How to childproof your home

Teach: How to childproof your home

What to say

To childproof a home, get down at your child's eye level in every room and look for what they could pull, climb, open or swallow. Anchor furniture and TVs to the wall, lock up cleaning products and medicines, put gates at the top and bottom of stairs, cover outlets, fit window stops, and keep button batteries and magnets out of reach. Save the poison control number, 1-800-222-1222.

What to show, in order

1. Crawl through each room at your child's height and note anything they could reach, pull or climb.
2. Anchor dressers, bookcases and TVs to the wall with anti-tip straps.
3. Move cleaning products, medicines, vitamins and alcohol up high and behind cabinet latches.
4. Install a hardware-mounted gate at the top of the stairs and a gate at the bottom.
5. Fit outlet covers, window stops that limit opening to four inches, and cordless or tied-up blind cords.
6. Keep button batteries, small magnets, coins and detergent pods locked away, and check remotes have secure battery doors.
7. Set the water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, and keep hot drinks away from table edges.
8. Save the poison control number, 1-800-222-1222 in the US, in your phone and on the fridge.

When to stop and call a professional

• A child swallows a button battery or magnet: go to the emergency department immediately, even if they seem fine.
• A child swallows or touches something poisonous: call poison control at 1-800-222-1222, or 911 if they are drowsy, having trouble breathing or seizing.
• You have a pool: have fencing and gates checked, and never leave a child near water unwatched.

The check question

Ask: Which gate belongs at the top of the stairs? Answer: A hardware-mounted gate screwed into the wall

From EveryManKnows. General information, not professional advice.