|
Childproofing Your Home:
 | 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.
|
12 Safety Devices to Protect Your 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.
|
| 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.
|
|
