Childproofing Your Home
and Common Sense Tips for Caregivers

Just as your child is one of your greatest sources of joy, so is he one of your greatest responsibilities.  As a concerned parent, your job is to make sure that your home is carefully childproofed, allowing your baby or toddler to safely explore their world by eliminating as many of the causes of accidents as possible.   Children are constantly exposed to hazards.  To deny their existence is unrealistic; to create an artificial environment without danger is both impractical and impossible.  Professional childproofing of your home is far more effective than telling your children NO all the time, and seeing things at their level is the best place to start.  By crawling around the house, you will become aware of all the potentially dangerous situations that can turn innocent curiosity into disaster by electrical shock, choking, strangulation, and drowning.

The natural curiosity of children to learn by exploration, questioning, sampling, and trial/error leads them to investigate the more than a quarter million household products, and the myriad of drugs which are now available and often present in the home.  Children are born naturally equipped to learn about the world around them.  Even when the parents try to make the home completely child accident-proof, it’s still just not enough, and they are taking an unrealistic and negative approach to this stage of childhood.  Homes need to be “child-oriented, which is an attitude, a perpetual use of the environment, not just a single adjustment in the home for a short period of time.  It needs a commitment from parents who must continually evaluate their home environment from the point of view of the child.  Parents need to stay in tune with their infant’s world, and get down on their hands and knees (or enlist the help of a professional childproofer), and crawl where the child does.  The most obvious hazards can be addressed initially with safety gates, fireplace hearth guards, drawer/door and window locks and latches, electrical outlet safety plates, and toilet locks . . . but constant monitoring of areas where pins, paper clips, small stones and magnets, rubber bands, plastic bags, balloons, pens, and coins are essential to the well being and health of your child.  Here are some helpful tips:

• Place non-skid backing under rugs (especially in bathrooms)
• Secure top-heavy furniture and lamps.  Make sure torchere halogen lamps have proper fitting non-flammable screens
• Use power strips with childproof covers instead of extension cords. 
• Install window limiters and guards or, if possible, open them from the top for ventilation.  At best, screens are meant to keep bugs out, not kids in.  Move or remove furniture near all windows
• Secure all doors leading to stairways, driveways and storage areas
• Make sure stairways are well lighted, and use mounted (not pressure) safety gates at both accesses.  Get in the habit of always “opening” (not stepping over) your safety gates.
• Store ladders and stepstools horizontally to lessen the temptation for climbing
• Keep pins, paperclips, rubber bands, plastic bags, balloons, and coins out of the reach of children.  Ingested iron supplements are the largest single cause of pediatric poisoning death for children under 6 years of age
• Install locks on any accessible toilet, and store all pails and large buckets upside down and preferably on a high shelf, because a toddler can drown in as little as a few inches of water
• Families that keep chemicals and dangerous liquids in cabinets under sinks must install proper locking devices.  Even if you move these items and wipe down the surface, any remaining residual can be reactivated by a curious child’s wet palm
• Sucking on discarded medication patches used to control heart conditions or reduce nicotine cravings has become a growing source or pediatric poisoning.  Monitor your bathroom trash
• Set your hot water heater at 120 degrees.  Tap water can scald a child’s thinner skin in less than :20 if the setting is too high
• Stop using the crib once the height of the top rail is less than ¾ of the child’s height and avoid a headfirst topple onto the floor
• Remove dish towels usually hung over an oven door to prevent small children from pulling the door down on their heads
• Tie discarded plastic bags waiting for recycling into knots to reduce the likelihood of suffocation
• Get in the habit of turning on the oven light any time the oven is HOT, and teach your children “Lights On/Hands Off”
• Light bulbs should be kept in all fixtures whether or not they are in use to prevent the possibility of electrical shock
• Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on each level of your home (especially near sleeping quarters, and next to heating sources), and place “Tot-Spotters” on the windows to alert firefighters of children, pets, or the elderly that could be trapped inside
• Make sure you have the right fire escape ladder for your home’s size, and know how to use them BEFORE an emergency.  Be sure it’s accessible to all, and determine a “meeting place” outside your home with a practice drill
• One of the most important things a parent or grandparent can do is take a First Aid course and learn CPR.  Seconds count when a child is starves for oxygen
• Insist your children always wear bike helmets when riding, and lead by example.  Make sure the helmets are properly tightened at the forehead, around the ears, and under the chin

And remember . . . The best advice for childproofing remains: 

THINK LIKE A TODDLER AND ACT LIKE AN ADULT!

It is usually a whirlwind between when the babysitter rings your doorbell, and when you are ready to leave the house.  But you should try to minimize the commotion so that important information can be covered with the babysitter before you leave.  Ask the babysitter to come a full half-hour before you need to leave so you can complete the following checklist:

1) Leave a list of emergency numbers by the phone.  The word “HAPPEN” can help you remember the first six items, which are the most essential;

• Your Home phone number
• Your home Address
• Phone number where you can be reached
• Poison center (1·800·222·1222)
• Emergency Medical Services (911)
• Phone number of a Neighbor or another responsible adult

2) Tell the babysitter of any allergies/ illnesses your child may suffer from.

3) Go over the rules of the house in front of your child:

• What television may be watched and how much
• Whether your child may have friends over, and
• If your child is allowed to answer the phone

4) Tell the babysitter the feeding, toileting, and bedtime routines, like:

• What time is “bed time”
• When your child needs to be fed and what he’s allowed to eat
• If your child is toilet trained or needs to be reminded to use the bathroom
• What comforts your child

5) Give a tour of the house, including all exits, what rooms are off limits to  the babysitter or children, and where the first aid supplies, fire extinguisher, escape ladder, and flashlights are kept.

6) Give an accurate time of when you are expected to return.  If you will be late, call and tell the babysitter.

7) Tell the babysitter if you are expecting any phone calls, visitors or deliveries.

8) Inform the babysitter of your expectations of her behavior:

• may she invite a friend over
• may she talk on the phone, and
• may she snack on the food in the house    

NNNNNNNNNNN

Common Poisonous Plants

of the Midwest

House Plants

Trees and Shrubs