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Safety In the Home
More than likely, if you were a parent and you were given a choice to make one place a safe haven for your child, you would probably say your home. Yet, research shows that each year, there are more than 4.5 million children injured in their homes.
Taking simple caution by closely supervising your children can help prevent common household hazards such as fires, burns, drowning, choking, suffocation, firearms, poisoning, and falls. Taking a few inexpensive steps like, locking up the household cleaners, installing carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms, using baby gates at the staircase, can greatly reduce the risk of injury in your home to your child.
The best way to find out whether or not your home is hazardous is by exploring your home at your child’s level-by getting down on your hands and knees and seeing from their point of view the hazards. Go through every room, and ask yourself what is tempting and what is within reach that your child can easily get into. Check the carpets for any buried dangers like pins or coins.
Another thing you can do to make sure your home is hazard free is to simply always supervise your child, especially around water, and in the kitchen and bathroom.
Childproofing Basics:
In the kitchen:
- Always keep hot foods and liquids out of reach for your children. Every year, nearly 26,000 children at the age of 14 and under are sent to the emergency room for scald burns.
- When you are cooking, always use the back burner, and keep the pan handles facing the back of the stove.
- Keep dangerous utensils and items such as glassware, knives, cords, placemats and tablecloths out of reach to your children.
In the bathroom:
- Have the hot water thermostat set for no higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit. It takes just three seconds for a child to sustain a scald burn from water that is at 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Make sure your medicine cabinets are locked. Even medicines such as iron pills can be dangerous for a young child.
- Install toilet locks. Children have been known to lose their balance and fall in and drown in just 1 inch of water.
- Always request child proof in things such as medicines. However, even though they are childproof, they should still be locked up in the cabinet out of reach.
- Sharp utensils like a razor, scissors, and blow dryers need to be locked up and kept in the adult bathroom.
In the bedroom:
- Beware of the dangers that come with old cribs. Even baby furniture made just a decade ago may not meet today’s safety standards.
- Keep cribs and beds away from windows and drapery. Children can strangle from drapery cords, and fall out windows that are accessible from cribs or beds. Cordless window coverings are available.
- Install carbon monoxide detectors in every sleeping area and check the batteries often. Even low levels of exposure to this poisonous gas can be fatal to a small child.
- Use safety gates. Usually severe injuries are caused by a fall from the stairs. Use the gates at both the top and the bottom of the staircase.
- Cover all open electrical outlets.
- Keep firearms locked up and unloaded. Store the ammunition separately in a locked location.
- Install guards on your windows that are not emergency exits. These can be purchased at your local hardware store.
For emergencies:
- Post emergency numbers by the telephones. Post phone numbers for the poison control, pediatrician, police, fire department, emergency medical services, and a neighbor by the telephones as well.
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