Home Safety

First Aid at Home

Any parent with a busy, active toddler or child knows that kids get hurt by accident from time to time. “Things are going to happen and kids will fall,” says Dr. Piroutek. Young children commonly get hurt at home from rolling or falling off their bed, from falling out of their strollers, hitting their heads or falling off a counter where they are sitting. Falls from monkey bars and injuries from playground equipment are also common, she says.

Learn more about First Aid at Home.

Keep Your Children Safe from Poisoning

National Poison Prevention Week is March 18-24. To keep your children safe from poisonous substances lurking around your home, check out the tips below recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Keep the poison control number, 1-800-222-1222, on or near every home telephone and save it on your cell phone. The line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Danger labels on a container

Home Safety Presentation

Siblings outside

This program educates parents and caregivers about the dangers present in the home and how to prevent unintentional injuries. Through this presentation, environmental changes and supervision will be addressed. This program can be brought to your community group. To schedule a visit, call 714-509-8887. This program is provided at no cost in English and Spanish.

Home Safety Tip sheets

Download Tip Sheet: English & Spanish

Children under the age of five are at the greatest risk of hurting themselves in the home because that is where children spend most of their time learning and growing. Supervision is the best way to keep your children safe. However, there are some things you can do to help make your child’s home safer.

Bathroom

  • Put a lock on the medicine cabinet to help prevent a poisoning.
  • Put a toilet lock on toilet lid to help prevent drowning.
  • Turn down hot water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or lower to help prevent scalds and burns.

Child’s Room

  • Move furniture away from windows to help prevent falls.
  • Wind up or cut blind cords to help prevent strangulation.
  • Always use straps on changing table to help prevent falls.
  • Always place baby on his/her back to sleep for safe sleep.
  • Remove soft bedding and stuffed animals from cribs to help prevent suffocation.

Family Room

  • Use window stops or locks so windows do not open more than 4 inches to help prevent falls.
  • Put corner protectors on tables with sharp corners to help prevent injuries from falls.
  • Keep toys and small objects away from children to help prevent choking.
  • Install outlet protectors in all outlets to help prevent electrocution.
  • Install stair gate to help prevent falls.

Kitchen

  • Always strap your child in a highchair to help prevent falls.
  • Cut all round-shaped foods (hot dogs, carrots, grapes) into small pieces to help prevent choking.
  • Install stair gates to help prevent falls.
  • Put sharp objects in a locked drawer to help prevent cuts.
  • Keep all buckets stored upside down to help prevent drowning.
  • Keep emergency phone numbers including Poison Control 1-800-222-1222 by the phone.

When an accident happens, CHOC is ready with the only pediatric-dedicated emergency department and trauma center in Orange County. For more important tips to prevent injuries in children and teens, visit choc.org/safety.