Childproofing Your Home: 11 Safety Devices to Protect Your Children

Each year, millions of young children are injured by hazards in the home. The good news is that many of these incidents can be prevented by using simple child-safety devices.

Most child-safety devices are easy to find. You can buy them at hardware stores, baby equipment shops, supermarkets, drugstores, home and linen stores, and on the Web or through mail-order catalogs. You can even hire professionals to select and install the devices you need.

Any safety device you buy should be sturdy enough to prevent injury to your child, yet easy for you to use. Be sure to follow installation instructions carefully, because even the best devices, if not used properly, won’t be effective.

In addition, if you have older children in the house, be sure they routinely re-secure safety devices. Remember, too, that no device is completely childproof; determined youngsters have been known to disable them.

Use these recommendations from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to prevent the most common household injuries to young children.

1.  Use safety latches and locks for cabinets and drawers in kitchens, bathrooms and other areas to help prevent poisonings and other injuries. These help prevent children from gaining access to medicines and household cleaners, as well as knives and other sharp objects.

Look for latches and locks that adults can easily install and use, but which are sturdy enough to withstand pulls and tugs from children. Safety latches are not a guarantee of protection, but they can make it more difficult for children to reach dangerous substances. Even products with “child-resistant” packaging should be locked away, out of reach; this packaging is not “childproof.”

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2.  Use safety gates to help prevent falls down stairs and to keep children away from dangerous areas, such as stairs or rooms that have hazards in them. Look for gates that children cannot dislodge easily, but that adults can open and close without difficulty. At the top of stairs, use gates that screw into the wall rather than pressure gates.