Central Ohio Home Inspection Pros ®
Child Safety
Childproofing Your Home - 12 Safety Devices to Protect Your
Children
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.
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 mini-blinds, verticals,
and draperies, ask for safety features to prevent child
strangulation.
Typical cost $0
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.
Contents
PATCH
Independent Home Inspections, LLC
Serving Columbus and Central Ohio
Rick A. Harrington
13514 Falmouth Ave
Pickerington, Ohio 43147
(614) 565-4962
(614) 768-1190 fax
