From the prospective of a Boston child injury lawyer, there are numerous things we can do to keep our homes safe for children.
This year, during Spring-cleaning, we urge our clients to review anything and everything that can keep their children safe at home. One way to undertake the safety check, especially if you can engage older kids, is to travel around the home the way the kids do – look at each room, each hot water faucet, each toy, and each stairway, from their perspective.
With young children, plan for the next several stages. A baby that cannot crawl soon will! Plan for her getting into EVERYTHING she can toddle into. Have all draws and cabinets childproofed. Perhaps leave one here and there open able with safe items (plastic ware, etc.) so the child can explore and have the feeling of adventure with gown up tools.
Electric outlets should be sealed with safety plugs.
Windows are dangerous if children get to them. Screens do not prevent falls from windows. Ropes from blinds should be completely out of the way – not just temporarily.
Stairs need to be blocked from young children. Walkers can be extremely dangerous in homes with stairs. Our pediatrician made us agree we would not have one in the house!
Kitchen safety; keep children out of the way during cooking, and have all dangerous cleaning items in places that a child can never get to.
Review all rooms for small items that could cause choking.
Guns, knives and other potential weapons are safe -when in the hands of a grown up or a grown up supervised event. They cause fatalities when in the hands of someone not mature enough to handle them. Those folks with weapons and children should take a class on how to teach them.
Toys are safe, generally. However, there are many unsafe toys and they should be checked. In a study undertaken by the American Association for Justice, formerly the American Trial Lawyers Association, it was noted that while more than 30,000 tons of toys enter the US each year, only a small fraction of those are ever checked by US inspectors.