty may go unnoticed. This applies to bottles containing either formula or expressed breast milk.
Safe Alternative:
✔ Hold your baby close in a semi-upright position, supporting their head and neck so they can breathe and swallow comfortably.
✔ Hold the bottle yourself, keeping it nearly horizontal and slightly tipped to prevent milk flowing too quickly.
✔ Allow pauses. Turning away, spilling milk or stopping sucking can mean your baby needs a break.
✔ Follow their fullness cues rather than encouraging them to finish the bottle.
✔ Never leave your baby feeding alone or put them to bed with a bottle.
Practical tip: Before feeding, gather what you need and sit comfortably. If you must interrupt the feed, remove the bottle and place your baby safely in their cot while you attend to the task. Resume when you can hold and supervise them again.
Source: NHS — Bottle Feeding Your Baby
10. Incorrect Car Seat Use
Why Dangerous:
A car seat offers the best protection when it suits your baby’s size, is installed correctly and has a properly adjusted harness. Loose straps, incorrect installation or moving to a forward-facing seat too soon can reduce that protection.
Rear-facing seats support a baby’s head, neck and spine during a crash. Keep your child rear-facing for as long as they fit within the seat’s approved rear-facing limits—not simply until a particular birthday.
Safe Alternative:
✔ Choose a seat approved for use in your country and suitable for your child’s size. Follow local laws, the car-seat manual and your vehicle’s instructions.
✔ Check the seat’s rear-facing limits. Depending on the design, these may include height, weight or shoulder-height markers. If your baby outgrows an infant capsule, consider a seat with greater rear-facing capacity.
✔ Adjust the harness so it lies flat and snug, without twists. Follow your seat’s instructions for shoulder-strap position, recline angle and any required tether.
✔ If your seat includes a chest clip, position it as the manufacturer directs. US guidance places it at armpit level. Never add a chest clip or other accessory unless approved for your seat.
✔ Remove bulky coats before fastening the harness. Avoid extra padding or inserts unless the manufacturer permits them.
✔ Have the installation checked by a qualified child-restraint fitter or technician if you are unsure.
Practical tip: Check the harness fit regularly as your baby grows, and make sure every caregiver knows how to secure them correctly—even for a short journey.
Sources: ACCC Product Safety — Car Seats Guide and NHTSA — Rear-Facing Car Seat Installation
11. Using Baby Walkers
Why Dangerous:
Seated baby walkers with wheels let babies move quickly and reach hazards before they can recognise danger. They can fall down stairs, tip over or reach hot drinks, heaters, medicines and cleaning products.
Despite their name, these walkers do not teach babies to walk sooner. They can also replace valuable floor time, when babies practise the movements needed for sitting, crawling and eventually walking.
Safe Alternative:
✔ Choose supervised floor play on a safe mat, with room for your baby to move freely.
✔ Offer tummy time while your baby is awake, gradually building up as they become comfortable.
✔ Place age-appropriate toys nearby to encourage reaching, turning and exploring without forcing movements.
✔ As your baby develops, provide opportunities to practise sitting, crawling and pulling to stand at sturdy, secured furniture.
✔ Avoid replacing a wheeled walker with a doorway exercise jumper. These also carry injury risks and are not needed for learning to walk.
Practical tip: A seated wheeled walker is different from a push-along toy. Once your baby is ready to practise supported walking, a stable push-along toy may be suitable with close supervision, on a clear, level surface away from stairs.
Source: Kidsafe SA — Baby Walkers and Exercise Jumpers
12. Leaving Baby Unattended on High Surfaces
Why Dangerous:
Babies can wriggle, push and roll unexpectedly. Their first roll may happen when you least expect it, so never assume a young baby will stay where you put them.
A fall from a changing table, bed or sofa can cause serious injury. Placing pillows around your baby does not create a reliable barrier.
Safe Alternative:
✔ Change nappies on a clean mat on the floor whenever practical.
✔ If using a raised changing surface, stay beside your baby and keep a hand on them. A changing-table strap does not replace supervision.
✔ Gather nappies, wipes and clothes before you begin. If you need to step away, take your baby with you or place them safely in their cot.
✔ Keep bouncers and infant car seats on the floor, never on tables, benches or other raised surfaces.
✔ Use your highchair’s harness correctly and supervise your baby throughout use.
Practical tip: Let a ringing phone or doorbell wait until your baby is somewhere safe. Even a brief distraction can give them time to move towards an edge.
Source: Pregnancy, Birth and Baby — Preventing Falls
13. Delaying Vaccinations
Why Dangerous:
Vaccinations are timed to protect babies when they are particularly vulnerable to serious infections. Delaying doses without medical advice leaves your baby unprotected for longer than necessary.
Some vaccines require several doses to build protection. Attending the first appointment is important, but completing the recommended course matters too.
Safe Alternative:
✔ Follow the current childhood immunisation schedule for your country or region. Your healthcare professional can explain which vaccines your baby needs and when.
✔ Book the next appointment before leaving the clinic, and keep your baby’s vaccination record up to date.
✔ If a dose is missed, contact your immunisation provider promptly for a catch-up plan. Some vaccines have age limits, so avoid postponing the discussion.
✔ Ask questions about benefits, possible side effects and aftercare. Tell the provider about previous reactions or relevant medical conditions.
✔ A mild cold does not automatically mean vaccination must be postponed. Check with your provider rather than cancelling the appointment yourself.
Practical tip: Set a phone reminder before each vaccination is due, allowing enough time to book. If you move or change clinics, take your baby’s vaccination record so the new provider can check what is needed.
Source: Australian Government — Routine Childhood Immunisation
14. Ignoring Your Baby’s Cries or Leaving Their Needs Unmet
Why Dangerous:
Crying is one of your baby’s main ways of communicating. They may be hungry, uncomfortable, tired, unwell or simply need closeness. Assuming they are being “spoilt” or must always be left to “cry it out” can mean missing a need that requires attention.
Newborns and young babies need help to settle and regulate their emotions. Responding with comfort does not spoil them. However, even with loving care, some babies continue crying—you are not failing if you cannot immediately soothe them.
Safe Alternative:
✔ Check for hunger, a wet or dirty nappy, uncomfortable clothing, tiredness or signs of illness.
✔ Offer reassurance through holding, gentle rocking, quiet talking or singing. Reduce noise and stimulation if your baby seems overwhelmed.
✔ For young babies, prioritise responsive care rather than leaving them to cry alone to teach independence.
✔ If considering a sleep-settling approach for an older baby, discuss their age, health, growth and feeding needs with your child health nurse or GP. Age-appropriate sleep support is different from ignoring hunger, illness or distress.
✔ If crying is unusual, persistent or accompanied by poor feeding or other symptoms, seek medical advice.
Practical tip: If you feel overwhelmed, place your baby on their back in their clear, safe cot and step away briefly to calm yourself. Ask someone you trust for help, then return and check on your baby. Taking a short safety break is not neglect. Never shake your baby.
Sources: Pregnancy, Birth and Baby — Responsive Settling and Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network — Settling a Crying Baby
15. Using Screen Time as a Pacifier
Why Dangerous:
A colourful video may briefly distract a fussy baby, but regularly relying on screens can replace opportunities for movement, sleep and interaction with caregivers. Babies learn through everyday experiences: watching your face, hearing your voice, exploring objects and responding to you.
Screen viewing is not recommended during the first year. This does not mean an occasional glimpse of a screen will inevitably harm your baby—the goal is to build daily habits that prioritise their developmental needs.
Safe Alternative:
✔ Before offering a distraction, check whether your baby needs feeding, sleep, a nappy change or comfort.
✔ Try talking, singing, peekaboo or looking at a board book together.
✔ Offer supervised floor play with safe, age-appropriate toys, allowing your baby to explore at their own pace.
✔ Turn off background television when nobody is watching, especially during feeds and play.
✔ Keep some of your own phone time separate from feeding and face-to-face interaction where practical.
✔ Treat supported video calls with family differently from passive viewing. Stay with your baby and help them engage with the person on screen.
Practical tip: Keep a small basket of books and safe toys near the places where you usually care for your baby. Having alternatives within reach makes it easier to choose something other than a video.
Sources: Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network — Screen Time for Babies and American Academy of Pediatrics — Infants and Screen Time
16. Shaking or Rough Play
Why Dangerous:
Forceful shaking makes a baby’s head move rapidly back and forth. This can cause serious brain injury, bleeding, permanent disability or death. A baby’s developing brain and limited head control make them especially vulnerable.
Shaking is different from normal, gentle caregiving. Cuddling, careful handling and gentle rocking do not cause the injuries associated with abusive head trauma.
Safe Alternative:
✔ Handle your baby gently, supporting their head and neck until they have reliable head control.
✔ Avoid movements that make their head whip backwards and forwards, including forceful bouncing or tossing them into the air.
✔ Never shake, hit or handle a baby roughly to stop crying. Make sure everyone caring for your baby understands this.
✔ If frustration builds, place your baby on their back in their clear, safe cot. Step away briefly, calm yourself and ask a trusted adult for support.
✔ If you think your baby has been shaken or deliberately hurt, seek emergency medical help immediately—even if they initially seem well. Tell the medical team what happened so they can assess your baby appropriately.
Practical tip: Make a support plan before a difficult evening. Agree with your partner or another trusted caregiver that either of you can ask for a break when overwhelmed. If you regularly struggle to cope, speak with your GP or child health nurse.
Sources: Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network — Abusive Head Trauma and Better Health Channel — Never Shake a Baby
17. Comparing Milestones Too Strictly
Why Dangerous:
Watching another baby crawl or wave before yours can create unnecessary worry. Babies do not all develop skills on exactly the same day, and comparisons with siblings, friends or social media cannot reliably tell you whether your baby needs support.
At the same time, “every baby is different” should not be a reason to dismiss concerns. Milestone guidance helps you notice your baby’s progress and identify when professional advice may be useful.
Safe Alternative:
✔ Use a trusted, age-appropriate milestone checklist rather than comparing your baby with one other child.
✔ Notice progress across different areas, including movement, communication, play and social interaction.
✔ If your baby was born prematurely, ask your healthcare professional about using corrected age when considering milestones.
✔ Share concerns with your GP, paediatrician or child health nurse if your baby is not meeting expected milestones. You do not need to wait until the next routine appointment.
✔ Seek prompt advice if your baby loses a skill they previously had.
✔ Remember that milestone checklists support observation; they do not diagnose developmental conditions or replace professional screening.
Practical tip: Keep brief notes or short videos of skills you notice and questions you have. These can help you explain your concerns during an appointment while leaving everyday play relaxed and enjoyable.
Sources: CDC — Developmental Milestones and Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network — Corrected Age and Milestones
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