How to Childproof Your Indian Home

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Your “home sweet home” can become a dangerous place for your child. As soon as a baby begins to crawl, parents must take adequate steps to make the home safe and hazard free for children. Remember, an accident can take place in just a fraction of a second!

 

Things You'll Need

Things you will need to guard your child against:

  1. Poisons
  2. Burns and shocks
  3. Bumps and bruises
  4. Suffocations
  5. Electric Outlets

Steps

1

Remove light weight furniture, retaining the heavy pieces which a baby or toddler cannot overturn, Rearrange closets and almirahs so that the light and small objects are placed on the top shelves. The bottom shelves should contain “safe” and sturdy objects.

2

Install one high cabinet, well beyond the reach of the child, which can store valuables and also hazardous materials

3

Remove internal locks inside the house so that the child cannot lock herself/himself in accidentally. Or move the locks higher up on the doors.

 

4

Put childproof latches, which are available at leading hardware stores on kitchen closets and medicine cabinets

5

How to deal with Poisons:

  • Be careful about potentially poisonous materials in household cleaners, hair dyes and hair sprays, shoe polish, kerosene. All these must be put back promptly after use. All such items should be stored in high cabinets or cupboards not accessible to the child.
  • All medicines including aspirin, cold medication, or vitamins must be kept in childproof bottles and you must keep them in a locked medicine chest.
  • You must have the number of a poison centre or hospital near your phone, or prominently displayed in your phone book or saved in your cell phone
  • In the event that the child does swallow something hazardous, keep syrup of ipecac handy. This can be used to induce vomiting.
  • After spraying your home with anti-cockroach or other insecticides, don’t allow the child the play in the room for half a day.
  • Don’t leave any aspirin or other medicines in your purse, which children are often able to open.
6

How to prevent Burns and Shocks:

  • Make sure to keep matches and lighters out of reach. Children are particularly fascinated by matches. So great care is necessary.
  • To prevent electric burns and shocks, plug electric outlets with plastic covers available in hardware stores.
  • Use extension cords only as temporary connections and make sure there are no hanging wires the child could pull.
  • If you do ironing at home, extra caution is required. Never, never leave an ironing board with a hot iron on it, unattended, even for a minute.
  • Extra care is needed in the kitchen. While cooking, turn pot handles towards the back of the gas stove. It might be better to use only the back burners until your child is sufficiently grown up.
  • Be very consciously careful while carrying hot food from the kitchen to the dining table. Make sure your child is not in the way.

 

7

How to avoid suffocations:

  • Plastic bags can easily suffocate a child. Never leave any lying around. You should not use plastic to cover a child’s mattress.
  • Be careful with small objects a child is likely to swallow. Don’t give the child toys with small parts that may come loose. Every child tends to put everything in the mouth. So extra care is needed.
  • Do not give the child foods such as carrot or apple pieces or hard sweets or toffees.
  • Be careful with anything in the house in which a child could get trapped, such an unused trunks or empty closets. Lock these when not in use.
8

How to deal with Bumps and Bruises:

  • Put gates at the top and bottom of stairs.
  • Keep as little furniture as possible the in room the child uses for play. Avoid furniture with sharp edges the child could bump into.
  • Put bars or tight-fitting screens on windows. Be careful when using the terrace, and watch the child constantly.

 

Tips

  • Write down the phone numbers/address to the nearest hospital and ambulance service - in case of an emergency.
  • If your child is unconscious try to administer CPR.

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