Steps to prevent babies from falling

In Canada, falling is the leading cause of injury in babies and children aged 5 and under. However, most of these falls are avoidable. How can you prevent them from happening?

Common causes of falls in babies and young children

Changing tables, sofas, infant car seats, high chairs, and strollers are the main surfaces that babies tend to fall from.

For little ones who can crawl and walk, the risks are different. At this age, you need to watch out for stairs, beds, windows, balconies, furniture, and cribs.

How to prevent falls in babies and young children

• Always keep one hand on your baby when they’re on the changing table. If you need to step away from the table, even for a few seconds, pick them up, place them on the floor, or put them in their crib.
• Never leave your baby unattended while they’re lying on a sofa or adult-size bed, even if you surround them with pillows or cushions.
• When your baby is 3–5 months old, adjust the crib mattress to its lowest setting to prevent them from falling.
• As soon as your child is able to climb out of their crib, move them to a toddler bed, a low single bed, or a mattress on the floor.
• Always use safety belts and straps to secure your child when they’re in their stroller, baby bouncer, swing, high chair, or car seat.
• When your child is in a baby bouncer or car seat, it should always be placed on the floor. Placing it on a table, counter, or dryer with your child inside is dangerous, as they could fall.
• Place your child’s crib away from windows. If this isn’t feasible, install child safety bars on the window. There have been cases of children climbing out of bed, pushing on the window screen, and falling out of the window.
• Avoid placing other furniture too close to your child’s crib. Otherwise, they may use it as a foothold for climbing out of their crib.
• Move furniture away from windows and balcony doors. Otherwise, if your child manages to climb onto it, they could fall out of the window.
• Install safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs. The gate at the top of the stairs should be securely screwed into the wall. A pressure mounted gate can be used at the bottom of the stairs.
• Anchor shelves, dressers, bookcases, and TVs to the wall to prevent them from toppling over if your little one tries to climb on them.
• Keep the floor and stairs clear of toys and other objects. These objects can cause you to trip when walking with your baby in your arms.
• Install safety devices that limit how far windows can open, and keep the balcony door locked at all times.
• If your child sleeps in a bunk bed, they should stay on the bottom bunk until they’re at least 6 years old. Children younger than 6 can easily fall off of the top bunk.
• Never use a baby walker. The risk of falling with them is so great, it’s actually illegal to sell them in Canada.

What to do if your baby or young child has fallen

A baby’s head is especially heavy compared to the rest of their body. For this reason, babies often fall on their heads. Consequently, the most common types of fall injuries that infants suffer are concussions and skull fractures.

What to do in case of a fall

• Take your child to the emergency room if your child is under 4 months old and has fallen on their head, even if they seem fine.
• You should also go to the emergency room is your child is under the age of 2 and they have a bump on the side or back of their head after falling.
• If your baby is older than 4 months and behaves normally after being comforted, you don’t need to see a doctor. That said, you should still observe them and watch out for signs of concussion.

You should also go to the emergency room if your child:

• has lost consciousness, is less responsive, or is difficult to wake up
• has seizures
• complains of severe or worsening headaches
• has vomited more than two times
• becomes increasingly confused (e.g., they don’t know where they are) or irritable, or starts behaving strangely
• has severe neck pain
• has trouble walking, speaking, or seeing
• feels weakness, tingling, or numbness in their arms or legs

If you have any doubts or concerns, call Info-Santé 811. A nurse will assess your child’s medical situation and advise you of what to do.

To learn about the signs of a concussion, read our fact sheet on concussion and head injury in children aged 0 to 5 (in French). COCO Concussion Communication, a website developed by a team of researchers from Université de Montréal and CHU Sainte-Justine, also offers a head injury and concussion detection tool.

Things to keep in mind

• You can prevent serious falls by making your home more secure and staying vigilant.
• If a baby falls on their head, they could suffer a concussion or even a skull fracture.
• The grocery cart is not a safe place to sit for children under the age of 2.

Scientific review: Dr. Hugo Paquin, pediatric emergency medicine physician, CHU Sainte-Justine Research and copywriting:The Naître et grandir team Updated: January 2026

Photo: GettyImages/ronstik