Bringing a new addition into the family?

The guy · 10-26-2004, 05:48 AM

There are several things that need to be done to child proof your home.

Making your home safe for a curious little one is extremely important. Accidents in the home are the leading cause of death in young children!

No matter how much you child proof, even if your house is the safest in the world, you still need to watch your children at all times. They are so curious, children will always invent a new way to get hurt. Childproofing your home is done to safeguard your child when your eyes can not be on them continually. Most accidents occur when a parent is too busy or too tired and is not paying attention to their child. Even when you are running around getting ready for work or the older kids ready for school, always be aware of what your child is doing. Take them to the bathroom with you if you have to, even if only for a minute, you would be surprised what they can get into for that minute.

Depending upon your child’s age you will need to do different types of childproofing because they will go to different areas of the house and be at different levels. Always try to keep one step ahead of them in their curiosity and ability. For example, a one year old will be low to the ground and therefore you should child proof your house down low. Get down on your knees and see what they can see. It’s amazing what temptations are really there. First, take a look around. What obvious hazards are there? Easily accessible electric outlets, power cords, pull cords on window blinds, small objects to be choked on. All are potentially dangerous to a small child.

Newborn babies often get hurt due to the negligence and accidents of the adults taking care of them. You must be alert and wise in taking care of a small infant. Make sure all of your baby equipments is up to day on safety features. Inspect your crib slats to make sure they are a close distance apart so that your baby’s head can not get stuck in them. You should not be able to fit a soda can between the slats. Make sure your infant car seat is up to date and put in the car properly. Be careful when putting your baby in the car, infants get their head smacked this way all the time!

Infants and newborns can roll off of a changing table or bed, always stay by their side and secure them while changing their diaper. Keep all plastic bags and objects you don’t want in the baby’s mouth out of their reach while changing them. Be careful when you apply powder to a baby, do not spray it towards their face.

Don’t leave a child unattended in a high chair, walker, swinger or exersaucer! It only takes a second for them to choke or stand up and fall on their head.

A baby or any child can easily slip under the water of a bathtub. Never leave a child in the tub alone, regardless! The phone will continue to ring or whoever it is can call back later. Never leave the bathtub with water in it! If you have older children, make sure they remember to drain the tub before leaving the bathroom to avoid a drowning accident. A good habit for every member of the family is to close the bathroom door when they leave the room.

Never leave a child in the laundry room with a washing machine that is full of water. Toddler’s heads are so heavy, that when they bend over to reach down and touch the water, they tumble in and are not strong enough to pull themselves back out. Other places that toddlers have drowned are toilet bowls, buckets filled with water and of course the swimming pool.

Two year olds like to open shiny interesting containers. This age child is particularly at risk for poisoning, choking and burns. Keep all poisonous containers of any kind out of their reach. Lock all medicine in a cabinet up high. Any cupboard which has cleaning supplies in it should have a childproof latch, regardless of whether small children live in the house or not. Household chemicals are dangerous if ingested in large amounts. Even nasty tasting medication is not safe; kids will often eat things that taste very bad. Medications should be kept out of reach and out of sight. This includes vitamins, especially the fruit-flavored cute-shaped ones. Outlet covers, most stores carry some brand of covers to go over electrical outlets, to prevent a curious toddler sticking an object in one. Cord guard, these are used to cover your cords that are in the outlets to prevent a small child from pulling the cord out of the socket and then trying to plug it back in.

Toddlers are at just the right height to hit their head on the corners of counters and sharp tables. A child running into the front room may trip and fall and hit their head on the corner of the coffee table. You can purchase rubber corner adhesives that can be applied to the corners to help cushion the blow when they bump into it!

Little hands on little people, standing on tiptoes can reach the stove burners. You can purchase a shield to attach to your stove front that is about 4-5 inches high to prevent curious fingers from reaching the burners. Always keep pot handles turned inward when cooking to avoid a small child pulling a pan of hot food down on him or herself. If you are shopping for a new stove, make sure to buy one that has the knobs on the top rather than the front. If your stove does have knobs on the front, remove them when there are children around to avoid a burner being turned on inadvertently by a curious child.

Wire clothes hangers are very dangerous for children, use plastic hangers. Before the invention of plastic hangers many children lost eyes or were severely wounded from wire hangers.

Shelves and dressers can fall on children unless they are properly child proofed! Bolt them to the walls. Shelves that are placed up high are also dangerous and should be checked monthly for durability and strength. Never put heavy items on a shelf that you think will not hold the items. Glass & Fine stuff should be up high, they do not belong on the coffee table anymore.

The strings on mini blinds have caused many injuries to children, including strangulation. To prevent this problem you can fix the blinds cords so they are not dangling down. Arrange your blinds to where the bottom of the blind is a little below the window. At the top of the string cut as high as you would like, but keep about 4 inches hanging. Tie a knot and replace the plastic endings back on the string. Now the child cannot reach the string unless you pull up the blinds, and then you can loop the string on top of the blinds out of reach of your child! You can also purchase mini blind string hooks at the store to secure the cord to.

As your child gets older you can teach them and talk to them about the dangers around them. Teaching your children is a very important safety measure that is too often neglected. Do your children know what to do in case of a fire? It is never too early to teach them. Do you have a smoke detector in your home. Do your children know to avoid obvious dangers such as broken glass? If not, they can easily be injured on the

playground or anywhere else by a small piece of glass.

Do your children realize how dangerous it can be to climb? Children fall from trees, ladders, roofs and other high places every day. They can also be injured from lesser falls such as falling from chairs, and other objects. While not as dangerous as a fall from a higher location, these falls can also cause serious injuries.

As your child gets older it will be easier, but, just because you no longer have a baby, toddler or small child does not mean you can let your guard down about keeping your child safe. Your teenager is just as much at risk for accidents. Teenagers feel invincible and immortal. They feel they will not get hurt and they push themselves to the limit, flirting with danger. This age is at risk of car accidents, bike and motorcycle accidents, sports injuries and consumption of drugs and alcohol.

Striper · 10-26-2004, 06:04 AM

Wow, thanks a lot for posting this. I have a little girl and I never even thought about the string from the blinds strangling her. Guess I better do something about that.

Rufus · 10-26-2004, 06:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Striper

Wow, thanks a lot for posting this. I have a little girl and I never even thought about the string from the blinds strangling her. Guess I better do something about that.

It's amazing how dangerous your house can be for little kid's, and you wouldn't even know it. Good post.

10-26-2004, 05:48 AM	#1
The guy Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 11	Bringing a new addition into the family? There are several things that need to be done to child proof your home. Making your home safe for a curious little one is extremely important. Accidents in the home are the leading cause of death in young children! No matter how much you child proof, even if your house is the safest in the world, you still need to watch your children at all times. They are so curious, children will always invent a new way to get hurt. Childproofing your home is done to safeguard your child when your eyes can not be on them continually. Most accidents occur when a parent is too busy or too tired and is not paying attention to their child. Even when you are running around getting ready for work or the older kids ready for school, always be aware of what your child is doing. Take them to the bathroom with you if you have to, even if only for a minute, you would be surprised what they can get into for that minute. Depending upon your child’s age you will need to do different types of childproofing because they will go to different areas of the house and be at different levels. Always try to keep one step ahead of them in their curiosity and ability. For example, a one year old will be low to the ground and therefore you should child proof your house down low. Get down on your knees and see what they can see. It’s amazing what temptations are really there. First, take a look around. What obvious hazards are there? Easily accessible electric outlets, power cords, pull cords on window blinds, small objects to be choked on. All are potentially dangerous to a small child. Newborn babies often get hurt due to the negligence and accidents of the adults taking care of them. You must be alert and wise in taking care of a small infant. Make sure all of your baby equipments is up to day on safety features. Inspect your crib slats to make sure they are a close distance apart so that your baby’s head can not get stuck in them. You should not be able to fit a soda can between the slats. Make sure your infant car seat is up to date and put in the car properly. Be careful when putting your baby in the car, infants get their head smacked this way all the time! Infants and newborns can roll off of a changing table or bed, always stay by their side and secure them while changing their diaper. Keep all plastic bags and objects you don’t want in the baby’s mouth out of their reach while changing them. Be careful when you apply powder to a baby, do not spray it towards their face. Don’t leave a child unattended in a high chair, walker, swinger or exersaucer! It only takes a second for them to choke or stand up and fall on their head. A baby or any child can easily slip under the water of a bathtub. Never leave a child in the tub alone, regardless! The phone will continue to ring or whoever it is can call back later. Never leave the bathtub with water in it! If you have older children, make sure they remember to drain the tub before leaving the bathroom to avoid a drowning accident. A good habit for every member of the family is to close the bathroom door when they leave the room. Never leave a child in the laundry room with a washing machine that is full of water. Toddler’s heads are so heavy, that when they bend over to reach down and touch the water, they tumble in and are not strong enough to pull themselves back out. Other places that toddlers have drowned are toilet bowls, buckets filled with water and of course the swimming pool. Two year olds like to open shiny interesting containers. This age child is particularly at risk for poisoning, choking and burns. Keep all poisonous containers of any kind out of their reach. Lock all medicine in a cabinet up high. Any cupboard which has cleaning supplies in it should have a childproof latch, regardless of whether small children live in the house or not. Household chemicals are dangerous if ingested in large amounts. Even nasty tasting medication is not safe; kids will often eat things that taste very bad. Medications should be kept out of reach and out of sight. This includes vitamins, especially the fruit-flavored cute-shaped ones. Outlet covers, most stores carry some brand of covers to go over electrical outlets, to prevent a curious toddler sticking an object in one. Cord guard, these are used to cover your cords that are in the outlets to prevent a small child from pulling the cord out of the socket and then trying to plug it back in. Toddlers are at just the right height to hit their head on the corners of counters and sharp tables. A child running into the front room may trip and fall and hit their head on the corner of the coffee table. You can purchase rubber corner adhesives that can be applied to the corners to help cushion the blow when they bump into it! Little hands on little people, standing on tiptoes can reach the stove burners. You can purchase a shield to attach to your stove front that is about 4-5 inches high to prevent curious fingers from reaching the burners. Always keep pot handles turned inward when cooking to avoid a small child pulling a pan of hot food down on him or herself. If you are shopping for a new stove, make sure to buy one that has the knobs on the top rather than the front. If your stove does have knobs on the front, remove them when there are children around to avoid a burner being turned on inadvertently by a curious child. Wire clothes hangers are very dangerous for children, use plastic hangers. Before the invention of plastic hangers many children lost eyes or were severely wounded from wire hangers. Shelves and dressers can fall on children unless they are properly child proofed! Bolt them to the walls. Shelves that are placed up high are also dangerous and should be checked monthly for durability and strength. Never put heavy items on a shelf that you think will not hold the items. Glass & Fine stuff should be up high, they do not belong on the coffee table anymore. The strings on mini blinds have caused many injuries to children, including strangulation. To prevent this problem you can fix the blinds cords so they are not dangling down. Arrange your blinds to where the bottom of the blind is a little below the window. At the top of the string cut as high as you would like, but keep about 4 inches hanging. Tie a knot and replace the plastic endings back on the string. Now the child cannot reach the string unless you pull up the blinds, and then you can loop the string on top of the blinds out of reach of your child! You can also purchase mini blind string hooks at the store to secure the cord to. As your child gets older you can teach them and talk to them about the dangers around them. Teaching your children is a very important safety measure that is too often neglected. Do your children know what to do in case of a fire? It is never too early to teach them. Do you have a smoke detector in your home. Do your children know to avoid obvious dangers such as broken glass? If not, they can easily be injured on the playground or anywhere else by a small piece of glass. Do your children realize how dangerous it can be to climb? Children fall from trees, ladders, roofs and other high places every day. They can also be injured from lesser falls such as falling from chairs, and other objects. While not as dangerous as a fall from a higher location, these falls can also cause serious injuries. As your child gets older it will be easier, but, just because you no longer have a baby, toddler or small child does not mean you can let your guard down about keeping your child safe. Your teenager is just as much at risk for accidents. Teenagers feel invincible and immortal. They feel they will not get hurt and they push themselves to the limit, flirting with danger. This age is at risk of car accidents, bike and motorcycle accidents, sports injuries and consumption of drugs and alcohol.

10-26-2004, 06:04 AM	#2
Striper Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 1	Wow, thanks a lot for posting this. I have a little girl and I never even thought about the string from the blinds strangling her. Guess I better do something about that.


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