Safety in the Home for Young Children
Children are accidentally injured and even killed in their homes every day. Parents and caregivers can reduce accidents by supervising their children and childproofing their homes.
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Statistics
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Every year, more than 2,000 children die because of a home injury. The most common causes of death are burns, choking, suffocation, drowning, falls and poisoning. These causes account for 90 percent of home injuries.
Even more children are injured in the home without dying. In fact, according to the Home Safety Council, 650 non-fatal injuries occur in the home for every fatal accident.
A Child's Perspective
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One way to help make a house safer for children is to look at the house from a child's perspective. This might involve crawling around on the floor and looking for temptations, such as uncovered outlets, cleaners and detergents in low, unsecured cabinets or dangling lamp cords just waiting to be tugged.
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Safety in the Kitchen
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Kitchens are full of dangerous items, including knives, matches, cleaners, plastic bags, refrigerator magnets and choking hazards, such as grapes, raisins and dry beans. To keep children safe in the kitchen, parents should keep all dangerous items in high or childproof cabinets. Pot handles should always be turned toward a wall so a child cannot reach up and pull down a hot pot.
Safety in the Bathroom
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To keep children safe in the bathtub, parents must supervise bath time until the child is at least age six. In addition, they should use nonslip mats or adhesive strips in the bathtub and bath mats outside the tub. Medicines and cleaners should be stored high or in childproof cabinets.
General Safety Tips
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Other safety tips parents should follow to keep their children safe include installing and regularly changing batteries in smoke detectors, and securing window blind cords so they are out of reach. They should also set the water heater temperature to less than 120 degrees, and install outlet covers on all unused outlets.
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References
Resources
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