To prevent potentially dangerous accidents from happening, child-proof your home to ensure safety. Here are some ideas for preventing accidents in your home:
Falls:
- Use night lights and skid-proof rugs.
- Put safety gates at top/bottom of stairs.
- Lock basement doors.
- Don’t pile things on steps.
- Move furniture away from windows.
- Use safety straps on high chairs and strollers.
- Never tum your back on a baby on a bed, changing table, or counter.
Burns:
- Cover fireplaces. Keep your child away from fires, heaters, and furnaces.
- Lower water temperature. Always check baby’s bath water for comfort. Set water heater for 120°.
- Tum pot handles in. Keep hot dishes away from the edge of the table.
- Never carry a baby and hot food at the same time.
- Don’t let your child use fireworks.
- Keep matches out of reach and in child-proof containers.
- Install smoke alarms and fire extinguishers. Check them monthly.
- Create a fire escape plan and practice it.
- Teach your child to Stop, Drop, and Roll if clothes catch on fire.
Poisons:
- Keep medicines, cleaning supplies, and chemicals out of reach and in child-proof containers.
- Put safety locks or latches on cabinets.
- Keep the poison control phone number nearby: 1-800-848-6946.
Suffocating/Choking:
- Keep plastic bags out of reach.
- Keep curtain and blind cords out of reach.
- Keep anything 2 inches or smaller away from infants and toddlers.
- Avoid foods such as peanuts, grapes, hot dogs, popcorn, gum, and hard candy until your child is older.
- Never tie a pacifier around an infant’s neck.
Shocks:
- Cover outlets with plastic caps.
- Keep appliances out of baby’s reach.
- Keep appliances away from water.
- Keep electrical cords out of baby’s reach.
Drowning:
- Always stay with a child around water. A young child can drown in a few inches of water – even in a bathtub!
- Be sure life jackets are US Coast Guard approved and the appropriate size.
