Your adult home can hold several items that you may not give a second thought to. When it comes to child proofing your home, there are a number of seemingly innocuous items that turn into life-threatening problems for small children. Here are several home safety precautions you can take to help keep your home safe for small children:
- Ensure your child’s sleeping area is free from choking or suffocation hazards. Keep toys, blankets and pillows away from your infants sleeping space and minimize the number of stuffed animals in your toddlers’ bed.
- Prevent falls by ensuring there are gates on your staircases. Keep all of your windows locked and consider extra locks on upper story windows that children can climb up and near. When possible, avoid placing furniture pieces in front of second story windows.
- Keep small toys that could get lodged in a child’s airways, out of reach of small children.
- Prevent poisoning by locking all poisonous products in a space that your small children cannot access. Store chemicals up high in cupboards or lock them away.
- Prevent strangulation by ensuring all blind cords are safely away from a small child’s grasp.
- If you have a pool ensure you abide by all legal fencing requirements and establish stringent rules around the pools use. If you have a hot tub keep it locked at all times it is not in use. As with any body of water, if you have a pool, hot tub, pond or other source of water, always ensure there is adult supervision.
- Use electrical plugs to block any electrical sockets that are within a small child’s reach.
- If you have pets in your home make sure your small child is not left alone with them and monitor their interactions. Teach your children to never interrupt a pet who is eating or sleeping.
Creating a stimulating play space for your child will allow them to explore and be curious in a safe setting.
Whether you have small children in your house or not, always ensure you have a First Aid kit and fire extinguisher readily available. Keep a list of emergency numbers and emergency contacts. Always have a functioning fire and carbon monoxide detector and make sure you check their batteries regularly.
If you ever have questions regarding your home insurance policy or coverage in general, contact Rizk Insurance today and we’ll help answer any inquiries you may have.