12 Must Have Products To Childproof Your Home
Too many children are injured or worse by hazards in the home each year.
The good news is that many of these incidents can be prevented by using simple child safety devices on the market today. You can childproof your home for a fraction of what it would cost to have a professional do it.
Safety devices to childproof your home are easy to find. You can buy them at hardware stores, baby equipment shops, supermarkets, home stores and online.
Get home delivery from online sites like Amazon for convenience. In the interest of peace of mind, here are 12 child safety devices that can help prevent many injuries to your toddler and young children.
Childproof Your Home | 12 Must Have Products
1. Use Safety Latches and Childproof Locks for cabinets and drawers in kitchens, bathrooms, and other areas to help prevent poisonings and other injuries.
Safety latches and locks on cabinets and drawers can help prevent children from gaining access to medicines and household cleaners, as well as knives and other sharp objects.
Look for safety latches and locks that adults can easily install and use, but are sturdy enough to withstand pulls and tugs from children.
Safety latches are not a guarantee of protection, but they can make it more difficult for children to reach dangerous substances.
Typical cost of a safety latch or lock: less than $2.
2. Use Safety Gates to help prevent falls down stairs and to keep children away from dangerous areas. Safety gates can help keep children away from stairs or rooms that have hazards in them.
Look for safety gates that children cannot dislodge easily, but that adults can open and close without difficulty.
For the top of stairs, gates that screw to the wall are more secure than "pressure gates."
Typical cost of a safety gate: $15 to $50.
3. Use Door Knob Covers and Childproof Door Locks to help prevent children from entering rooms and other areas with possible dangers.
Door knob covers and door locks can help keep children away from places with hazards, including swimming pools.
Be sure the door knob cover is sturdy enough not to break, but allows a door to be opened quickly by an adult in case of emergency.
By restricting access to potentially hazardous rooms in the home, door knob covers could help prevent many kinds of injuries.
Typical cost of a door knob cover: $1 and door lock: $5 and up.
4. Use Anti−Scald Devices for faucets and shower heads and set your water heater temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to help prevent burns from hot water.
Anti−scald devices for regulating water temperature can help prevent burns.
Typical cost of an anti−scald device: $6 to $30.
5. Use Smoke Detectors on every level of your home and near bedrooms to alert you to fires.
Smoke detectors are essential safety devices for protection against fire deaths and injuries.
Check smoke detectors once a month to make sure they're working.
If detectors are battery−operated, change batteries at least once a year or consider using 10−year batteries.
Typical cost of a smoke detector: less than $10.
6. Use Window Guards and Safety Netting to help prevent falls from windows, balconies, decks, and landings.
Window guards and safety netting for balconies and decks can help prevent serious falls.
Typical cost of a window guard or safety netting: $50 to $180.
7. Use Corner and Edge Bumpers to help prevent injuries from falls against sharp edges of furniture and fireplaces.
Corner and edge bumpers can be used with furniture and fireplace hearths to help prevent injuries from falls or to soften falls against sharp or rough edges.
Typical cost of a corner and edge bumper: $1 and up.
8. Use Childproof Outlet Covers and Outlet Plates to help prevent electrocution. Outlet covers and outlet plates can help protect children from electrical shock and possible electrocution.
Be sure the outlet protectors cannot be easily removed by children and are large enough so that children cannot choke on them.
Typical cost of an outlet cover (pack of 50): less than $10.
9. Use a Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detector outside bedrooms to help prevent CO poisoning. A carbon monoxide (CO) detector can help prevent CO poisoning.
Consumers should install CO detectors near sleeping areas in their homes. Households that should use CO detectors include those with gas or oil heat or with attached garages.
Typical cost of a carbon monoxide (CO) detector: $25 to $65.
10. Use Window Shade Cord Winders to help prevent children from strangling in blind cord loops.
Window shade cord winders on mini blinds and tension devices on vertical blinds and drapery cords can help prevent deaths and injuries from strangulation in the loops of cords.
Inner cord stops help prevent strangulation in the inner cords of window blinds. For older mini blinds, cut the cord loop, remove the buckle, and use window shade cord winders.
Be sure that older vertical blinds and drapery cords have tension or tie−down devices to hold the cords tight. When buying new mini blinds, verticals, and draperies, ask for safety features to prevent child strangulation.
Typical cost for multi-pack: $6 to $20.
11. Use Door Stops and Door Holders to help prevent injuries to fingers and hands.
Door stops and door holders on doors and door hinges can help prevent small fingers and hands from being pinched or crushed in doors and door hinges.
Typical costs of a door stop and door holder: less than $5.
12. Use a Cordless Phone to make it easier to continuously watch young children, especially when they're in bathtubs, swimming pools, or other potentially dangerous areas.
Cordless phones help you watch your child continuously, without leaving the vicinity to answer a phone call.
Cordless phones are especially helpful when children are in or near water, whether it's the bathtub, the swimming pool, or the beach.
