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Home, Safe Home

Part One

By Jenny Rackley

Another handy aid is a cordless phone. It is very convenient to be able to bring the phone with you wherever you and your toddler are. Then you won't be tempted to leave your toddler alone in the bathtub when the phone rings.

When you inspect your home, get down on the floor and look at it from a child's perspective. Think how your children think. It may be worthwhile to have a friend inspect your home, and you inspect hers. Or, hire a professional safety expert like Grusz to look at hazards (you'll find them under safety consultants in the yellow pages.)

Use this checklist to identify areas of your house or apartment that need work.

Danger to kids can occur anywhere in your house. Here are some common hazards that occur house-wide and what to do about them.

• Cords to blinds or drapes: Use cleats or shorten the cords because they pose a strangulation hazard.
• Electrical outlets: Use plastic inserts or replace the outlets with ones which snap shut when a plug is removed.
• Electrical cords: Tuck away appliance or lamp cords because toddlers can pull the appliance down with them. Toddlers teething or biting cords may experience serious facial damage or burns.
• Stairs: Use gates to block a child's access.
• Sharp corners and edges:
  
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