Make Your House Kid Safe | |
Making a house a safe environment for kids isn't difficult, it just requires you taking a look at it from a different perspective - a little kid's. With no inhibitions and boundless energy, infants and little ones can find a typical house a very dangerous one. Here's some suggestions and guidelines to consider to adapt your house so it's a safety zone, even for toddlers. In the kitchen Stove - Add guards for the burners and covers for the knobs so only you can turn on the gas or electricity. When you're cooking, turn the handles of the pans away from the range front so it can't be reached. Cabinets - Install guard latches to the lower cabinets (any that kids can reach) so the contents are off limits. Empty one of the lower cabinets and make it just for junior where his/her favorite toy things are stored. Telephone cord - Get a shorter phone cord or add a hook high on the wall to hold a long cord so a child can't get it caught around his/her neck or trip on it. In the bathroom - Don't ever leave standing water in a bath tub. - Close the toilet with its lid after using. Get a lid lock to secure it. - Add locking guard latches to the cabinet or drawers so medicine and cleaning supplies are out of reach. - Install a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) on the electrical outlets near the vanity. - Install slanting grab bars for the shower, tub, and toilet so they can be reached by everyone in the house. - Prevent accidental burns by installing pressure-balanced temperature-limiting controls for the shower, bath tub, and sink. - Install the shower head on a sliding bar so it can be adjusted for everyone in the house. - Add an automatic night light and smoke detector. - Choose non-slip flooring. Throughout the house - Install gates at the top and bottom of all stairways. - Cover unused electrical outlets with plastic plugs. - Remove all electrical and miniblind cords so they're out of reach. - Keep poisons, chemical cleaners, medicine, and cosmetics in a locked cabinet. - Don't decorate with a long tablecloth that hangs down where a child can pull it. - Keep any furniture that can be climbed on away from windows, stove, and ironing boards. - As soon as a child can reach a crib mobile, remove it. - Seal off a fireplace with glass doors. - Don't use thumb tacks to hang anything on a wall near a baby's crib. - Don't put a crib on a wall where the electrical service panel or fuse box is located; it could be a hot spot if there's an electrical fire. - Keep windows closed and locked when kids are around. For ventilation, open the top sash of double-hung windows. - Put beds and furniture away from windows so kids can't climb out of them. - If you're disposing of an old refrigerator, remove the doors, unplug it, and cut any electrical wires between the door and the cabinet. written by the editors of HouseNet Copyright HouseNet, Inc. |