Monday, August 17, 2009

Child-Proofing Your Home Safely

As parents, our kids' safety is our number one concern. Recent statistics indicate that unsupervised playing is the number one cause of unlikely incidents in young children. And quite a number of those events occur as a result of kid's normal, healthy curiosity on the things that surround them. Chances of getting hurt increase as they learn to creep, crawl, walk, climb, and explore.

The following checklist can help parents spot and take care of vulnerable areas in your home and further ensure a safer play environment for kids.

Electricity
• Plug unused electrical outlets with safety insulators designed
  for this purpose. You wouldn’t want your kids sticking anything   into them.
• Remove unused extension cords. Kids might be tempted to
  tug them with wet hands.
• Move large pieces of furniture in front of electrical outlets that
  have cords plugged in them, or install protective outlet
  coverings that prevent a child from unplugging the cord.
• Position your child's crib away from all drapery, electrical
  cords

Cabinets
• Thankfully I don’t have one of these but if you do, always
  keep weapons such as guns and knives locked safely
  away from children. Ammunitions should be kept in
  a separate secure location as well.
• Install child-proof fastener on all cabinets and drawers that
  contain these objects.
• Put up safety latches on stand-alone freezers and oven
  doors (that is if they don't have locks).

Chemicals
• Safely dispose all
  mercury-based thermometers. Invest in state-of-the-art digital
  thermometers.
• Place toxic household substances, such as detergents, cleaning
  fluids, matches, and medicines, well out of reach in a locked
  cabinet.
• Make sure toys, furniture, and walls are finished in lead-free
  paint. Check labels to make sure toys are non-toxic.
• Have syrup of ipecac on hand to induce vomiting in case your
  child swallows a non-corrosive poison.

Small Objects
• Keep small objects (pins, buttons, nuts, candies, and coins) that your child could swallow or
  choke on.
• Keep plastic bags out of reach at all times. Kids might wear them over their heads and risk
  suffocation.
• Regularly check toys for sharp edges or small broken pieces.
• Place small, fragile tabletop items out of your child's reach.
• Crawl through the house on your hands and knees to spot enticing hazards to be remedied.

Furniture
• If small tables or other furnishings are not sturdy or have
  sharp corners, put them away until your child is older, or
  install protective coverings around sharp edges.
• Large pieces of furniture that a child can climb and tip over
  should be safely secured to a nearby wall or post.
• Do not hang a tablecloth off a table when your small child is
  close by.

Fires and Burns
• Teach the word hot as
  early as you can. Keep
  your child away from the hot oven, iron, vent, fireplace,
  wood stove, barbecue grill, cigarettes, cigarette lighter, and
  hot teacups and coffee cups.
• Always turn pot handles inward when cooking, and remove
  gas knobs on the stove (or replace them with safety knobs)
  when not in use.
• Install a proper screen on a fireplace (in case you have
  one).

Bathroom and Stairs
• Keep the door to the bathroom closed at all times. Use a child-proof doorknob cover if your
  child knows how to turn the doorknob. Install safety latches on toilet lids.
• Never leave your baby unattended in the bathtub
• Put a gate on a stairway to prevent unsupervised play on the stairs.

Baby Gears
• Never leave your baby unattended on a changing table, on
  a couch, on your bed, in an infant seat or highchair, on the
  floor, or in a car.
• Always raise crib sides in the up position when your baby
  (even a tiny infant) is in the crib.
• Never tie toys to a crib or playpen. Your baby could get
  caught on the string. Also, never attach a pacifier to a
  string that could get wrapped around your baby's neck.

3 comments:

  1. Regulate TV media production. Bring back good old social values in television media and set good examples to our children:

    http://suremen.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Electricity is very useful for human survival, but also could be disastrous for humans, especially for kids. Make sure your kid is safe from electrical equipment

    ReplyDelete
  3. In our home, I changed all the electrical outlets with kid-proof types that automatically shut the holes closed as soon as the plug is removed.

    ReplyDelete