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Home, Safe Home

Part One

By Jenny Rackley

"It was the scariest thing I ever experienced," says Wendee Holtcamp. "We have three tall kitchen windows that come nearly down to the floor on one wall, and I had the windows open one day. " Wendee had previously told her three-year-old daughter Savannah not to lean on the screens. "One time she did it anyway and the screen broke out of the window frame. She fell halfway out and was clinging for dear life!" Wendee was alerted by Savannah's whimpering, a scared, quiet cry. Wendee reached out the window and grabbed Savannah. Now, she keeps those windows closed and locked at all times.

A childproofing near-miss. It's happened to almost all of us. About all we can do as conscientious parents is to educate ourselves about childproofing and safety, then look at our house through your child's eyes. Says Janis Grusz, from Safety for Toddlers in Kirkland, Washington, "Childproofing is eliminating risk by establishing lines of defense." It may take some time to do, but it is worthwhile to give your house a "once-over" to evaluate for risk.

You probably think you have heard it all before. However, it is worthwhile to check again. Things vary from child to child and from house to house. We had to re-childproof when we moved, and after we had our second baby. She is a climber, so we have to be much more concerned with what is on a countertop, or the top of the refrigerator (she got the candy I put up there down!)

Does your whole house have to be safe? "Not necessarily," says Grusz. You may have one spot in the house that is safer than others. "That is one thing that is often overlooked by parents of toddlers," Grusz says. "You can use gates to keep the children in a smaller area, within eyesight." That small area can be ultra-safe, so the child can feel free to explore and play.