Safe Kids At Home – Home Safety

If you could make one place a safe haven for your children, where would it be? For many parents, the answer is their homes. Yet research shows more than 4.5 million children are injured in the home every year.

Taking simple prevention measures and closely supervising your children can help protect them from common household hazards, such as fires, burns, drowning, suffocation, choking, firearm injury, poisoning and falls. A few easy, relatively inexpensive steps – locking household cleaning materials in a cabinet out of reach, installing carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms, blocking stairways with baby gates – can greatly reduce your child’s risk of injury in the home. There are two steps everyone can take to protect children at home.

First, childproof your home. The best way to find dangers your child might encounter is to explore your home at her level – by getting down on your hands and knees. Cover every room, asking yourself what looks tempting and what is within reach (between the floor and about 40 inches above). Also, check carpets for buried dangers like pins or coins.

Second, understand that childproofing can never be 100 percent effective. That’s why it’s so important to supervise your children at all times, especially around water, in the kitchen and bathroom, and wherever known hazards exist.

The Home Safety Committee hosts Baby Safety Showers, promotes Poison Prevention Week, and helps promote home safety to parents, educators, caregivers and the public.

For emergencies:

Post emergency numbers by telephones. Post phone numbers for the poison control center, pediatrician, police, fire department, emergency medical services and a neighbor by every telephone. Also, clearly post the home address so that parents, caregivers, and children can easily tell emergency personnel how to locate the home.
Keep first aid supplies on hand.

	Toy Safety With literally hundreds of thousands of toys on the market, it’s not easy to be sure you’re getting safe products.Today’s toys are safer than they have ever been , but you still must be careful. Buy the right toys for your child’s age and skill level, and check often to make sure your child’s toys have not been recalled.
	Fall Prevention What do climbing on furniture, playing near an unsecured window and swinging from a jungle gym have in common? They can all lead to the number-one cause of unintentional injuries for kids under 14: falls. Most serious falls happen in the home and to kids under 3, but kids of all ages are at risk.
	Children Act Fast – So Do Poisons Did you know that each year, more than 1.2 million children ages 5 and under are unintentionally poisoned? Whether it’s medication on your dresser, cleaning supplies under your kitchen sink, cosmetics in your bathroom or carbon monoxide from gas appliances in your home, you can take simple steps to keep your kids safe.

Always Keep the Number for the Poison Control Center Handy.

By calling 1-800-222-1222 you will reach professionals that offer fast and free confidential help in English and Spanish. Most poisonings are resolved over the phone. The number works from anywhere in the United States, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, if your child isn’t breathing or has collapsed, call 911 immediately.

Operation Medicine Drop

Safe Kids Springfield, in conjunction with area law enforcement and partners host and coordinate Operation Medicine Drop events throughout the year for families to dispose of expired and unused medications.  Stay tuned for upcoming event details!

March 2012 Events