CHILD-PROOF YOUR HOUSE

Al Carrell: This is Samuel. He's the new kid on the block. Now when a new child comes into your house a lot of changes are going to be made. One of the changes you're going to have to make is to childproof your house and we're going to show you some ways to do that. Wave to the camera. Most parents will have found these plastic covers that go here to protect kids from being able to stick things into the wall outlet.

Thom Golden: Right. Anything that will fit inside of a toilet paper tube, which these do, is a choking hazard to our young kids. So we never want to bring in a plug insert.

AC: Instead, try kid-proof outlet covers like these. They snap shut instantly when you unplug your appliance. And there's no choking hazard. Another choking hazard, and this may surprise you - the doorjamb. A quick safety upgrade - an all-in-one doorstop like this. The refrigerator/freezer is a great attraction for kids. They love to get in there, but there are lots of things they can get in trouble with on the inside. Here's how you take care of that. What we do is install an appliance latch. It's real easy to install. As a matter of fact it's peel-n-stick. We'll just peel this off. It's two parts. One part is going to go right here. Be sure to press it down in place. And the other part is going to go right on top of the refrigerator. Press it down real good. Now, when you get ready to open the refrigerator it will only come open that far. It's not just refrigerator doors that need to be childproof; all doors are a gateway to danger. They lead to potentially hazardous areas like closets, pantries, maybe even stairways. This door top lock ensures children won't enter those danger zones. Another option - the brass lock that I'm installing here in the laundry room. Now Thom, the range is bound to be a dangerous place. If a kid gets scalded it'd be an injury for life, would it not?

TG: Yes it would, Al. It's very, very expensive and traumatic to have to get that kind of a treatment for a young child.

AC: Yeah, what do we do to protect against that?

TG: There are products available such as the shield burn, which can be mounted on a horizontal or on a vertical surface. And, of course, what this does is it makes it so a child has to reach up, over and down to ever get to anything on top of the stovetop.

AC: Your shield would actually span the width of your stove and adhere with adhesive backed metal clips. Now sharp objects need to be out of reach. Once we store these knives we're going to use a special latch to make sure the cabinets stay shut.

TG: The best thing is a product like this. It's called a tot lock and give that a pull. See if you can get that open.

AC: No way.

TG: Yeah. It doesn't allow for any opening whatsoever. It's a product that's sold with a little magnetic key.

AC: Ah-ha.

TG: And you take the magnetic key and line it up with the latch and now opens it. There's how it works.

AC: These are great steps parents should take to ensure their child's first step won't lead to catastrophe. For more tips on accident prevention around the house, check out our Internet site. You know, people ask me when is the best time to childproof your house - before the baby comes. The reason it gives the parents time to learn about all these things and learn how to use them. If you already have kids the best time to do it is right now. And for doing this whole kitchen here it would only cost about $200 for the parts and well worth it to protect your child.

Additional Information

Contact:
Dr. Baby Proofer, Inc. - 214-320-8777

Purchase Video

Episode 67 1997 - 98 Season

| Adding Insulation | Tree Formula | New Home Products | Child-proofing Your Home | Bi-Weekly Mortgage |