“An active child naturally climbs, crawls and explores,” says Meri-K Appy, president of the Home Safety Council. “Parents need to take precautions to make sure curious children avoid common home injuries.”

The Home Safety Council recommends that parents look at each room from their child’s eye level and use the following tips to make homes safer for young, curious children:

Prevent Burns and Scalds (Burns from Hot Liquids)
• Set your water heater at 120 degrees Fahrenheit or less or just below the medium setting.
• Test the water before your children get in the tub.
• When children are in the tub, stay close by.
• Use safety caps to keep children from putting things into electrical outlets.
• Keep children away from the range when you are cooking. Children should stay three feet away from the stove to prevent burns.
• Lock up all matches and lighters.
• Only use candles when an adult is in the room. Blow out candles if you leave the room or go to sleep.
• Gasoline can catch fire with only a tiny spark. Store it in a special safety can. Never bring it indoors, even in small amounts.

Smoke Alarms and Fire Drills
• Have smoke alarms on every level of your home.
• Make sure a smoke alarm is inside or near every bedroom.
• Test each smoke alarm every month. Push the test button until you hear a loud noise.
• Put new batteries in your smoke alarms at least one time each year.
• If smoke alarms are more than 10 years old, replace them with new smoke alarms.
• Practice fire drills to make sure everyone can wake up to the sound of the smoke alarm.
• Young children might sleep through the sound.
• Children will need help escaping a fire. Plan for this.
• Know who needs help and pick a grownup to help them.

Prevent Choking and Other Dangers
• Keep all plastic wrapping or packing materials away from young children.
• Keep pillows, toys and blankets out of crib.

• Don’t hang anything with strings or ribbon over cribs.
• If your window has a blind, keep cords tied up high.
• Window blind cords should not have a loop. Cut any loop in two pieces.
• Children can choke on small items, such as buttons, coins, jewelry and small toys. If it fits into a toilet paper roll, it is not safe for little children.
• Read the labels of toys before you let your child play with them.
• Make sure your child is old enough to use that toy. The label will tell the safe age.

Prevent Poisoning
• Know to call 1-800-222-1222 if someone takes poison. This number will connect you to emergency help in your area.
• Keep the number by every phone.
• Know the things in your home that are poisons.
• Look at the labels for the words “Caution”, “Warning”, or “Danger” on the box or bottle.
• Read the labels and follow directions when using these.
• Remove all medicines and medical supplies from purses, pockets and drawers.
• Put them in a cabinet with a child safety lock.
• Have child safety caps on all chemicals, medications and cleaning products.
• Lock all dangerous items and products in the cabinet.
• Cosmetics (make-up) can be poison too.
• Have a service person check heaters, stove and fireplaces every year to see that they work well.
• Have a carbon monoxide (CO) detector near the bedrooms. This will tell you if the gas level is too high.
• Push the “test” button on the detector so everyone will know the sound it makes.

Prevent Drowning
• Drowning can happen very fast. Most of the time you will not hear someone drowning.
• Drowning can happen in any standing water, such as a swimming pool, a pond or a ditch.
• Stay within an arm’s reach of young children when they are in the tub.
• Don’t let other children baby-sit children around water.
• Have toilet lid locks and use them if small children live in or visit your home.
• Store large buckets turned over, so water cannot collect inside them.

Prevent Falls
• Keep a close watch on young children.
• Use safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs.
• Use a safety gate to prevent falls from balconies and decks.
• Have window guards on upper windows.
• Cover the ground under playground equipment with a thick layer (9-12 inches) of mulch, wood chips or other safety material.