Everything4thebaby.com Safety Tips for your home

Safety Tips

Childproofing Your Home - 12 Safety Devices to Protect Your Children
About 2-1/2 million children are injured or killed by hazards in the home each year. The good
news is that many of these incidents can be prevented by using simple child safety devices
on the market today.

Any safety device you buy should be sturdy enough to prevent injury to your child, yet easy for
you to use. It's important to follow installation instructions carefully. In addition, if you have
older children in the house, be sure they re-secure safety devices. Remember, too, that no
device is completely childproof; determined youngsters have been known to disable them.

You can childproof your home for a fraction of what it would cost to have a professional do it.
And safety devices are easy to find. You can buy them at hardware stores, baby equipment
shops, supermarkets, drug stores, home and linen stores, and through mail order
catalogues.

Here are some child safety devices that can help prevent many injuries to young children.

1 Use Safety Latches and Locks for cabinets and drawers in kitchens,
bathrooms, and other areas to help prevent poisonings and other injuries.
Safety latches and locks on cabinets and drawers can help prevent children
from gaining access to medicines and household cleaners, as well as knives and
other sharp objects.

Look for safety latches and locks that adults can easily install and use, but are
sturdy enough to withstand pulls and tugs from children. Safety latches are not a
guarantee of protection, but they can make it more difficult for children to reach
dangerous substances. Even products with child-resistant packaging should be
locked away, out of reach; this packaging is not childproof.

Typical cost of a safety latch or lock: less than $2.

2 Use Safety Gates to help prevent falls down stairs and to keep children away
from dangerous areas. Safety gates can help keep children away from stairs or
rooms that have hazards in them. Look for safety gates that children cannot
dislodge easily, but that adults can open and close without difficulty. For the top
of stairs, gates that screw to the wall are more secure than "pressure gates."

New safety gates that meet safety standards display a certification seal from the
Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA). If you have an older safety
gate, be sure it doesn't have "V" shapes that are large enough for a child's head
and neck to fit into.

Typical cost of a safety gate: $13 to $40.

3 Use Door Knob Covers and Door Locks to help prevent children from entering
rooms and other areas with possible dangers. Door knob covers and door locks
can help keep children away from places with hazards, including swimming pools.

Be sure the door knob cover is sturdy enough not to break, but allows a door to
be opened quickly by an adult in case of emergency. By restricting access to
potentially hazardous rooms in the home, door knob covers could help prevent
many kinds of injuries. To prevent access to swimming pools, door locks should
be placed high out of reach of young children. Locks should be used in addition
to fences and door alarms. Sliding glass doors, with locks that must be
re-secured after each use, are often not an effective barrier to pools.

Typical cost of a door knob cover: $1 and door lock: $5 and up.

4 Use Anti-Scald Devices for faucets and shower heads and set your water
heater temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to help prevent burns from hot
water. Anti-scald devices for regulating water temperature can help prevent
burns.

Consider using anti-scald devices for faucets and showerheads. A plumber may
need to install these. In addition, if you live in your own home, set water heater
temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to help prevent burns from hot water.

Typical cost of an anti-scald device: $6 to $30.

5 Use Smoke Detectors on every level of your home and near bedrooms to alert
you to fires. Smoke detectors are essential safety devices for protection against
fire deaths and injuries.

Check smoke detectors once a month to make sure they're working.
If detectors are battery-operated, change batteries at least once a year or
consider using 10-year batteries.
Typical cost of a smoke detector: less than $10.

6 Use Window Guards and Safety Netting to help prevent falls from windows,
balconies, decks, and landings. Window guards and safety netting for balconies
and decks can help prevent serious falls.

Check these safety devices frequently to make sure they are secure and
properly installed and maintained. There should be no more than four inches
between the bars of the window guard. If you have window guards, be sure at
least one window in each room can be easily used for escape in a fire. Window
screens are not effective for preventing children from falling out of windows.

Typical cost of a window guard or safety netting: $8 to $16.

7 Use Corner and Edge Bumpers to help prevent injuries from falls against
sharp edges of furniture and fireplaces. Corner and edge bumpers can be used
with furniture and fireplace hearths to help prevent injuries from falls or to soften
falls against sharp or rough edges.

Be sure to look for bumpers that stay securely on furniture or hearth edges.

Typical cost of a corner and edge bumper: $1 and up.

8 Use Outlet Covers and Outlet Plates to help prevent electrocution. Outlet
covers and outlet plates can help protect children from electrical shock and
possible electrocution.

Be sure the outlet protectors cannot be easily removed by children and are
large enough so that children cannot choke on them.

Typical cost of an outlet cover: less than $2.

9 Use a Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detector outside bedrooms to help prevent CO
poisoning. A carbon monoxide (CO) detector can help prevent CO poisoning.
Consumers should install CO detectors near sleeping areas in their homes.
Households that should use CO detectors include those with gas or oil heat or
with attached garages.

Typical cost of a carbon monoxide (CO) detector: $30 to $70.

10 Cut Window Blind Cords; use Safety Tassels and Inner Cord Stops to help
prevent children from strangling in blind cord loops. Window blind cord safety
tassels on miniblinds and tension devices on vertical blinds and drapery cords
can help prevent deaths and injuries from strangulation in the loops of cords.
Inner cord stops can help prevent strangulation in the inner cords of window
blinds.

For older miniblinds, cut the cord loop, remove the buckle, and put safety
tassels on each cord. Be sure that older vertical blinds and drapery cords have
tension or tie-down devices to hold the cords tight. When buying new miniblinds,
verticals, and draperies, ask for safety features to prevent child strangulation.

You can get window blind cord safety information and free tassels by calling
1-800-506-4636 or visiting www.windowcoverings.org

11 Use Door Stops and Door Holders to help prevent injuries to fingers and
hands. Door stops and door holders on doors and door hinges can help prevent
small fingers and hands from being pinched or crushed in doors and door
hinges.

Be sure any safety device for doors is easy to use and is not likely to break into
small parts, which could be a choking hazard for young children.

Typical cost of a door stop and door holder: less than $4.

12 Use a Cordless Phone to make it easier to continuously watch young
children, especially when they're in bathtubs, swimming pools, or other
potentially dangerous areas.

Cordless phones help you watch your child continuously, without leaving the
vicinity to answer a phone call. Cordless phones are especially helpful when
children are in or near water, whether it's the bathtub, the swimming pool, or the
beach.

Typical cost of a cordless phone: $30 and up.