Having children requires a completely different mindset when it comes to safety. As a non-parent or first time parent, it may be surprising how many typical household items are dangerous for children. Here’s a helpful list of home safety hazards for kids. Keep these in mind if you have children living in or visiting your home.
Furniture Security
Furniture is an often overlooked danger for children, but they have the potential to cause serious injury. Children love to climb on things, including bureaus and bookcases. If not secured properly to the wall, furniture can topple over on top of children. Kits to secure furniture to the wall are available at your local hardware store and are inexpensive to purchase and install. If you have small children, this is an important safety precaution. Additionally, items placed on furniture, such as televisions, can fall as well. Be sure to address these as well.
Hazardous Products
Sometimes we forget that children will try and eat just about anything. So, it’s best to keep all hazardous products out of their reach. This includes all cleaning solutions, dishwasher tablets, laundry detergent, beauty products, medicines, and the like. Take a child’s perspective by crawling around on your hands and knees and seeing what items you come across. Anything that you wouldn’t eat yourself should be placed in a secured or high cabinet.
Choking, Strangulation, and Drowning
Items that can choke, strangle, and drown children are so varied that it’s impossible to identify them all. A few common items that fall into this category are strings from window blinds, any type of plastic, clothing with drawstrings, toilets, and small objects. This one category is the most difficult to protect against, so it takes thoughtful diligence on the part of parents to minimize the danger. As we mentioned above, drop down to child level and evaluate everything within your reach.
Sharp Objects
The obvious sharp objects in a home are knives. However, to make your home childproof, you must also address any items that could break and become sharp. This includes decorative items, picture frames, mirrors, glasses, and furniture with glass panels. If possible, put items out of reach. At the very least, make sure items are secure and not easily broken by little hands.
Other Home Safety Hazards for Kids
Now for some less well known (or simply less thought of) home safety hazards for kids. We all have products with tiny little batteries. If swallowed, this can be deadly for children. So, not only should you keep batteries out of reach, you should also be aware of any items that may use batteries (especially if the battery compartments are easily opened).
Another common hazard is hot water. Yes, we all know enough to keep children away from the stove and to turn pot handles out of reach, but the coffee cup in your hand is just as dangerous as the pot on the stove. Think carefully about where you may place your coffee cup. It takes just a second for children to get their hands on it!
Lastly, gune is always a big topic in the news. Many parents think that guns are safe around infants and toddlers because they simply don’t have the know how or strength to discharge a firearm. However, this simply is not true. There have been many incidents of children as young as 2 years old accidentally discharging a firearm and injuring themselves or another person. No matter what age, firearms should never be left within reach of a child.
We hope that these tips help reduce home safety hazards for kids in your home!
