Baby Gate Safety
Just a few simple steps can reduce the dangers in your home and could make a difference between life and death in some situations. Knowing that your home is safe and secure both inside and out will give you peace of mind.
Prevent Falls
Keep all stairways and halls well lit. Keep these areas free from clutter as well. Consider using night lights in hallways, stairways, and bathrooms.
Install grab bars in your shower to hold on to and a non-slip mat or have adhesive safety strips or decals inside bathtubs and showers.
Use rug-liners with all bath mats and rugs or make sure they have a non-skid back.
Keep all cords to lamps and other electrical products out of the flow of traffic to prevent any tripping.
Use ladders or step stools to reach things up high. Climbing up on wobbly things is dangerous and most likely falls will occur.
Get into a routine of performing exercises often to help improve balance and strength and increase stability when walking.
General Child Safety
If there are any electrical outlets in your home that are not being used place electrical outlet safety plugs into them.
Keep drapery and blind cords tied up and out of children’s reach. Kids can get tangled up in the cords and choking could occur.
If you have toddlers install safety gates at the bottom and top of any stairs.
Do not hang pictures, quilts or decorations with ribbon or string on or over a crib. They could fall and harm or suffocate the child.
As soon as your child is old enough, have them memorize 9-1-1 and your street address and phone number.
Childproof all medicine cabinets as well as kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
Keep the cords to all kitchen appliances out of the reach of children.
Keep your yard and gardening products inside of a locked cabinet so that young children can’t get to them.
Never leave a small child unattended in the bathtub. It only takes a second for a child to drown.
Keep all the lids to toilets closed. Smaller children can lean too far into a toilet and fall in and drown. Little fingers can get slammed and mashed if a toilet seat crashes down on them. Children also have a tendency to put things in the toilet and this could cause plumbing problems.
If your home has a swimming pool, never leave a child unattended for any reason. Install either a four sided fence that surrounds the entire pool or a gate which closes by itself. Don’t forget that spas and whirlpools can also cause injuries and drowning, especially for little children. Don’t forget to seal off doggy doors and alarm all windows and doors leading to the pool area. Keep a cordless, water resistant phone in the pool area with emergency numbers posted nearby.
Empty large buckets of water and wading pools after you use them. Keep them turned upside down when you’re not using them.
Fires and Natural Disaster Safety
Make plans with each family member on what to do and where to go if and when severe weather approaches. Keep an emergency supply kit on hand with batteries, flashlights, weather radio, blankets and non-perishable food items. Also buy, or put together, an emergency first aid kit. Make sure everyone in your household knows where you keep the emergency supply and first aid kits.
Place smoke alarms throughout your home and set a regular schedule to check the batteries to keep the smoke alarm working properly.
If you have young children, store all matches and lighters in a locked cabinet.
Keep curtains away from portable heating units and try to buy curtains and window treatments that are made from flame resistant material.
When you are cooking on the kitchen stove turn the handles of pots and pans in towards the stove to prevent them from getting knocked off or grabbed by a child and causing burns. Never leave the kitchen area when you are cooking something on the stove. Even if there are no small children around, you could become distracted by another activity and food could boil over or flame up and pose a potential hazard.
Keep fire extinguishers in your home and keep them in a spot where you know where they are. Install smoke alarms on every level of your home and near every sleeping area. Be sure to practice a home fire escape plan at least twice a year so everyone in your family knows at least two exits out of every room and is aware of the designated meeting place for all family member to meet outside in case of a fire.
General Home Safety and Security
Install lighting at both the front and back entrances to your home. This can help deter thieves and light pathways for safety while walking outside at night.
Install deadbolt locks on all doors. Deadbolts locks are harder for thieves to break open.
Install security cameras both inside and outside your home.
If you are working inside a garage make sure there is adequate ventilation to prevent the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Always pull the car out of the garage after starting it to prevent a buildup of carbon monoxide exhaust fumes.
Install a UL-listed carbon monoxide (CO) alarm in the hallway near bedrooms.
Always wear protective shoes and safety glasses when mowing the lawn or using any type of yard and gardening maintenance equipment.
Post the National Poison Control Hotline number (1-800-222-1222) along with other emergency numbers next to every phone in your home, or in a central location that all family members are aware of.
Keep all products that can burn your skin such as oven cleaners and rust remover, as well as all potential poisons, in their original and labeled containers.
Always open flues before using your fireplace and make sure they are clean and clear of debris and bird nests.
Destroy all unknown medicines or medicines that have are past the expiration date. Keep all medicines in their original containers with the original labels.
Keep your water heater set at 120 degrees Fahrenheit or less to prevent burns on your skin.
For more information about home safety go online and visit homesafetycouncil.org.
Baby Stroller
No matter what kind of stroller you are buying for your baby, make sure that it has a seal from Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA). This association will only put a seal on the strollers that adhere to the specific safety requirements that it has. After you have found a stroller with a JPMA seal, look for a stroller that is safest for you. Look for one that will not cause you to strain too much to push or pull it or to fold it up and put in the car. The stroller should not only be comfortable for your baby, it should be comfortable for you.
Baby Car Seat
Car seats have to meet certain safety requirements to even be sold in on the market. Look for a car seat that protects in all types of car crashes, from the side and front impact ones. A good idea is to get a carrier car seat where a carrier will snap into place on a car seat base that you leave in your car. This way, you don’t have to take your baby out of the carrier to get them in and out of the car. This carrier can protect them from the harsh weather, be it extreme cold or heat. Usually the number one problem with car seats is that they are not properly installed. Take your car seat to your local fire stations and they are trained to install car seats properly for you.
Play Yard
A play yard, also known as a playpen or portable crib should meet certain safety requirements as your baby may spend lots of time in it. Make sure that when you get your play yard home and set it up, that the sides lock into place all the time and there should be no slack at all. If there is, it may be possible for the sides to collapse in on your baby. Return the play yard and get a new one. Don’t use any play yards that have holes or tears in the mesh sides.
Baby Crib
The biggest safety precaution when using a crib is that the slats on the sides can only be so far apart. If you are considering using a secondhand crib, test the width of the slats first. If you can fit a pop can through the slats then they are too large. This is a risk for your baby to get their head stuck in their and a risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Make sure that the mattress that you buy is the proper size for the crib. There should be no room on the sides of the mattress for the baby to slip into. Check for any loose pieces of hard wear that a crib may have on a regular basis.
Baby Gates
If you have stairs in your house, then you should take safety precautions and everywhere there are stairs, a baby gate should stand in the baby’s way. Look for baby gates that have tiny openings and are strong enough to resist the pushing and pulling by a baby.
Baby Swing
When shopping for a new baby swing, look for one that has a stable base with a non-skid surface on the feet. Make sure that there is a harness on the baby swing to keep the baby stable and secure while sitting in it. The type of swing and how many speeds it has is up to you to decide which is best for you. Keep all baby swings away from the stairs.
Baby Bottles
With all the controversy over plastic bottles with bisphenol-A (BPA), consider buying baby bottles that are BPA-free. Make sure to inspect all nipples and bottles before giving them to the baby for any tears or holes in them.
