Whether your are just now guessing which color to paint
your nursery or have a little one that is ready to crawl, taking preventive
measures to childproof your home against unintentional accidents is essential.
Even you don't want your children to get into something, it seems that they can
always find a way to do so. Specialists in child safety recommend that parents
get down on their hands and knees and take a look around the house from a
child's viewpoint.
Consider the
following room-by-room tips to help make your home safer for your children:
• Install child-resistant covers on all unused
electrical outlets.
• Keep all mini-blind cords out of reach.
• Tape down the corners of area rugs or
electrical cords that might trip children.
• Place furniture well away from all windows.
• Keep cigarettes, matches and lighters out of
reach.
• Place screened barriers around fireplaces,
radiators and portable space heaters.
• Keep firearms and ammunition safely locked
away.
• Secure unsteady furnishings.
• Be vigilant about choking hazards. ( Anything
that fits inside a toilet paper tube has the potential
• Secure bookcases to the wall, using shelf
brackets attached to the side and/or top of the bookcase,
• Secure or remove heavy or breakable items
from tables, as children are likely to grab or shake them,
• Use corner bumpers on furniture and
fireplace hearth edges.
• Keep the houseplants high. ( The
objective here is two-fold: to keep a falling plant from hurting your
• Install childproof latches on all cabinets
and appliances within a child's reach.
• Keep knives, cleaning supplies, and plastic
bags out of reach.
• On stoves, keep the handles of pots and
pans turned toward the wall. Never leave
cooking food
• If stove knobs are easily accessible to
children, use protective covers to prevent kids from turning
• Keep chairs and step stools away from
counters and stove.
• Keep syrup of ipecac on hand.
• Place infants under one year of age on
their backs to sleep.
• Crib bar spacing should be no greater than
2-3/8 inches, smaller than the diameter of a soda can.
• Position the Crib away from all drapery,
electrical cords, and windows.
• Be sure the crib sheet fits snugly.
• For crib bumpers, make sure it's firm ( not fluffy
) and secured tightly with at least six ties.
• Remove mobiles and other hanging toys from
the crib as soon as a child can reach up and touch them.
• Never use an electric blanket in the bed or
crib of a small child or infant.
STAIRS AND HALLWAYS
• Have two safety gates, one at each end of
the staircase.
• Brighten dark hallways.
• Install carbon-monoxide ( CO
) alarms and smoke alarms in each room on every level of the home.
• Mark sliding glass doors with colored tape
or stickers to distinguish them from open doorways.
• Place sleeves on doorknobs to prevent
toddlers from accessing dangerous areas of the house.
• Use doorstops to ensure that doors can't
slam shut.
• Turn down the hot water heater temperature
to a maximum of 120 degrees.
• As in the kitchen, lock or tie cabinet
doors, and move all soaps and shampoos to higher surfaces
• Place a non-slip mat or stickers on the
bottom of your bathtub.
• Put locks on medicine and cleaning supply
cabinets.
• Cover the bathtub waterspout with a soft,
protective cover.
• Install toilet lid locks.
• Install ground-fault circuit interrupters
on outlets near all sinks and bathtubs.
If you are unsure
about any of the items listed, ask a professional. Professionals may come to your home to "child or
baby-proof" it by installing protectors and locks, while looking for
hazards that might go unnoticed. Your
family doctor or pediatrician may be a great resource for locating reliable,
inexpensive professionals that may perform these services in your area.