Making Your Home a Safer Place for Your children
Most of us spend a great deal of time at home. But, have you checked your house thoroughly for dangers to your children? Here are some helpful tips to consider.
- Install smoke alarms outside bedrooms and on every level of the home. Test them at least once a month and change batteries once a year.
- Practice fire escape routes and identify an outside meeting place.
- Install carbon monoxide alarms outside bedrooms to prevent CO poisoning.
- Make sure knives, matches, plastic bags and lighters are kept out of reach of children.
- Keep appliance cords unplugged and tied up. Replace any frayed cords and wires.
- Before bathing your child, always check the temperature so you don't scald them. Set the water heater thermostat to 120 degrees.
- Keep cleaning solutions, pesticides and other potentially dangerous substances in their original containers and out of reach of children.
- Place a baby to sleep on his or her back in a crib with no pillows or soft bedding underneath. Be sure to use a crib that meets national safety standards and has a snug-fitting mattress.
- Use safety gates to block stairways, safety plugs to cover electrical outlets and safety latches to lock drawers and cabinets.
- Keep an updated list of emergency phone numbers, including doctor, poison control and hospital emergency room next to every phone in the house.
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