Home Safety

We all tend to take for granted that the houses we live in are a safe haven. Bad things can’t happen there – it’s our home, after all! Unfortunately, bad things do happen there, sometimes wholly unavoidable, sometimes not. It’s up to us, as parents, to ensure that our homes are a safe zone for our kids, and that may mean notching up our awareness of our own environment, seeing it from a different perspective – a lower perspective. Get down on your hands and knees if you have to, and take a real look at your home.

 
Statistics

In 2006, nearly 3,000 children under the age of 14 were killed in non-vehicular or non-transport related accidents, the majority of them occurring in the safest place these children know – their home. The total number of injuries and non-fatal accidents is equally alarming, with more than 3.5 million visits to an emergency room reported.

Under age of 14 Deaths Injuries
Falls 101 2,223,355
Discharge of firearms 54 8,400
Exposure to fire/smoke 507 63,737
Accidental drowning 765
Accidental poisoning 101 50,083
Other* 1379 1,293,297

*Other deaths/injuries include those from accidental animal bites or stings, cut or piercing, or unintentional foreign body, etc.

 
Home Safety Checklist

____ Keep all potentially dangerous medicines, liquids, powders, aerosols, etc., locked up and out of the reach of inquisitive children.
____ Put away or lock up all power tools.
____ Safety lock medicine cabinets and cabinets where cleaning/laundry supplies are stored.
____ All firearms should be kept in an appropriately locked cabinet and all firearms should have trigger locks installed.
____ Use safety gates at the top and/or bottom of staircases to prevent falls, and cordon off areas that are “danger zones” for children, such as a busy kitchen.
____ Clear away any object small enough to pass through a toilet paper roll when you have infants or small children in the house.
____ Tie up or cut off anything with a long cord (window blinds, pull toys, etc.) that create a strangulation hazard.
____ Install and regularly test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors throughout the house.
____ Keep fire extinguishers handy (and charged), especially in the kitchen, garage and workshop.
____ Never leave a baby or child unattended in a bathtub or near even a bucketful of water.
____ Fence or enclose your swimming pool, and keep a safety/motion detector alarm floating at all times.
____ Don’t leave your baby with an unfamiliar pet; teach children from an early age to respect animals.

 
Resources for Parents and Caregivers