Posts Tagged ‘Home’

Home Improvements for Expectant Parents

Expectant parents have a lot on the mind, but, amongst the many “To Dos” in preparation for the baby’s arrival, home improvement should not be ignored. A new baby not only requires changes to the home, but to the house as well. Safety is the primary concern and should drive prioritizing decisions with respect to preparatory home renovation.

“Baby-proofing” has become a popular aspect of home improvement, and for good reason. While initially the baby’s time will be split between the relative safety of mom’s arms and the crib, once the baby learns to crawl you are in for a few years of curious, and potentially dangerous, exploration of every bit of your home. Many of these improvements require little effort but offer immeasurable returns in terms of peace of mind.

If you live in an older home you should definitely confirm that there are no lead-based paints in the home. If there are lead based paints on walls, doors, or other surfaces, they must be covered by specially-designed sealants or thoroughly removed. In either case, consult with a professional contractor to ensure you are taking all necessary precautions. Legal bans on lead pipes for home plumbing were only enacted within the last 25 years, so you should test your water for the presence of lead. Home test kits are available from most home improvement stores.

Electric outlets are of particular concern because they are easily accessible by the crawling baby. Look for easily attachable plastic covers with child-proof access.

If your water heater allows, set the maximum temperature to 120 degrees. If not, look into installing a system that monitors maximum water temperatures to prevent scaldings.

Removable gates can keep children off of staircases, but, as an additional safety measure, if you have polished wood stairs, you may want to consider adding some sort of inlay for traction. Handrails are also available that attach to the existing rail, without damaging walls, to provide a lower, easy-grip surface for small children.

On doors to basements, garages, or any area you want to keep the child out of, replace lever doorknobs with traditional circular knobs that are more difficult for a child to open. Alternatively, covers or accessories that prevent a lever knob from being opened can be bought at home supply stores and installed to avoid outright replacement.

If window replacement is on your list of pending home renovations, anticipation of a curiously crawling new family member is good reason to consider safety windows or window locks that cannot be easily opened by a child.

Install child-proof safety locks on cabinet doors, especially in the kitchen, to avoid dangerous exploration of household products, tools, or breakable items.

If you have tall bookshelves or dresser drawers, anchor them to walls to prevent a curious child from toppling one over.

Basic home repair such as replacing loose tiles or fixing sharp, broken table edges, can reduce the number of potential accidents into which a baby or young child might wander.

If all of these safety preparations have you exhausted, install a video/audio monitoring system in the baby’s room to save a few of those late-night trips out of the bed.

Tips for avoiding accidents in the home

 We all try to be responsible and look after for our own safety when we go out, especially when we go somewhere new and unfamiliar, we’re constantly on the look out for hidden dangers and things that could cause us harm; but some people seem to neglect this instinct in their own homes. This may be because our homes are so familiar to us and we think we know every aspect of it or it might be because we associate the home with the chance to relax, we don’t necessarily want to be thinking about all the dangers we might face there.

But what some people don’t realize is that over 2 million people are injured in their own homes each year in Britain, and thousands have accidents which prove fatal; so making sure you and your family stay safe and secure while in the house should be at the forefront of everyone’s mind.

There are many causes of household accidents. Most can be avoided with a little common sense and awareness.

It’s especially important to check your property for potential hazards when you have young children in the house.

Baby proofing products might seem like a pain to the adults in the house but they might mean the difference between life and death for your youngster.

Putting locks or safety latches on low level cupboard doors and similar things will stop baby trapping fingers and finding dangerous cleaning chemicals, for example.

Another major hazard for children and adults alike are the stairs. Make sure to have a secure gate fixed at the top and bottom of the staircase if you have children who might try to climb.

Fitting a secure railing or banister is vital, especially on steep staircases. Many adults injure themselves falling down stairs because they do not have anything secure to hold onto.

Household appliances are also a big cause of accidents in the home. It is important to make certain they are connected properly and any leads and wires are not damaged or exposed.

If there is a problem and it is the manufacturers fault you should contact them immediately and arrange a repair; do not just leave a faulty item thinking it will be ok, electrical items can cause fires and other accidents in your home, so never take the chance.

Cooking accidents are one of the biggest causes of injury in the home so be extra vigilant when using cooking equipment. Always keep a fire extinguisher in the house to deal with fire if it should occur. Never leave your food alone while it is cooking, especially if you’re using an open hob, and never let children or pets near to the cooker while it’s on.

It’s a good idea to teach fire safety to your children at a young age so that they always know what to do and the best ways to avoid dangers in the kitchen.

It goes without saying to always have a fire alarm installed and to check it has working batteries at least twice a month.

Sometimes though, you can do everything possible to keep your family safe but still experience an injury in the home.

If it was caused by something beyond your control, you should always consider taking legal action against those responsible, just as you would in any other circumstance. Just because your accident happened within your home doesn’t automatically make it your responsibility. Faulty equipment, for example, or something else that was not your fault, might have resulted directly to your situation and you should remember you have the right to justice and, in some cases, compensation.

Whatever you do in your home, make sure you take every precaution against dangers, both obvious and hidden.

This should feel like the safest place for you and your family, so do you best to make certain that it is.

If you do experience an accident that was due to someone else’s negligence, contact  <a onClick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(’/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=”http://www.accidentconsult.com/accidentclaims.php”>Accident Consult</a>  who can discuss you r situation with you and tell you if you have a case to claim for compensation.

Tips For Child Safety at Home

Maintaining your home for child safety is a big task but is one that is essential. There are so many things that can cause harm to children. All it takes is one mishap or forgotten element. There are many things that can be done to promote safety in the home and prevent accidents from occurring. New parents may find that they feel overwhelmed with all of the little things but in time it will become much easier to deal with.

Electrocution is one of the biggest risks that face a small child. All of the electrical outlets and plugs should be filled with safety guards designed specifically for that purpose. Most department stores and baby sections will have these outlet plugs. They seem to be more advanced all the time. They are no longer that easy to pull out and some even clip in place so that they are nearly impossible to take out. It definitely prevents little fingers from getting into an outlet running too much power for a child.

The stairs pose an incredibly large danger as well. They should always be blocked off with a safety standard gate that is approved by your country or state. Even a few stairs can cause great injury if a small child were to take a fall. It just isn’t worth the risk. Toddlers may be walking but they are not walking very well yet. Don’t make the mistake of taking the gate down too early.

If you have certain rooms that you would like to keep your children out of at a young age, find some door knob covers that make it difficult for small hands to open. Adults can work them but kids can’t which means they cannot get into off limits rooms or somehow make it outside undetected. This is something that happens too often, especially in the winter months when kids are not properly dressed for cold weather. Use door knob covers and take comfort knowing they are not escaping the house or playing in the bathroom.

Keeping your home clean also plays a role in the safety of your kids. Improper cleaning can lead to the growth of bacteria. Some bacteria are very harmful to the health such as salmonella or other bacteria caused by food. Do a regular tidy with antibacterial cleansers to ensure there is nothing lingering to hurt your family. The bathroom is a zone that should be cleaned on a regular basis as is the kitchen.

The most important thing that you can do to keep your children safe at home is to keep an eye on them. It is when kids are left unsupervised that they tend to get into the most trouble. Pay attention to what they are doing. Avoid allowing things like the phone or computer distract you from what the kids are up to.

Child safety all starts with the parents. Identify areas that are cause for concern and do your best to eliminate or reduce their hazard potential.

Maintaining home safety all year round

Steps can be taken to ensure that various components around your home are safe for youngsters. For example, baby walkers can become very dangerous for children, as they can result in children falling down stairs. Ensure that safety gates are installed properly and that the cribs meet current standards for safety. Gates that fasten to walls are ideal for the tops of stairs, while spring-loaded gates are a superior choice for the base of stairs. Next, check various aspects of cribs, such as the mattress, the screws, and the frame. In regards to bathtub safety, keep these tips in mind: A child can drown in just a few centimetres (1 inch) of water, within the duration of seconds! Within seconds, hot water from a faucet can burn a person’s skin. In fact, a child’s skin burns in a quarter of the time required for an adult’s skin to be burned! Before placing your child in the bathtub’s water, use your elbow to test the temperature.  When running a bath for your child, consistently begin and complete the process, with cold water.  If you must leave the bathroom while bathing your child, take your son or daughter long with you. Instruct your child to sit in the bathtub 100% of the time.   While certain components in a house can pose threats to children, remember that child safety products from a child safety store can help to secure their safety.  Be careful about what your child puts in his or her mouth. To prevent your child from choking and strangling on objects, remember that if a child can fit an object in his or her mouth, your child could choke on it. Therefore, keep all tiny objects out of reach of infants and toddlers. Objects whose consuming pose a threat to young children, include small toy parts, seeds, chips, small candies and nuts, popcorn, wrapping paper, batteries, broken balloons, and hot dogs. To prevent your young children from choking on food, shred or cut foods that is hard and round, into narrow strips. Also, children must always chew their food slowly and sit up while eating meals or snacks. Lastly, as a parent, it is wise to master the indicators of choking and what steps to take when it occurs.     

In addition to choking on tiny objects, remember that the majority of homes include 200-300 poisons. Teach children the hazard symbols on containers, so they will realize the danger of consuming such products. Keep items such as cleaners; nail polish; holly and mistletoe; perfume; and cosmetics away from children, as they become poisonous when consumed. Even party leftovers certain medicines, and holiday ornaments can be poisonous to children! Lastly, remember that “child-resistant” caps vary from “child-proof” versions.

Children Safe at Home

For your child to maintain a safe home environment

Adults and parents are responsible for all aspects of our children are safe at home, and the importance of the region to improve the following safety tips for children will be sufficient answer! Child safety of the home where the accident occurred, and weaken the ongoing effects have whois include burns, family, and irrational fear, blindness, or even death! Children safe at home ahead with relative ease, when parents and carers to understand and apply some basic safety tips for a child.

Children are unique and valuable personal and relevant to the safety of the child at home, where everything must be completed to create a safe space to grow up sign. Often our child’s natural curiosity and bring them in close contact with the respective entries in any manner harm, so it is essential that all children safe at home practice and family members to minimize those risks.

Basic safety tips for children when you apply a long way to ensuring that parents are moving in comfort without fear of accidents or other trauma that occurred whois. Of course, children need constant supervision, but child safety practice at home for fear that it is often alleviated their feelings about. Three under three infants continued to be head coach if possible, many children are safe at home, through a stop sign accident. Accidents often occur when a parent is distracted, tired or are not sufficiently aware of the importance of child safety at home.

Where is the lack of safety of children at home, take it for a few seconds just to suit the accident occurs. Babies and toddlers roll and crawl constantly while developing new skills and child safety at home is essential to ensure that they do not injure themselves while exploring their new world. Remember, the safety of children, including a baby at home, but never left the same impression on a chair or bed room when you leave the platform. Even a baby can roll jameuljaneun injury, so that you can turn off and play safety as a part of safety tips for children and common sense.

Lie down on your stomach with your children safe at home is a good way to start planning murder! From the perspective of a baby’s height and looks around at the possible risk to alert the drawers, such as loose, open pot or plug socket, then introduced to attend. The safety of children at home, once achieved complete whois pinpoint the removal of potentially hazardous items and adults.

Hot items such as coffee percolators and Joseph should be kept well out of reach of a child when the child safe at home and also practice infant are several ways you try to use when you are trying to achieve their goals! To reach their respective kettle or a hot plate to be relaxed when you go to another, because of all the connections Bear in mind that this is typical child safe at home.

Your account is available to the infant must have access to electricity poles products, drugs, drugs, poisons or cleaner, or even standing on the other hand, a high chair. With proper planning, your child must be an absolute priority for the region safe at home. Outside the building, as well extra shelf when it reaches them to ensure the safety of children at home and maintain a dangerous item will be safely stored in locked cupboards. With regard to the children’s safety at home, it is common knowledge that children love to items placed in their mouths, poses a 36.3 hazard will be introduced. Child safety tips for small objects is kept always stress that far exceeds the reach of the baby.

Parents living in the homes of all children safe at home stairs, it is well-practiced, and some safety features appropriate. Gates at the top and bottom of the stairs is a strong child safety guarantee that the principle will be applied at home and the safety of the maximum allowed. This baby child safety tips before practice starts, we must, or he could hurt her badly.

Another important safety tips for children are often forgotten by the new parent yet prove a danger sign that the temperature of bathwater. Safe at home where children are correctly applying the 120 Fahrenheit or hot water heater should be set low to ensure maximum safety. Every parent wants the child safe at home and bathe all the water temperature is no longer choose their own hands or elbows with the reserve so that it occurs.

Children must while bathing or swimming coach and basic safety tips for children should always adhere. Parents are their children safe at home, the idea that perception is also applied to the swimming pool, make sure that family members have access to their children unless they are supervised. The parents of a high fence and locked gate for the best children’s safety tips for an entry permit only for the region under the supervision.

Drowning is one of the major causes of death among children and mistakes can sometimes be avoided by securing an appropriate child safety at home. A child needs to test the boundaries of their own in order to continue to promote learning and child is essential for the victim to prevent accidents at home.

Basic safety of children at home would be helpful in creating an environment conducive to learning, and your children safe. Walking through your house and gardens, along with today’s view, and then to detect possible risks to children’s safety practices at home. Children safe at home, the first step is to start with you and all child safety tips for when you perform your families a safe environment is assured.

Home Safety for Toddlers and Small Children

If you have toddlers in your home, then safety is obviously a big concern. They are big enough and mobile enough to go just about anywhere but they little to no understanding of how dangerous some things might be. So, you know that you need to toddler-proof your home but how do you go about it?

A great place to start is by placing ‘baby gates’ at the top and bottom of the stair case to prevent injuries. Be sure that you purchase a gate that is sturdy and can be easily fastened to the wall, railing or some other solid surface on or near the stairs. Even with a baby gate, never leave a toddler unattended near the stairs.

Next on the list to put child safety latches on all cupboard and cabinet doors the child could possibly reach. Remember, toddlers can climb! Pa extra attention the cabinets under the kitchen or bathroom sink or anyplace you store medicine, cleaning supplies, garden chemicals or poisons. In the garage or storage shed, store all weed killers and chemicals in a locked cabinet and place the key in a location where your child cannot find it.

When it comes to toddler safety, prevention is the best method. Store your child’s books and toys at their level so they do not have to climb to get to their favorite game or stuffed animal. If your child has a lamp, fan or other electrical appliance in his/her room, tuck cords safely behind furniture so the child cannot pull anything down on himself.

Avoid choking hazards by keeping young children away from small objects, pieces of toys, and small pieces of board games. Read manufacturer instructions for all toys and follow their guidelines. Buy only those toys and games that are appropriate for a child of a particular age. Place plastic safety plugs in electrical outlets so the child cannot stick his fingers in the outlet.

One aspect of home safety that is often overlooked is mildew and mold. Mildew and mold can cause serious illness and injury in adults and toddlers alike. Mold or mildew can be the cause of allergies and asthma in small children. Install a dehumidifier in any damp areas to mitigate the moisture in the air.

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Making your home safe for your toddler

When should I start making my home safe for my toddler?

As your baby becomes mobile and begins to explore, safety at home becomes a crucial concern. This factsheet describes a number of safety devices that are available and measures you can take to help prevent accidents in the home. However, some places and activities will always pose a danger to your child. It’s essential, therefore, that you assess your home environment, identify the dangers, and teach your toddler about them at the earliest opportunity.
Safety barriers

Extension kits are available for most gates. Make sure that it is attached according to the manufacturer’s instructions. There are two types of barrier:
Walk-through gates these either have an integral frame that extends to grip the gap securely and a swing door, or are gates with hinges, which attach to the wall. The two-way opening gate offers more flexibility and convenience.
Barriers Block a gap and are easily detachable but they have no gate for access. Adults may be tempted to climb over them rather than release and then re-fix them, which makes them a hazard when used at the top of the stairs.
Locks

Window locks Can either keep windows shut securely or allow them to be opened to a limited degree for ventilation, but still prevent small children from escaping through them.
Fridge/freezer locks Protect children from bumping into an open fridge door and prevent accidents with any breakable objects inside. They are generally fitted with adhesive pads and are convenient to use.
TV and video locks protect a toddler from accidents and potential electric shocks and will protect your valuable equipment from damage. They may block the video-cassette slot, or shield the full length of the video player to protect the slot and the controls. Check that when fitted, the appliance can still be operated via the remote control.
Safety guards

Safety guards will help you protect your child from burns or injury from heat and power appliances.
Fire guards Essential if you have any type of fire in your home. They should be fixed to the wall on either side of a fire or fireplace. Although many fire guards can be adjusted to fit a range of widths, check that the guard you buy is suitable for your style of fire and make sure that it is firmly secured.
Cooker and hob guards Designed to prevent your child reaching up and pulling saucepans down from your cooker hob. Guards vary from simple metal rails around the hob to projecting shelves that prevent hands from reaching up and over. Always remember to turn saucepan handles away from the edge of the hob.
Glass safety

Where possible, remove glass furniture such as glass coffee tables while you have young children in the house. Glass in windows, doors and in furniture that cannot be removed should be made safe.
Safety glass If possible when you’re buying new or replacement glazing put in safety glass, especially for internal or patio doors. This toughened glass rarely breaks, but if it does it shatters into small pieces, which are relatively harmless.
Fire safety

Smoke detectors – should be installed near your child’s bedroom as well as in the other recommended areas in your home. Check that your smoke detectors carry the British Standards ‘kite mark’ and look for those with an alarm test facility and a ‘battery low’ warning signal. Other fire safety items include:
Accident prevention

Corner protectors- these are normally rounded plastic or rubber corner pieces that can be fitted with adhesive pads to the corners of your furniture.
Door protectors- can be fitted on the inside door hinge to prevent trapping and over the top of a door to prevent the door from slamming shut on fingers accidentally.
Light switch adapters- for older children you might consider adapting light switches to enable your child to reach and turn on the light. These are particularly helpful along hallways and for lavatory visits during the night.

How to Child Proof Your Home in Easy Steps

Parents are often worried about the safety of their little ones from the moment they are born. Keeping children away from danger is not an easy task. Many items that pose great danger to the child surround the house. One way to ensure that a toddler is kept safe within the precincts of the home is to childproof the home and this will require few alterations be made to the home. By following simple childproofing measures, house accidents experienced by children can be reduced tremendously.

How You Can Start Childproofing Your Home

The best way to baby proof is to get down on your knees and hands and survey the home in the child’s perspective. Find out what the little one can or cannot access. Cleaning materials that are usually stored under the sink and bath products on the tub’s edge pose a grave danger. These items should be kept as far as possible from the reach of toddlers.

How to Baby Proof Stairways

One of the best ways of baby proofing is keeping the child away from certain rooms. As much as the child requires space to play and move about, you should realize places like the stairs are accidents waiting to happen. Gates should be installed on the stairways and at the front of the baby’s room. Gates that are bolted and pressure locked are more permanent and stronger thus, they make a good choice. They should be low enough for an adult to jump over and high enough for a child not to climb over.

Simple Way to Ensure Windows Are Kept Safe

The easiest way to keep widows safe is by locking them or using guards to make them not open too wide. Using screens will not guarantee that the child will not fall off. You should use the keyed sash lock to be able to control how the window is raised. It ensures that the baby is not able to open the window. The child’s bed and the cribs should be located away from the window and blind cords kept out of their reach.

How to Child Proof Drawers, Cupboards and Outlets

There are several gadgets that are manufactured specifically to ensure that toddlers are not caught up in door hinges or slammed by cupboard doors or drawers. Use safety latches to ensure that the drawers are locked to prevent toddlers from accessing their contents. You should install safety plugs to cover outlets if they are not being used. The outlet’s end should not be accessible and when using extension chord you can put it safely behind the furniture.

Why You Must Keep Small Items Out of their

Children are susceptible to chocking and it can become fatal. They usually take small items such as coins, toys, buttons and other items into their mouth. You should do everything possible to ensure that the child is kept safe. Always be alert and watch the objects lying about where the little one is. Ensure that older children are taught to keep their toys away from the babies. 

It is important to remember that the gadgets for child proofing cannot offer a permanent solution to protecting babies. Train the child to be cautious and be careful around potentially dangerous items.

How to Make Your Home Child-Friendly

Parents and caregivers want to provide a safe place for their children to live and play but too often child proofing these areas gets put off. This has caused thousands of household accidents that could have easily have been prevented. The good news is that child proofing is not difficult and can easily be completed in one day.

It is important to protect your child from common household dangers before you bring your newborn home from the hospital. If you wait, things can become hectic and easily get put off until later. Below are some of tips on how to childproof your home.

On your first visit to the store you will likely be overwhelmed by all of the products on the market designed to child proof or baby proof your home. There are literally hundreds of different choices.

Some child proofing requires no devices, just common sense. Other areas definitely require the use of a child proofing device. Not all children are the same. If you feel a certain product would help protect your child from a situation they are more likely to get into, you may consider adding that to your arsenal as well.

Here are some basic steps for child proofing your home.

Move Cleaners, Medicine and Other Poisons

You need to move any poisonous substance out of the reach of your children. A common mistake is to keep cleaners under the kitchen sink or bath products on the ledge of the tub. While you might think that child resistant caps will protect your children, you should be aware that the requirements for a child resistant package may mean that at least 80-85% of children couldn’t open them. That means your child might. All poisons and medicines should be stored in a high cupboard or locked area.

Block Stairways

Not surprisingly, falls are one of the biggest causes of injury to young children. Stairways are particularly dangerous and should always be properly gated. Never use pressure mounted gates at the tops of stairs since your child may be able to put enough pressure on them to give way.

Despite having a gate it is important for parents to keep a close eye on children around staircases. No safety device outweighs the importance of adult supervision.

Keep Children out of Dangerous Rooms

The bathroom, garage, and office can all be dangerous areas for you child. To keep them safe, use door-knob covers and door locks. Place a slide lock or hook-and-eye latch hign on the door, out of child’s reach.

Keep Windows Safe

Lock windows or use guards to prevent them from opening too far. Screens will not keep your child from falling out of a window.

Make sure that blind cords are out of reach and the beds, cribs and other furniture are moved away from windows where a child could climb up and reach. You’d be surprised what they are capable of.

Outlets, Drawers and Cupboards

There is a huge assortment of products aimed at protecting your children’s fingers from being caught in door hinges, slammed in drawers or by closing cupboard doors. Test out several products in a children’s store that demonstrates how different products are used. The main purpose should be to prevent an accident but if you find the products difficult to use you may end up not using them at all.

Small Toys and Other Choking Hazards

Another major cause of hospital visits for small children is choking. Small toys, batteries, buttons, coins and other objects go straight into the mouths of babies and toddlers (and even some preschoolers). Prevention is the key. If you have older children they should be taught to keep small toys out of the reach of younger children. Keep a keen eye for objects on the floor where your baby is present.

Monitor New Dangers

You will need to be constantly aware of what your child can get access to. As you child grows and develops they may suddenly be capable of reaching or pulling down items you didn’t think of.

Don’t forget that most child proofing devices you can buy are temporary solutions to prevent the most disastrous accidents. Your children should also be taught how to behave and where to be especially careful. After all, your children will likely be in many homes that are not child proofed like yours and their safety will depend on understanding what’s not safe.

Improve Child Safety and Home Safety With This Basic Childproofing Checklist

When your baby starts walking, the number of dangers multiplies and parents must pay even more attention. Bookshelves become hazardous and table knick knacks become the object of unquenchable curiosity. Even table cloths can become dangerous. Yes, a simple tablecloth can create unintended havoc when a toddler is involved. Here are is a checklist for parents to follow and implement before your baby becomes a walking toddler:

1. Use bolts or screws to fasten bookshelves to the wall. If a toddler likes to climb, this is one of the many types of furniture they’re very likely to climb on, pull down or fall off of. There are also straps, anti-tip kits and anti-tip devices that secure your bookshelves to walls keeping your toddler safe. Falling bookshelves, bookcases, dressers and in general, falling furniture happens more often than people think and it can be fatal.

2. Electrical and pull cords can strangle a baby or toddler. Tape down all electrical cords and put cords on blinds and curtains up, out of reach of a child as they may be dangerous. Even the cord on the treadmill should be removed so a baby or toddler doesn’t strangle herself. As most of us know, a celebrity just tragically lost a small child because of a loose treadmill cord. Cord shorteners are available for curtain and blind cords. It only takes a moment to walk into a room and take precautions that will dramatically enhance child safety.

3. Put covers on electrical sockets so that a baby or toddler doesn’t get shocked, or electrocuted by putting his fingers or a metallic object in the socket. This does happen in real life, it is not an urban myth.

4. Medications and household cleaners can be dangerous. Items as mundane as bath oil or nail polish remover are toxic when ingested by a child. Put them up in a locked cabinet. Remember, a baby or toddler cannot tell you what they swallowed. Assume the worst. If you suspect that your child has swallowed something toxic, call your local poison control center. In fact, always make sure you have a legible list of emergency numbers next to every phone in the house. Take the time to program those numbers into your mobile phone.

5. Beware of small objects on the countertops like coins and paperclips. A toddler can reach these items and there is a high probability that they will at the very least put them in their mouth and at the worst, swallow them. Obviously, there is also a high probability that these item will cause the child to choke. It only takes a minute to look at your countertops and to remove those small, dangerous objects.

6. Keep electrical appliances, knives and glass objects high up and far away from your toddler. A small child will grab at anything that looks bright and shiny. These objects need to be locked up in cabinets and those cabinets should be up very high and they absolutely need to be locked. When a baby becomes a toddler latched doors and drawers in lower cabinets are no longer safe. A small child will try and open that lower cabinet if given the opportunity. All cleaning supplies should be kept high and locked up to ensure that the toddler can’t reach them. Never leave cleaning supplies out and absolutely never, never leave them open. That is just asking for trouble.

7. Cover any and all sharp edges on furniture. Toddlers aren’t all that agile or coordinated plus they wobble when they walk. It is not abnormal for a small child to bump their head or other body part on the corners of coffee tables, other tables, cabinets, table legs and just a countless list of furniture parts and pieces.

8. If you don’t have a garbage disposal and have a garbage can, secure it, hide it or keep it secured outside. Babies and toddlers are insatiably curious and the child can reach in and remove, examine and possibly swallow small objects or toxic objects. I am not exaggerating. Remember, whether you keep a garbage can inside or outside child proof it by securing it.

9. Put safety gates at both the top and bottom of stairs. Use baby safety gates that require a hardware installation as pressure gates are insufficient. Stairways are dangerous for babies and toddlers at both the bottom and top of the stairs. Make sure the railings of the gate are less than 2 3/8 inches apart. The last thing you want is to give a small child an opening between rails. Small children love to explore and will simply look at this as another adventure and the last thing you need is that type of adventure.

Please follow this checklist to ensure the safety of your children. Remember, child safety and home safety should always be priority number one.