Tips and advices on toddler safety

Childproof your home for toddler safety and some helpful tips on safety outdoors. Keeping our toddler safe is a big part of our job as parents. But it can be tricky to balance a young child's desire to explore everywhere and everything with a parent's need to keep the child safe. As parents, we know that toddlers often forget the rules about safety. And scolding them can make the forbidden item or place seem even more attractive. We want to enjoy our children, but if we spend most of our time watching out for their safety, then no one is having fun. Although childproofing is not a substitute for parental supervision, it substantially reduces the likelihood of injury.

Here you will find some useful tips on toddler safety both indoor and outdoor :

TODDLER SAFETY AT HOME

Children can injure themselves in the blink of an eye. You could turn your head away for a moment and the child could pull down a boiling pot of food, or swallow something he could choke on. It's hard for parents to anticipate all the potential dangers or safety problems around children. The trick to keeping a safe environment for your children is to stay one step ahead of them at all times. By spotting dangers before an injury happens, you can protect your children from harm and protect yourself from stress and heartache. The first step in providing a safe environment for your child is to prepare your home properly:

Ensuring toddler safety in the KITCHEN :

- Keep matches and lighters out of reach.

- Place safety latches on all doors and cabinets, especially where cleaning products and medicines are located/

- Remove all small magnets from the refrigerator; small items can easily be lodged in a toddler’s throat

- Move all glassed items in the refrigerator to the higher shelves.

- Use the back burners on the stove and turn all pot handles towards the back of the stove

- Lock all cabinets and drawers containing glass, knives, scissors, and other small objects

- Keep electrical cords that are connected to cooking appliances out of reach

- Keep containers that have hot drinks inside away from the edge of tables

- Do not place hot fluids on tablecloths in case the child pulls on the tablecloth

- Never hold or pass hot liquids over your child

- Dispose of any plastic grocery bags and dry cleaning bags immediately, these can cause suffocation

- Lock the kitchen door, or use a safety gate to prevent children going into the kitchen especially when no one is around

Ensuring toddler safety in the BEDROOM :

- Use a safe crib with a snug fitting mattress that cannot get pulled away from the corners. You should not be able to fit more than two fingers between the edge of the mattress and the crib

- Make sure the crib has no areas with gaps more than 2 inches so the child's head cannot get stuck

- If possible, don’t place the crib near or under a window. If the crib is placed near the window, ensure that all windows are securely latched or use a window guard. A toddler can climb out of the crib, and through the window

- Remove all drapery and blind cords from around the crib. These can lead to strangulation deaths

- Never lock a toddler into a room

- Make sure closets can be opened from the inside, so that your toddler doesn't get locked in.

Ensuring your toddler safety in the BATHROOM :

- Always check bath water temperature before putting a child in the tub.

- Never leave your toddler in the bathtub alone, even for a short time. Toddlers can drown in as little as two inches of water.

- Don't keep large buckets or containers of liquid around the house, children can fall head first in to the container and not be able to get out.

- Place a lock on all the toilets.

- Lock up cabinets containing perfumes, make-up, and other similar bathroom items