childproofing childs room, kitchen

Select chapter, then a subtopic

Chapter 1

Becoming Safety Aware

Chapter 2

Abduction Prevention

Chapter 3

Chapter 4
Health and Safety

Chapter 5
Childproofing Your Home
Childproofing Your Home
The Risk
Household Poisons
Childproofing Around the House
In Your Child’s Room
In Other Bedrooms
In the Kitchen
In the Bathrooms
Your Child’s Toys and Playroom
Outside in the Yard
Playground Safety Checklist
The Garage
Especially for Babies
Special Pool Precautions
Baby Safe Habits
Child Safe Habits

Chapter 6
Safety Out and About

Chapter 7
Other Safety Issues

Statistical References
Other Resources

Sponsored by Global Children’s Fund, a Non-Profit Group

In Your Child’s Room

·	Secure all dressers and shelves to the wall to prevent them from tipping over on children climbing on them. Never let your child climb on furniture either.

·	Avoid toy chests that children could become entrapped in, or have the lid fall on their head. Use toy bins instead.

·	Try to keep your child’s bed safely away from the window. Children like to jump and play on their bed, and can fall through a window if they lose balance.

·	Consider installing a window guard on any window that isn’t a safety exit.

·	Make sure that night lights are not touching any fabric, such as bedspreads or curtains.

·	Sleep your child in flame retardant sleepwear.

·	Avoid the use of bunk beds. If one is used, make sure the top level is safe from a child rolling off of it. Consider adding your own guard rail to the top, spacing any bars a distance of 3 1/2 inches apart.

·	If the bedroom is on a second or third floor, be sure to keep a fire ladder in each bedroom.

·	Keep pillows and other soft cushioning on the floor near the side of the bed for children just getting used to “big kid beds”.

In Other Bedrooms

·	Keep hair sprays, cologne, perfume, nail polish and remover, make up, and other hygiene items out of the reach of children.

·	If you keep any firearms, keep them securely locked away in a gun safe. Never simply keep a firearm in a dresser drawer or under the bed.

·	Never leave medications, razors, or other daily needs out where children can reach them.

In the Kitchen

·	Install child proof latches on all drawers in the kitchen.

·	Consider installing an actual swivel lock on a cabinet door for storage of all your cleaning supplies and particularly dangerous items.

·	Store food extracts, such as vanilla and almond, out of the reach of children. They are potential poisons.

·	Never store cleaning supplies and food together.

·	Always store cleaning products in their original containers. If they are moved, children might think they are something else.

·	Always try to cook on the back burners, and never the front if at all possible. Turn all pan handles back towards the back of the stove and not out where a child could yank at them.

·	Keep the trash compacter and dishwasher door latched when not in use. Install a lock on your dishwasher. Putting locks on drawers does little good if you leave the dishwasher open for children to reach the dangerous knives and breakable glasses inside.

·	Keep a multi-use fire extinguisher somewhere in the kitchen.

·	Store garbage in a manner that is inaccessible to young children. Kids this age love to dig in the trash, and many items in it there are hazardous and dangerous things, such as the sharp edges of opened cans, plastic wrapping, and more.

·	Install a stove lock.

·	Place knob protectors on the stove knobs to prevent curious children from fiddling with the levers.

·	Keep all chairs and step stools a safe distance from the stove.

·	Keep the coffee maker safely out of children’s reach, and make sure the cord is attached to the wall or out of reach.

·	Get spill proof containers for all hot drinks, and do not use anything but those containers. A likely threat for scalding is when baby gets to that cup of coffee mommy set down for just a minute while tending to her other duties.

·	Store all alcohol safely out of the reach of children, even beer.

·	Keep all garbage bags and sandwich bags in a locked drawer.

·	Keep all telephone cords out of the reach of children, or consider going to all cordless phones.

·	Make sure refrigerator magnets and other small objects that could be a choking hazard are stored safely out of reach.