Summer Home Safety: Tips to Keep Kids Safe at Home

As the end of another school year approaches, parents everywhere are preparing to have their children home for the summer. Understandably, safety is at the top of the minds of moms and dads right now.

From toddlers to teens, kids have a knack for getting into things they are not supposed to. What can parents do to prevent children from getting hurt at home?

Here are a few tips for improving safety around your home this summer:

Close Doors: The easiest way to set boundaries or restrict access to certain areas of your home is to close and lock doors or use gates. When you do, you can keep children out of rooms where potentially dangerous or hazardous items may be stored. You also can help prevent accidents by placing gates at the tops and bottoms of staircases. This tip also applies outdoors where you may have pools or other potential dangers.

Lock Kids Out: In the same way that you can lock doors to restrict access to certain rooms in your home, you also can lock cabinets and drawers to keep kids away from dangerous materials, like cleaning supplies, knives or other breakable items. In fact, you can even lock down access to dangerous or inappropriate material online! Set parental controls on your TVs, mobile devices, tablets and computers.

Seal Cleaners: When it comes to poisonous cleaning supplies, the best way to keep children safe is to simply keep hazardous cleaners locked up and out of reach. But, even that may not be enough. Get in the practice of always sealing your cleaning supplies. You also can enlist the help of Mr. Yuk to remind children that cleaners are not for consumption. Finally, make sure the Poison Control number is clearly visible in your home.

Secure Heavy Items: There is a reason that many parents sometimes refer to their children as their little monkeys. Kids love to climb – on anything and everything. So, if you’ve got loose TVs, dressers or other items, it is a safe assumption that children may try to climb them! Instead of worrying about your children pulling a heavy piece of furniture on top of themselves, secure these heavy items to the wall for extra stability.

Educate Children: Another important way to keep children safe at home is to keep them informed. We’ve already recommended that you display the Poison Control number in your home, but you also need to make sure that your children know how to use it. They also should know how to call 911 and they should have a neighborhood contact to turn to in case of a home emergency.

The fact of the matter is that most children are going to have accidents at some point in their lives. But, that doesn’t mean that you have to wait around for something unfortunate to happen. You can do everything in your power to prevent unnecessary accidents and dangerous incidents from happening in your home. Here’s to an accident-free summer at home for all!