Safety News

on Kids Safety 101

Safety Checklist
Is your home safe?

It doesn't matter where you look, a complete safety check list does not exist. It is important, therefore, to raise one's awareness about safeguarding your family in and out of the home. The list below will help you do that.

IN THE HOME (Where most accidents happen)

HANDS AND KNEES CHECK: Go down on your hands and knees and crawl through each room in your house to see it through your kid's eyes. Look under every furniture for sharp objects by which your child could be injured or small objects that could be easily swallowed. Keep the floors clean and dry at all times and safeguard against slippery floors by making sure your child wears shoes or slip-resistant socks

FURNITURE: Be mindful of sharp corners. (This has always been my  paranoia when my son was a baby. It still is now even at 2 years old). Avoid having glass table that can break and hurt your child. Keep furniture away from railings as children like to climb on top of furniture and may potentially fall down the staircase.

FIRE ESCAPE: Decide on a designated area where everyone in your family should meet in case of a fire. This area should be the shortest, safest and quickest method of exiting the building.

BATHROOMS: Keep toilet lids closed at all times. Toilet lid locks are inexpensive and very useful. In fact, the bathroom on a whole should be inaccessible. Keep medicine cabinets locked. Be sure to have a non-skid rug on the bathtub floor and a bump protection on faucet heads. Cover all electrical outlets and very importantly, test the bath water before bathing your child. Remember, a child can drown in a few inches of water so do not leave your child unattended at anytime.

OUTLETS & WIRING: Children like to put objects into outlets and doing so can hurt them. Always keep all outlets covered. Conceal the slacks of cords as best as you can as children may trip over or strangulated.

KITCHENS: This may be the most dangerous part of the house for kids. Keep oven door locked at all times as children may use it as a step to climb up and in. Buy oven plugs to ensure that they are unable to open the door. If using the stove top, be sure to keep pot handles away from the passage way as they can be easily tipped over with contact causing serious scalding. (I am a product of third degree burn that happened as a result of this when I was a child). Skin will burn four times quicker on children than on adult.

WINDOWS: Keep furniture away from the windows as children could climb up and out. They are unaware of the dangers that lie below so we have to do the thinking for them. Also, move or remove mini-blind cords that could cause stangulations.