Maintaining a safe environment in your home is essential to your family’s well being.  Not only should all doors and windows be secured, so should all medicine cabinets as well as heaters, and ovens.

 

In order to decrease in home accidents and increase home safety, please ensure you have regular family meetings to discuss safety concerns.  In family meetings, allow your children to discuss their concerns as well. Doing so may introduce matters a parent may or may not have thought of.

 

Note: For children under the age of four parents may want to illustrate and explain as well, rather than having a family meeting.

 

DID YOU KNOW?

 

In less than three minutes anything can happen to your children, even if they are supervised. We all believe our children are safe in our homes, but there are many safety hazards we are unaware of. Studies over the past 20 years have found an average of over 5,200 children ages 13 and under are injured or die from window falls. This statistic does not include accidents where children die at the scene of the accident. Leaving children unattended in a room can result in a window accident. Securing windows in your home is important even if you don't have children but have children who occasionally visit.

 

Climbing on furniture near an unsecured window and swinging on a jungle gym have something in common: They can both lead to the number one cause of unintentional injuries for children under the age of 14. Most serious falls occur in the home and to children under the age of 3. However, children of all ages are at risk. This is in an attempt to save the lives of our young children.

 

PREVENTATIVE STEPS

 

It is important that you follow proper procedures in order to secure your child's safety at home. We all know about the safety plugs for outlets and guard gates to keep your children in designated areas. However, many of us are unaware of the dangers of windows. Not only should we keep furniture away from windows, but we must also have a safety latch installed to keep windows from opening more than 3 inches.

·Use window guards for all windows above the first floor. Know that screens don’t prevent falls. The guards should open in case of fire. Open windows without guards at the top only, or use window stops so they only open a few inches.

 

·Keep windows locked when they’re closed.

 

·Never let any children play or sit near open windows.

 

·Keep beds, cribs and other furniture away from windows so children can’t climb up.

 

·Do not let children play on fire escapes, balconies or high porches or decks.

 

·Check that all railings and windows are secure and have openings no more than three (3) inches.

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