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BABY GIRL SAFETY
Childproofing Your Home - 12 Safety Devices to
Protect Your Children
Baby safety is very important to us! The last thing in earth would you ever want
your little princess harmed due to an unfortunate accident that could have been
avoided. We have included this information below which will hopefully help with
baby safety. Please tell parents-to-be about this baby girl safety information
which will hopefully educate, remind and protect our little treasures! Let us
know if you have any other baby safety information you would like for us to know
about.
About 2-1/2 million children are injured or killed by hazards in the home each
year. The good news is that many of these incidents can be prevented by using
simple child safety devices on the market today.
Any safety device you buy should be sturdy enough to prevent injury to your
child, yet easy for you to use. It's important to follow installation
instructions carefully. In addition, if you have older children in the house, be
sure they re-secure safety devices. Remember, too, that no device is completely
childproof; determined youngsters have been known to disable them.
You can childproof your home for a fraction of what it would cost to have a
professional do it. And safety devices are easy to find. You can buy them at
hardware stores, baby equipment shops, supermarkets, drug stores, home and linen
stores, and through mail order catalogues.
Here are some child safety devices that can help prevent many injuries to young
children. The red numbers correspond to those on the image following the text.
1 Use Safety Latches and Locks for cabinets and drawers in kitchens,
bathrooms, and other areas to help prevent poisonings and other injuries. Safety
latches and locks on cabinets and drawers can help prevent children from gaining
access to medicines and household cleaners, as well as knives and other sharp
objects.
Look for safety latches and locks that adults can easily install and use, but
are sturdy enough to withstand pulls and tugs from children. Safety latches are
not a guarantee of protection, but they can make it more difficult for children
to reach dangerous substances. Even products with child-resistant packaging
should be locked away, out of reach; this packaging is not childproof. Typical
cost of a safety latch or lock: less than $2.
2 Use Safety Gates to help prevent falls down stairs and to keep children
away from dangerous areas. Safety gates can help keep children away from stairs
or rooms that have hazards in them. Look for safety gates that children cannot
dislodge easily, but that adults can open and close without difficulty. For the
top of stairs, gates that screw to the wall are more secure than "pressure
gates."
New safety gates that meet safety standards display a certification seal from
the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA). If you have an older
safety gate, be sure it doesn't have "V" shapes that are large enough for a
child's head and neck to fit into. Typical cost of a safety gate: $13 to $40.
3 Use Door Knob Covers and Door Locks to help prevent children from
entering rooms and other areas with possible dangers. Door knob covers and door
locks can help keep children away from places with hazards, including swimming
pools.
Be sure the door knob cover is sturdy enough not to break, but allows a door to
be opened quickly by an adult in case of emergency. By restricting access to
potentially hazardous rooms in the home, door knob covers could help prevent
many kinds of injuries. To prevent access to swimming pools, door locks should
be placed high out of reach of young children. Locks should be used in addition
to fences and door alarms. Sliding glass doors, with locks that must be
re-secured after each use, are often not an effective barrier to pools. Typical
cost of a door knob cover: $1 and door lock: $5 and up.
4 Use Anti-Scald Devices for faucets and shower heads and set your water
heater temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to help prevent burns from hot
water. Anti-scald devices for regulating water temperature can help prevent
burns.
Consider using anti-scald devices for faucets and showerheads. A plumber may
need to install these. In addition, if you live in your own home, set water
heater temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to help prevent burns from hot
water. Typical cost of an anti-scald device: $6 to $30.
5 Use Smoke Detectors on every level of your home and near bedrooms to
alert you to fires. Smoke detectors are essential safety devices for protection
against fire deaths and injuries. Check smoke detectors once a month to make
sure they're working. If detectors are battery-operated, change
batteries at least once a year or consider using 10-year batteries. Typical cost
of a smoke detector: less than $10.
6 Use Window Guards and Safety Netting to help prevent falls from
windows, balconies, decks, and landings. Window guards and safety netting for
balconies and decks can help prevent serious falls.
Check these safety devices frequently to make sure they are secure and properly
installed and maintained. There should be no more than four inches between the
bars of the window guard. If you have window guards, be sure at least one window
in each room can be easily used for escape in a fire. Window screens are not
effective for preventing children from falling out of windows. Typical cost of a
window guard or safety netting: $8 to $16.
7 Use Corner and Edge Bumpers to help prevent injuries from falls against
sharp edges of furniture and fireplaces. Corner and edge bumpers can be used
with furniture and fireplace hearths to help prevent injuries from falls or to
soften falls against sharp or rough edges.
Be sure to look for bumpers that stay securely on furniture or hearth edges.
Typical cost of a corner and edge bumper: $1 and up.
8 Use Outlet Covers and Outlet Plates to help prevent electrocution.
Outlet covers and outlet plates can help protect children from electrical shock
and possible electrocution.
Be sure the outlet protectors cannot be easily removed by children and are large
enough so that children cannot choke on them. Typical cost of an outlet cover:
less than $2.
9 Use a Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detector outside bedrooms to help prevent CO
poisoning. A carbon monoxide (CO) detector can help prevent CO poisoning.
Consumers should install CO detectors near sleeping areas in their homes.
Households that should use CO detectors include those with gas or oil heat or
with attached garages. Typical cost of a carbon monoxide (CO) detector: $30 to
$70.
10 Cut Window Blind Cords; use Safety Tassels and Inner Cord Stops to
help prevent children from strangling in blind cord loops. Window blind cord
safety tassels on miniblinds and tension devices on vertical blinds and drapery
cords can help prevent deaths and injuries from strangulation in the loops of
cords. Inner cord stops can help prevent strangulation in the inner cords of
window blinds.
For older miniblinds, cut the cord loop, remove the buckle, and put safety
tassels on each cord. Be sure that older vertical blinds and drapery cords have
tension or tie-down devices to hold the cords tight. When buying new miniblinds,
verticals, and draperies, ask for safety features to prevent child
strangulation. You can get window blind cord safety information and free tassels
by calling 1-800-506-4636 or visiting www.windowcoverings.org
11 Use Door Stops and Door Holders to help prevent injuries to fingers
and hands. Door stops and door holders on doors and door hinges can help prevent
small fingers and hands from being pinched or crushed in doors and door hinges.
Be sure any safety device for doors is easy to use and is not likely to break
into small parts, which could be a choking hazard for young children. Typical
cost of a door stop and door holder: less than $4.
12 Use a Cordless Phone to make it easier to continuously watch young
children, especially when they're in bathtubs, swimming pools, or other
potentially dangerous areas.
Cordless phones help you watch your child continuously, without leaving the
vicinity to answer a phone call. Cordless phones are especially helpful when
children are in or near water, whether it's the bathtub, the swimming pool, or
the beach. Typical cost of a cordless phone: $30 and up.
Please let us know if you have any addition information you would like to add to
our site by emailing us at
mommy@babygirl101.com. |
