The safety of your family is a priority whether you have children or not. The safety of the home needs to be of paramount importance if you have children. Small children will find every and any tactic to injure themselves or end up in a forbidden area of the home. Teens come with very different safety issues as curfews need to be enforced. Luckily there are so many different options to monitor times that people in the family are entering and leaving the home. As parents, it is imperative that we focus on safety by assessing current risks in and around your home. The following are tips to help you keep your home safe for children of all ages.
Gates and Outlet Covers (Infants and Toddlers)
Outlet covers are extremely important as toddlers enjoy sticking whatever they can into an electrical socket. Finding these online is tremendously easy and affordable to prevent potentially catastrophic injuries.
Gates throughout the home to prevent children from going into certain rooms or at the top of a staircase are essential. Gates around a pool are the most important as unsupervised children drown in pools without gates on an annual basis. SteinLaw notes the number of ways a child could sustain injury, “a defective or poorly designed product (e.g., high chair breaks and the child falls and is injured), a swimming pool injury, a trampoline injury, an injury in school, on school grounds or in a school bus, poisoning, slip, trip and fall, negligent supervision by babysitter, daycare provider and more.” As you can see there are plenty of risks for your child so mitigating the highest number possible is important.
Be Realistic About Your Pets and Children (Small Children)
There are some dogs that simply do not like children or do not have the patience to deal with children. Being realistic about this can be a tough choice as the last thing anyone wants is the family dog to maul a small child. Teaching your children how to appropriately act with a pet is important. Plenty of dog bites and cat bites/scratches are preventable through teaching kids how to pet them. The identification of signs that a pet does not want to play should also be taught. Growling or hissing should indicate to your child the pet is not having the best of days. With this being said, there will be those dogs that allow toddlers to crawl all over them without an issue.
Alarms on Windows (Entire Family and Teens)
Sneaking out is a staple of rebellious teens along with coming home well after curfew. There are so many cameras that can pick up motion in and around the home. Investing in this can reduce the likelihood of a teen leaving the home unnoticed. One aspect to keep in mind is that some sensors can be manipulated with tape so they do not go off. This is commonly done on windows but technology is advancing to eliminate this possibility. Alarms shrieking is the perfect way to ward off an unwanted intruder whether the family is home or not.
Online Security (Important for All Ages)
Keeping your family secure online is imperative as there are a plethora of predators and scammers. Child predators try to attract children/teens of all ages by posing as someone much younger. Teaching your children the importance of never meeting someone they met online cannot be understated. In reality, this lesson could be lifesaving as children are abducted frequently by people they started interacting with online. Keep computers in the living room or do a weekly check of the computer. Parental blocking software can be very useful although a tech-savvy teen can easily bypass some of the lesser quality blockers. An open dialogue is important as blackmail is a common tactic of these predators.
Prep the Home for Natural Disasters Common in Your Family’s Location
In states like that of Florida keeping the entire family safe will require hurricane shutters. A storm shelter might be necessary in other areas like Oklahoma and Indiana where tornadoes level homes regularly. The one aspect to stress about natural disasters is to heed evacuation orders. While evacuating might not be the most convenient action to take with a storm approaching, it could save lives. Keeping a healthy amount of food and water in the home in cases of a hurricane approaching could be paramount. At times, depending on floodwaters families can be stuck for days on end without access to outside food and water.
A proactive approach to safety will reduce the likelihood of a minor or serious incident occurring. Do not simply assume everything will be fine as this can lead to disaster. Keep your family safe by tightening up areas you have identified to be at risk!
Article Submitted By Community Writer
