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 miniblinds, verticals, and draperies, ask for
safety features to prevent child strangulation.
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.
