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About 2-1/2 million children are
injured or killed by hazards in the home each year. The good
news is that many of these incidents can be prevented by using
simple child safety devices on the market today.
Any safety device you buy should be sturdy
enough to prevent injury to your child, yet easy for you to
use. It's important to follow installation instructions carefully.
In addition, if you have older children in the house, be sure
they re-secure safety devices. Remember, too, that no device
is completely childproof; determined youngsters have been
known to disable them.
You can childproof your home for a fraction
of what it would cost to have a professional do it. And safety
devices are easy to find. You can buy them at hardware stores,
baby equipment shops, supermarkets, drug stores, home and
linen stores, and through mail order catalogues.
Here are some child safety devices that
can help prevent many injuries to young children.
Use
Safety Latches and Locks for cabinets and drawers in kitchens,
bathrooms, and other areas to help prevent poisonings and
other injuries. Safety latches and locks on cabinets
and drawers can help prevent children from gaining access
to medicines and household cleaners, as well as knives and
other sharp objects.
Look for safety latches and locks that
adults can easily install and use, but are sturdy enough to
withstand pulls and tugs from children. Safety latches are
not a guarantee of protection, but they can make it more difficult
for children to reach dangerous substances. Even products
with child-resistant packaging should be locked away, out
of reach; this packaging is not childproof.
Typical cost of a safety latch or lock:
less than $2.
Use
Safety Gates to help prevent falls down stairs and to keep
children away from dangerous areas. Safety gates can
help keep children away from stairs or rooms that have hazards
in them. Look for safety gates that children cannot dislodge
easily, but that adults can open and close without difficulty.
For the top of stairs, gates that screw to the wall are more
secure than "pressure gates."
New safety gates that meet safety standards
display a certification seal from the Juvenile Products Manufacturers
Association (JPMA). If you have an older safety gate, be sure
it doesn't have "V" shapes that are large enough
for a child's head and neck to fit into.
Typical cost of a safety gate: $13 to $40.
Use
Door Knob Covers and Door Locks to help prevent children from
entering rooms and other areas with possible dangers.
Door knob covers and door locks can help keep children away
from places with hazards, including swimming pools.
Be sure the door knob cover is sturdy enough
not to break, but allows a door to be opened quickly by an
adult in case of emergency. By restricting access to potentially
hazardous rooms in the home, door knob covers could help prevent
many kinds of injuries. To prevent access to swimming pools,
door locks should be placed high out of reach of young children.
Locks should be used in addition to fences and door alarms.
Sliding glass doors, with locks that must be re-secured after
each use, are often not an effective barrier to pools.
Typical cost of a door knob cover: $1 and
door lock: $5 and up.
Use
Anti-Scald Devices for faucets and shower heads and set your
water heater temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to help
prevent burns from hot water. Anti-scald devices for
regulating water temperature can help prevent burns.
Consider using anti-scald devices for faucets
and showerheads. A plumber may need to install these. In addition,
if you live in your own home, set water heater temperature
to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to help prevent burns from hot water.
Typical cost of an anti-scald device: $6
to $30.
Use Smoke Detectors on every level of your home and near bedrooms
to alert you to fires. Smoke detectors are essential
safety devices for protection against fire deaths and injuries.
Check smoke detectors once a month to make
sure they're working.
If detectors are battery-operated, change batteries at least
once a year or consider using 10-year batteries.
Typical cost of a smoke detector: less than $10.
Use
Window Guards and Safety Netting to help prevent falls from
windows, balconies, decks, and landings. Window guards
and safety netting for balconies and decks can help prevent
serious falls.
Check these safety devices frequently to
make sure they are secure and properly installed and maintained.
There should be no more than four inches between the bars
of the window guard. If you have window guards, be sure at
least one window in each room can be easily used for escape
in a fire. Window screens are not effective for preventing
children from falling out of windows.
Typical cost of a window guard or safety
netting: $8 to $16.
Use
Corner and Edge Bumpers to help prevent injuries from falls
against sharp edges of furniture and fireplaces. Corner
and edge bumpers can be used with furniture and fireplace
hearths to help prevent injuries from falls or to soften falls
against sharp or rough edges.
Be sure to look for bumpers that stay securely
on furniture or hearth edges.
Typical cost of a corner and edge bumper:
$1 and up.
Use
Outlet Covers and Outlet Plates to help prevent electrocution.
Outlet covers and outlet plates can help protect children
from electrical shock and possible electrocution.
Be sure the outlet protectors cannot be
easily removed by children and are large enough so that children
cannot choke on them.
Typical cost of an outlet cover: less than
$2.
Use
a Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detector outside bedrooms to help prevent
CO poisoning. A carbon monoxide (CO) detector can help
prevent CO poisoning. Consumers should install CO detectors
near sleeping areas in their homes. Households that should
use CO detectors include those with gas or oil heat or with
attached garages.
Typical cost of a carbon monoxide (CO)
detector: $30 to $70.
Cut
Window Blind Cords; use Safety Tassels and Inner Cord Stops
to help prevent children from strangling in blind cord loops.
Window blind cord safety tassels on miniblinds and tension
devices on vertical blinds and drapery cords can help prevent
deaths and injuries from strangulation in the loops of cords.
Inner cord stops can help prevent strangulation in the inner
cords of window blinds.
For older miniblinds, cut the cord loop,
remove the buckle, and put safety tassels on each cord. Be
sure that older vertical blinds and drapery cords have tension
or tie-down devices to hold the cords tight. When buying new
miniblinds, verticals, and draperies, ask for safety features
to prevent child strangulation.
You can get window blind cord safety information
and free tassels by calling 1-800-506-4636 or visiting www.windowcoverings.org
Use
Door Stops and Door Holders to help prevent injuries to fingers
and hands. Door stops and door holders on doors and
door hinges can help prevent small fingers and hands from
being pinched or crushed in doors and door hinges.
Be sure any safety device for doors is
easy to use and is not likely to break into small parts, which
could be a choking hazard for young children.
Typical cost of a door stop and door holder:
less than $4.
Use
a Cordless Phone to make it easier to continuously watch young
children, especially when they're in bathtubs, swimming pools,
or other potentially dangerous areas.
Cordless phones help you watch your child
continuously, without leaving the vicinity to answer a phone
call. Cordless phones are especially helpful when children
are in or near water, whether it's the bathtub, the swimming
pool, or the beach.
Typical cost of a cordless phone:
$30 and up.
Text courtesty of the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission
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