|
Children, especially small ones, are naturally curious about the world around them. They want to poke and prod and pry and check out everything.
While this can bring us smiles at times as we watch their youthful fascination with toys, bugs, and other simple things, it can also bring them dangerous consequences when they get into something they should not be tampering with, or go somewhere they shouldn't be.
You can help to protect your small children by performing some basic childproofing on your home. Ask the children's grandparents as well as the babysitter to childproof their homes too. What are some of the most common safety hazards and how can you avoid them? Read on and find out!
Choking Hazards- A small child, especially one that is still crawling around,sees the world from the floor level. And most anything they see on the floor ends up in their mouths. Make sure to check the floors in your home often and pick-up any loose change and other small objects that your children could fit into their mouths. Also, remove small items from coffee tables, lamp tables, and anywhere else they can reach.
Poisonous Hazards- Install childproof latches on all of your floor-mounted kitchen cupboards. This will help to eliminate the chances of your children getting into the cupboards and drinking or spilling poisons or caustic solutions on themselves. If your children do, by chance, get into poison or other toxins, be sure to have the number of your local poison control center by your telephone at all times, along with a bottle of Ipecac Syrup. The Ipecac Syrup can be purchased at your local drugstore. Do not give your children the Ipecac Syrup unless you are instructed to do so by a poison control center professional, as some poisons, especially caustic formulas do more harm when they are thrown back up.
Falling Hazards- Stairways can be especially dangerous to small children, especially children who are just beginning to walk. Toddlers tend to lose their balance quite easily which can cause them to tumble down a flight of stairs and get seriously hurt. To prevent this from happening, purchase childproof gates and install them at the top of every stairway in your home.
Electrical Hazards- Electrical outlets provide easy-to-reach holes in which children can poke things into. Be sure to purchase and install safety covers on every one of your household outlets in order to prevent this. Also, keep all electrical cords out of your small child's reach. Electrical cords can not only be an electrocution hazard, they can also be a strangulation hazard. And, children can pull lamps, hot irons, typewriters and other such electrical appliances down on themselves by tugging on cords that are hanging down in their reach.
Burn/Scalding Hazards: Set your hot water heater to no higher than one hundred and twenty degrees Fahrenheit. This will help to reduce the chances of your small child getting scalded by turning on the water faucet themselves and drawing water that is too hot. Also, when you are cooking in the kitchen, don't let your small children play anywhere around where you are working. Make them stay away from the stove as well as away from all other potentially-hazardous appliances.
| 
