Safety Tips For Children and Pets

Some Surprising Home Dangers

These tips are not meant to scare you. You will get all kinds of advice from relatives and friends, and some of those pieces of “wisdom” will be contradictory. Solve the dilemma of choosing between all those bits of advice by heeding the information included here. I have made a career of keeping children safe and healthy. You can feel certain you are protecting your child if you follow these tips. Enjoy your baby and feel secure about safety.

Suffocation Hazards

• Soft and loose bedding, including pillows, quilts, blankets,  comforters, bumper pads, sleep positioners, sheepskins and stuffed toys.  Remove these items from baby's sleep area. (Remember to always place babies on their backs to sleep on a firm, tight fitting mattress in a crib that meets current safety standards.) Click here to view the latest crib Information from the CPSC: http://www.cpsc.gov/info/cribs/index.html
•  Latex balloons. More children have suffocated on uninflated balloons and pieces of balloons than on any other type of toy.  Keep latex balloons away from children under 8 and pets. Choose mylar balloons (shiny, metallic) over latex.
•  Latch type clothes dryers, refrigerators and freezers; combination washer-dryer units; iceboxes, file cabinets and storage chests. Suffocation deaths occur in such places when children crawl inside and cannot escape. The best choice for a toy chest is one without a lid or one with a lightweight, removable one.

Choking Hazards

• Coins, keys, jewelry, paper clips, batteries, magnets, water bottle tops, safety pins, removable rubber tips on door stops, jeweled decorations on child's clothing, firm/ round foods (including small pieces of hot dogs, hard candy, marshmallows, nuts, grapes and popcorn) and crayon pieces.

• Anything that can fit inside an empty toilet paper tube is a potential choking hazard.
  

Poisoning Hazards

• Art supplies. Some household art supplies can contain hazardous or toxic substances. When buying art materials, including crayons and paint sets, always look for this label: ASTM D-4236. This label means the product has been reviewed by a toxicologist. If it is necessary, cautionary information will be included with this label.
• Antifreeze. The main ingredient in many major antifreeze brands is ethylene glycol, which is very toxic. Antifreeze has a sweet taste. Children or pets will drink large amounts of it if it is left out in an open container or if it is spilled on your driveway. Use antifreeze formulated with propylene glycol, which is considerably less toxic, or use antifreeze that has a bittering agent (denatonium benzoate) added to make it taste unpleasant.
• Dieffenbachia and Philodendron. These common houseplants contain oxalates, microscopic crystals that get released into the mouth when the plant is chewed, causing extreme pain and inflammation. Parents purchase  only nontoxic plants when they have children under the age of six and pets.
• Metal Jewelry. Not only do these items pose a choking hazard, but in addition, lead and cadmium has been found in inexpensive children’s jewelry.
  

• Sugarless products; pet owners beware! Sugarless chewing gum and products containing xylitol can be poisonous to pets. Other food items that can be toxic to pets include chocolate and caffeine products (coffee, tea), onions, garlic, grapes, raisins, avocado, macadamia nuts and pork.
  

• Common household products. Keep all medicines (prescription and over-the-counter), cleaning products and other chemicals locked up, out of reach and sight of children at all times. Never leave potentially poisonous household products unattended while in use. It takes only seconds for a poisoning to occur.

  Whenever you suspect a poisoning, immediately call the National Poison Hotline (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week), 1-800 222-1222, which automatically connects you to your local poison center. Prominently post this number near every phone in the home and put this number in your cell phone. ALWAYS CALL THE POISON CENTER FIRST, BEFORE TREATING A POISONING
                                                                                                                                                                                  

Items That Can Pierce or Burn

• Toys with sharp edges and points and electrical toys with heating elements. Avoid for children under 8.
• Toys that include propelled objects. These can be turned into weapons, so avoid them for children of all ages. 
• Arrows and darts. If children play with such items, they should have cork tips, rubber suction cups or other protective tips.
• Button Batteries. They may, if swallowed, stick in the throat or stomach, causing serious burns as the chemical leaks out
• Hot water. Set water heaters no higher than 120 degrees F. to reduce the chance of scald burns.  (Be aware that 120 degrees F. can still burn your baby, so always mix hot water with cold water before it touches your child's skin. A comfortable bath water temperature for a child is near his own body temperature, 98 to 100 degrees F.  Never exceed a temperature of 100 degrees F.)

Strangulation Hazards

• Necklace or pacifier tied around a young child's neck. It can get caught on a crib, play yard or doorknob.
  
• Window treatments with hanging cords. If possible, replace with new cordless window coverings, or obtain free retrofit safety devices from the Window Covering Safety Council. Visit: http://www.windowcoverings.org.

Falling Hazards

• Large and heavy items such as TVs, microwaves, fish tanks, bookcases, heavy furniture and appliances.  Because of the tipping hazard, secure it to a stud in the wall using brackets, braces, anchors or wall straps. If you have a newer, flat screen TV, make sure it’s properly anchored to the wall. Read the manufacturer's instructions for tips or warnings regarding placement of your TV or furniture.

• Open windows. A child can fall out of a window that is open more than four inches, and screens offer no protection. Install window guards on all windows in your home. Use quick-release mechanisms on any windows that are part our your fire-escape plan. A less-costly option is to use a window- stopping device. The device attaches to the inside of the window frame to prevent the window from opening more than 4 inches.

  Drowning Hazards

• An inch of water. A child can drown in just one inch of water (such as in buckets, bath tubs, inflatable pools, diaper pails, toilets, hot tubs, and spas). Small children are top-heavy, and they don't have the upper body strength to lift themselves out of one of these dangerous situations.

• Never leave a small child unattended in or near water, even for a second. 

• Immediately empty water from a tub, sink, inflatable pool, or container after it has been used.

• Install locks on the toilets and store all buckets upside down.

• Install four-sided isolation fencing, at least 5 feet high and equipped with self-closing and self-latching gates around a home pool or spa.

Unsafe and Recalled Products

• Recalled products. When a product is found to pose a threat of injury or death,  a recall alert is issued. To stay current on this matter, contact the CPSC to receive free recall information sent to you by  E-mail, Call the CPSC at (800) 638-2772, or visit their website: http://www.cpsc.gov. or http://www.Recalls.gov  
  
• Unsafe Products. If you experience a safety problem with a consumer product, go to http://www.saferproducts.gov/

Be prepared for emergencies!

Click here to download Debra's emergency preparation sheet,
taken from her new book, "The Safe Baby."
Excerpted, with permission, from The Safe Baby (2009) by Debra
Smiley Holtzman, available wherever books are sold.

All parents and anyone who provides care for your child should take an infant/child first aid and CPR course. It’s one of the best investments of time you will ever make.

Debra is available for interviews, training seminars and speaking engagements.