There are all sorts of things we teach our children as they grow. Stop, drop, and roll in case of fire. Run, yell, and tell when there is stranger danger. Look both ways before you cross the street. We do the right things by our kids, and yet—the statistics are staggering. Every day, about 20 children die from an unintentional injury in or around their own home. “You don’t hear the term ‘accidents,’” says Peter Kerin, owner of Foresight Childproofing, serving the Minneapolis and St. Paul areas. “They’re arbitrary. [But] we have the data to prove that childhood injuries are a very distinct and predictable trend.”
Erin Petersen, coordinator of Family Safety Programs for the Minnesota Safety Council, pinpoints the risks. “Intense curiosity and rapidly developing skills put children ages one to four at the greatest risk for serious unintentional injury.” Car accidents top the list for fatalities in this age group, while falls are the leading cause of serious injury. Boys are at a greater risk than girls as well.
“At first blush people think childproofing is about adding a gate or a latch. There’s so much more to the discussion than that; it’s not just two-dimensional.” Kerin says. “Our adult world is designed around convenience, but the fact of the matter is that children aren’t convenient. So how do we work to make the home a safer place but maintain as much function and enjoyment to the parents as possible?”
Kerin had a trial by fire when it came to childproofing his own home, and says he wishes there had been someone who had been through the process before to help him. Kerin recalls, “I was in a big store looking at a wall of products thinking ‘okay, I’ll try this.’ I had done my research beforehand but when I got home, guess what, it didn’t work with our home.” Now, he provides the support he wished for to other new parents.
Children are unpredictable, so it’s important to think ahead. “It’s easy to get caught up in the moment of that baby of today; but when you wake up in the morning, you’re not going to receive a notice that today is the first day your child is going to take steps, or that today is the day your child is going to figure out the dishwasher. He’s never touched it before, but by gosh, today that two-year-old wants to know,” Kerin says, stressing that childproofing is an ongoing process. “Be prepared for where their skills are going to develop, otherwise you are always going to play catch-up.”
Despite the scary statistics there’s good news: a few simple steps can transform your home from a minefield for young explorers to a safe haven for hands-on learning. Check out the following areas to learn how to eliminate hidden hazards in your home.
Family room
Hidden hazard: Fascinating flat screens; swallowing remote batteries
“A lion’s share of the child’s awake time is spent in the family room,” Kerin says, which is why the family room is a two-for-one with hidden hazards.
That “big kid’s toy” seems so thin and light, it couldn’t possibly topple and hurt a child, right? Think again. “Because flat screen TVs are top-heavy and have small bases, they can be very unstable,” says Brian Eble, vice-president of brand development for Peerless-AV. Eble recommends mounting a television so that its center point is about five feet off the ground—tall enough so it’s out of a child’s reach but is still at eye level from the couch. If that’s not feasible, several companies make safety kits that securely attach the television to an approved stand or wall.
As for batteries, a dropped and popped open remote will yield interesting looking, shiny, and kid-sized batteries. If swallowed, Petersen says, button batteries can burn through a child’s esophagus. Keep remotes in a drawer and away from children.
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Tips
• Install a fireplace gate, keep matches and lighters up and away
• Keep recliners in a closed position (locked)
• All breakables out of reach
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Kitchen
Hidden hazard: The kitchen as a playroom
“You want to make the kitchen the most boring place because you don’t want a child to be underfoot or around a cooking area.” Kerin says. Matches, knives, and cleaning agents, among other common kitchen items can all be dangerous if they end up in young, curious hands.
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Tips
• Snug up coffee pot and other appliance cords so they are less apt to be yanked on when in use. When not in use, unplug them.
• Turn pot handles in toward the wall when cooking
• Use a highchair harness
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Nursery/bedroom
Hidden hazard: Window cord strangulation
Parents may know not to put a crib or other potentially climbable furniture by a window because of the strangulation hazard posed by window blind cords, but Nat Khalil, spokesperson for the Window Covering Safety Council, suggests going a step further. “If you have children in the house, all your window coverings should be cordless.”
If you can’t swap out your old blinds for cordless blinds, the Window Covering Safety Council offers a free retrofit kit (see the Resources area of this article for information on where you can request one).
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Tips
• Use closet door locks to avoid pinched fingers
• Never leave a child unattended on a bed (could roll off)
• Secure breakables
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Bathroom
Hidden hazard: Standing water, medicines, cleaning supplies
The bathroom is one of the most dangerous rooms in the house for kids—standing water (children have fallen into and drowned in the toilet), medicines, and cleaning supplies are all in one place. Always ask your pharmacist to place medication in childproof containers, and keep them locked in a cabinet at all times. Additionally, cleaning agents should never be kept where a child could potentially gain access, and install a toilet lid lock.
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Tips
• Lower your water heater temperature to avoid scalding
• Always check tub water temperature first
before placing your child in
• Cabinet locks!
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Vehicle Safety
Car seats
“The right car seat can make the difference between your child leaving a crash with zero injuries and a much less favorable outcome,” says David Strickland of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That’s why a car seat appropriate for your child’s height and weight is critical.
Buckle up
Whether it’s a seat belt or a bike helmet, buckling up is important. “Kids are relentlessly truthful and make the best safety ambassadors for us, to have that voice piping up from the back seat,” Strickland says, adding, “Today’s kids are tomorrow’s drivers” emphasizing that kids learn about driving long before they get behind the wheel.
Ride on the right, walk on the left
This is just one rule of the road that children need to know by heart. Kids also need to understand that just because they see a car does not mean that its driver sees them. Safety is as much their responsibility as it is for the drivers they are sharing the road with.
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Tips
• Once your child is a year old periodically check the manufacturer’s height and weight requirements, but don’t be in a rush to put your child in a forward-facing seat because rear-facing models are still the safest option.
• In Minnesota, it’s the law that all children under eight or 4’9″—whichever comes first—must be buckled in the back in a booster seat.
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Backyard
Hidden hazard: Backyard pools
Minnesota doesn’t have statewide regulations for backyard pool fencing, and most municipality laws are aimed at keeping neighboring children out. Kerin recommends a four foot-high non-climbable fence with a self-closing, self-latching gate. Devices like the Safety Turtle (see Hot stuff p.34) can provide an additional layer of protection, but no gadget is a replacement for supervision.
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Tips
• Place decals on glass patio doors at toddler’s eye level
• Make sure deck rails are no more than three inches apart (head could get stuck)
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