Safety Tips

Keep hot foods and liquids away from young children.  Use the back burners on the stove and turn the pot handles toward the back of the stove. 

Keep glassware, knives, appliance cords, placemats, and tablecloths out of reach and away from the edge of counters and tables. If your child is visiting someone else's home, ensure dangerous items are stored out of reach during your child's stay.

Set the thermostat of your hot water heater no higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit to reduce the chance of scald burns. It takes just three seconds for a child to sustain a third-degree burn from water at 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

Look at medicine cabinets. Even times as seemingly harmless as iron pills and mouthwash can be dangerous for a young child. Request child-resistant packaging. But keep in mind that child-resistant containers are not childproof. These medicines still need to be locked up out of a child's reach.

Install toilet locks. Unlike adults, children's weight is concentrated in the top half of their bodies. When they lean into a toilet bowl, they may lose their balance, fall forward, and drown in as little as one inch of water. Remove sharp utensils and appliances. Razors, scissors, and blow dryers are better kept in an adult's bedroom, locked out of children's reach. 

Check for fire hazards. Look for frayed electrical wires or flammable materials near heat sources such as space heaters. Never run electrical cords under rugs. Make sure that your home, and any home your child visits, has working smoke alarms in every sleeping area and on every level. 

Install carbon monoxide detectors in every sleeping area and check batteries often. exposure to even low levels of this poisonous gas can be fatal to a small child.

Cover all unused electrical outlets.

Use safety gates. Stair falls tend to result in severe injuries. Use safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs to keep infants and toddlers out of harm's way. 

If firearms are kept in the house, keep them locked, unloaded, and stored out of reach. Secure ammunition in a separate, locked location.

Beware of old cribs. Baby furniture built even a decade ago might not meet some of today's safety standards. Sharp edges, corner post protrusions, and dangerously spaced slats can be deadly. 

Keep beds and cribs away from windows and drapery. Children can strangle in drapery cords or fall from in windows that are accessible from the bed or crib. 

Check for fire hazards. Look for frayed electrical wires or flammable materials near heat sources such as space heaters. Never run electrical cords under rugs. Make 

Beware of old cribs. Baby furniture built even a decade ago might not meet some of today's safety standards. Sharp edges, corner post protrusions, and dangerously spaced slats can be deadly. 

Keep beds and cribs away from windows and drapery. Children can strangle in drapery cords or fall from windows that are accessible from the bed or crib. 

Make sure your little ones hold your hand whenever you cross the street. Tell them how important it is to look both ways for cars and to never go out into the street between two cars.  Never let your child play near the street or in between two parked cars.

Stand near the car door to make sure no other cars are coming your way before the child leaves the car. The law says that your child must be in an age/weight-appropriate car safety seat. 

Post emergency numbers by telephone. Post phone numbers for the poison control center, pediatrician, police, fire department, emergency medical services, and a neighbor by every telephone.

Keep first aid supplies on hand. Have an 11-unce bottle of ipecac syrup for each of your children, but use it only on the advice of the poison control center or a physician.