Once you become a parent, you never stop worrying about your child’s safety. I still remember how I needed to go through every inch of my home to evaluate if there were any risks for my kids once they started crawling, walking and climbing. Even if it meant putting in extra effort, childproofing was the best investment of time I could make. To this day I constantly evaluate our family spaces and if a baby or toddler comes to visit us, I know what to move or put away to keep them safe.
Nobody is born knowing how to be a parent but we learn as we go. The most important thing we can do is educate ourselves and get as much information we can to keep our kids healthy and safe. That’s why I’m thrilled to partner with Tide and Gain for the Arriba y Lejos campaign to share home safety tips for your family. This week is especially important since National Poison Prevention Week is coming up (March 15-21) and I want to help parents everywhere as much as I can.
10 home safety tips you can implement right now
Here are a few safety tips you can begin implementing right now to keep your child safe:
- To identify potential safety concerns, explore your home from your child’s point of view. Yes, that means crawling if you have a baby! Take special notice of loose cables, electrical outlets, objects your infant might put into her mouth and sharp corners. Remember that children are very curious.
- Store detergents and household cleaners up and away from your little one’s reach.
- Invest in safety latches to keep cabinet doors shut and keep your child from opening drawers. Keeping your child protected from potential risks is worth the inconvenience.
- Secure furniture to the wall so it cannot topple over if your child tries to climb shelves, opens the drawers or bumps into it.
- If you have stairs at home, install a safety gate. It will give you much peace of mind with infants, toddlers and even preschoolers.
- When in the kitchen, never leave pots and pans with handles within your child’s reach. Use the back burners whenever possible and don’t ever leave a child unattended in the kitchen.
- Remember to set your water heater to a maximum temperature of 120 F (49 C).
- Always unplug electrical appliances such as hair dryers, curling irons and irons after you finish using them. Never leave a child unattended around those items.
- Store all medications, whether over the counter or prescription, away from the reach of children, preferably in a locked cabinet. Don’t ever tell children that medications are candy. If you need to convince a child to take a prescription, give him or her a reward such as a sweet treat afterwards but clearly differentiate between medicine and candy.
- Keep handy the number for the Poison Control Center. For a poison emergency in the US call: 1-800-222-1222.
Remember to always keep a watchful eye. Even if your child is not a preschooler anymore, your supervision is key. Protecting your little one’s safety is worth the effort! For more information, you can visit http://bit.ly/arribaylejos.