Child Safety, Child Proofing Your Home
Child Safety
Child proofing 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 ofthese incidents can be prevented by using simple child safety devices on the market today.
Any safety device you buy for child proofing your home should be sturdy enough to prevent injury to your child, yet easy for you to use. It'simportant to follow installation instructions carefully. In addition, if you have older children in the house, be surethey re-secure safety devices. Remember, too, that no device is completely childproof; determined youngstershave been known to disable them.
You can child proof your home for a fraction of what it would cost to have a professional do it. And child safety devicesare easy to find. You can buy them at hardware stores, baby equipment shops, supermarkets, drug stores, homeand linen stores, and through mail order catalog's.
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 preventpoisonings and other injuries. Child safety latches and locks on cabinets and drawers can help prevent children fromgaining access to medicines and household cleaners, as well as knives and other sharp objects.
Look for child safety latches and locks that adults can easily install and use, but are sturdy enough to withstand pullsand tugs from children. Safety latches are not a guarantee of protection, but they can make it more difficult forchildren to reach dangerous substances. Even products with child-resistant packaging should be locked away, outof reach; this packaging is not child proof.
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. Safetygates can help keep children away from stairs or rooms that have hazards in them. Look for safety gates thatchildren cannot dislodge easily, but that adults can open and close without difficulty. For the top of stairs, gatesthat screw to the wall are more secure than "pressure gates." Picture of a baby with pet dog next to a safety gate
New safety gates that meet safety standards display a certification seal from the Juvenile Products ManufacturersAssociation (JPMA). If you have an older safety gate, be sure it doesn't have "V" shapes that are large enough fora 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 withpossible 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 incase of emergency. By restricting access to potentially hazardous rooms in the home, door knob covers could helpprevent many kinds of injuries. To prevent access to swimming pools, door locks should be placed high out ofreach of young children. Locks should be used in addition to fences and door alarms. Sliding glass doors, withlocks 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 degreesFahrenheit to help prevent burns from hot water. Anti-scald devices for regulating water temperature can helpprevent burns.
Consider using anti-scald devices for faucets and showerheads. A plumber may need to install these. In addition, ifyou live in your own home, set water heater temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to help prevent burns from hotwater.
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 areessential 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. Picture of a baby lookingout of a window that has a safety device installed on it
Check these child safety devices frequently to make sure they are secure and properly installed and maintained. Thereshould be no more than four inches between the bars of the window guard. If you have window guards, be sure atleast one window in each room can be easily used for escape in a fire. Window screens are not effective forpreventing 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 tosoften 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 Child Safety Outlet Covers and Outlet Plates to help prevent electrocution. Outlet covers and outlet plates can helpprotect 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 cannotchoke on them.
Typical cost of a child safety 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 theirhomes. 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 inblind cord loops. Window blind cord safety tassels on miniblinds and tension devices on vertical blinds and draperycords can help prevent deaths and injuries from strangulation in the loops of cords. Inner cord stops can helpprevent strangulation in the inner cords of window blinds.
For older mini blinds, cut the cord loop, remove the buckle, and put child safety tassels on each cord. Be sure that oldervertical blinds and drapery cords have tension or tie-down devices to hold the cords tight. When buying newmini blinds, verticals, and draperies, ask for safety features to prevent child strangulation.11 Use Door Stops and Door Holders to help prevent injuries to fingers and hands. Door stops and door holderson doors and door hinges can help prevent small fingers and hands from being pinched or crushed in doors anddoor hinges.
Be sure any child safety device for doors is easy to use and is not likely to break into small parts, which could be achoking 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 inbathtubs, swimming pools, or other potentially dangerous areas. Picture of a woman talking on the telephone whileholding baby.
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 swimmingpool, or the beach.Typical cost of a cordless phone: $30 and up.
Child safety is an important aspect of the home that we have to think about. Get down on the child's level and try to see what He sees.
