Babyproofing Your Home

In this article:
Living Room Safety
Kitchen Safety
Bedroom Safety
Bathroom Safety
Stair and Hallway Safety
Blind Cords
Household Baby Hazards

Continued from page 1

Kitchen Safety

Move cleaners far from your baby's reach—do not keep them under the sink.

Install electrical outlet plugs to protect your baby from shock.

Place covers over the stove's burners and cook on the back burners. Keep pot handles faced inwards towards the back of the stove and/or keep baby contained in highchair or playpen when cooking.

Move sharp, tiny, and/or poisonous objects to a drawer with a safety latch.

Keep baking soda and a fire extinguisher in the kitchen area, in case of a cooking fire.

Keep alcoholic beverages far from your baby's reach.

Secure all tablecloths to the table so your child cannot pull anything onto him/herself.

Dispose of plastic grocery bags and dry cleaning bags immediately; these can cause suffocation.

Never use hot tap water for mixing your baby's formula or food.

Store glassware in high cupboards out of reach.

Lock garbage bins so that your baby cannot access to them.

Never hold or pass hot liquids over your baby.

Never let your baby pick up sharp objects such as scissors or sharp pencils.

Remove cigarettes, lighters, ashtrays, and matches from your baby's reach.

Install childproof safety latches on lower cabinet doors and/or make the kitchen off limits with a gate. You can also make one cabinet accessible with safe playthings like wooden spoons and sturdy bowls.

Keep your purse out of reach of your baby. Many small objects like coins can easily find their way into your baby's mouth.

Bedroom Safety

Keep pillows out of the crib until your baby is a year old.

Install electrical outlet plugs to protect your baby from shock.

Keep small jewelry, perfumes and colognes, shoe polishing materials, belts, scarves, and ties out of your baby's reach.

Never lock a baby into a room.

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

Never allow your baby to sleep with a bib on.

Keep older children's toys out of your baby's reach.

Keep button batteries away from your child; they can cause intoxication with mercury and acid. Button batteries can be found in watches, small toys, computer games, and other small gadgets. In the United States there is a 24-hour emergency consultation service called the National Button Battery Ingestion Hotline (202-625-3333). Over a 7-year period they followed 2382 cases of swallowed batteries. Of these, 62 were larger cylindrical batteries, and the rest were buttons.