Safe Sleep
DCS Safe Sleep Campaign
The Safe Sleep campaign involves educating families about safe sleep practices and providing them with resources for cribs if needed. DCS offers free baby essentials to families involved with the department.
Did you know? Every 5 days, a baby in Arizona suffocates while sleeping.
Is your baby sleeping safely?
- Share a room, not a bed
- Lay baby down to sleep in a crib or bassinet
- Don't sleep with your baby
- Don't let your baby sleep in a crowded crib
- Place babies on their back every time, at night and for naps
- Give babies space to breathe - no pillows, bumpers, blankets or toys
Don't wake up to a tragedy
Join the effort to help prevent tragic deaths caused by accidental suffocation by pledging to use the infant safe sleep best practices. Download a copy of the Safe Sleep Checklist today.
Tips for talking to other parents and caregivers
- Anyone can be a safe sleep advocate!
- Start with a simple question: where does your baby sleep?
- Acknowledge and respect the family's culture.
- Let them share their ideas/opinions.
- Praise the good parenting choices they have made.
- Physically demonstrate the ABCs of safe sleep.
- Suggest other ways to bond with the baby - feeding, rocking, or singing.
- If mom is breastfeeding in bed, encourage her to move baby to a crib once they're asleep.
- Share the facts about safe sleep: baby sleeps safest alone, on their back, and in a crib.
- Praise and encourage breastfeeding, it benefits both mom and baby. If mom is breastfeeding in bed, encourage her to have a plan to move the baby once they’re asleep.
- Lastly, keep the conversation going. It may take several conversations to affect behavior, so don't give up!
Request a Safe Sleep poster!
Need a Safe Sleep poster for the office?
Contact the Office of Prevention.
Want to learn more? Check out these other resources.
- AZ DCS Safe Sleep Pamphlets and Flyers.
- Cribs for Kids cribsforkids.org
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development safetosleep.nichd.nih.gov
- Safe Kids Worldwide safekids.org
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Crib Information Center cpsc.gov
- American Academy of Pediatrics Safe Sleep Recommendations to Protect Against SIDS, Sleep-Related Infant Deaths
- National Institute for Children’s Health Quality nichq.org
- Children’s Safety Network childrenssafetynetwork.org
- Birth to Five Helpline, 1-877-705-KIDS or visit them online click here
- We Can - Work to end child abuse and neglect, visit them online. click here
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