Child Safety

Cabinet and storage safety

• keep cleaning fluids and breakables out of children's reach
• keep houseplants and artificial plants out of reach
• store in locked cabinets:
  • suffocation-risky items: blankets, plastic bags, ropes and cords, buckets of water
  • puncture-risky items: screwdrivers and other work tools, garden tools, any sharp objects, razors and other cosmetic devices
  • poison-risky items: cosmetics, soaps and cleaners, drugs, vitamins

Safety gates

Use gates at the tops and bottoms of staircases and to restrict access to doorless rooms. There are two kinds of gates:

• Pressure gates...requires no hardware to install
  • never use at the top of stairs because children can topple them
  • don't use latticed gates as they offer toeholds to climber-tots
  • use a gate with vertical slats and a swinging door
• Hardware gates...requires screws to install
  • stronger than pressure gates
  • can swing open like doors (adults don't have to climb over)
  • can buy multiple settings and move gate from door to door

Window safety

• block windows with bars or doorgates to prevent falling (even if windows are locked)
• secure cords on window coverings to prevent accidental strangulation
  • remove loops in cord ends
  • remove loops in two-cord windowblind cords
  • keep cords away from cribs and furniture that children climb on
  • install window cleats (to wrap cords) above children's reach

Bathroom safety

• use a locked box that only an adult can open for medicine-cabinet items, as many safety catches do not fit bathroom cabinets
• lid-lock the toilet seat
• pad-cover bathtub spout and knobs

Electrical outlets and cords

• cover unused outlets with push-in plugs
• equip used outlets with shockblockers
• tie off or cover electrical cords

Catalogs with child safety products

• Prefectly Safe (800-837-5437)
• Right Start (800-548-8531)
• Safety Zone (800-999-3030)

Internet resources on child safety:

• Baby Web: The Internet Parenting Resource
  
• Links to resources on children's issues

Sources:

• "How to Childproof Your Rental", by Leta Herman, San Francisco Chronicle, July 26, 1995.
• "How Safe Are Your Kids?" from the Liberty Mutual Insurance Company