Home Safety

Safety begins at home

Every year, over 2,000 children die from an injury in the home and 3.5 million children are treated in the ER from common household injuries. Discover how you can protect your children at home with these essential safety tips.

Home Safety Tips

Falls

Falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injuries in children ages 0-19, affecting nearly 3 million children each year. The most serious of these are broken bones and head injuries.

Falling from windows or down stairs are the most common serious falls. Always make sure windows are secure and never left open around unsupervised children and use gates on stairs that are accessible by children, even from below.

For more tips on avoiding falls, visit our Fall Prevention page.

Drowning

Never leave your child unattended around water. Drowning is the leading cause of death in children under 4. Many of these deaths occur in pools, bathtubs and even buckets or troughs. Simple things like making sure you have everything you need before bath time can greatly reduce risk of drowning.

For more water safety, visit our Water Safety page.

Gun Safety

Always keep firearms safety stored and out of reach of children. Making sure your child knows what to do if they find a firearm is a huge step in keeping them safe.

For more tips on gun safety, visit our Gun Safety page.

Batteries

More than 2,800 kids are treated in the emergency room each year in the US after swallowing a button battery. Once swallowed, these batteries can become stuck in the throat and begin to burn through the esophagus.

Keep any items with these small batteries out of reach of children, including remotes, keys, electronic decorations and ore. Make sure all toys are of the appropriate age range and any battery compartments are properly secured.

Watch this eye opening video on what these little batteries can do when swallowed by a child:

Deadly Risks of Button Batteries

Toy Safety

Nearly 500 children a day are seen in the emergency room for toy-related injuries. Choking hazards are a big part of this risk. Always make sure that your child’s toys are rated for the appropriate age range and remove any possible choking hazards. This can also be an issue when younger children are playing with older friends or family members.

Safe Sleep

Over 1,000 infants die each year from sleep-related incidents like suffocation. Always let your baby sleep alone, on their back, on a flat surface, without any blankets or pillows.

For more tips on Safe Sleep, visit our Safe Sleep page.

TV & Furniture Tip Over

Always make sure TVs and dressers are safely secured to the wall. Mount TVs to the wall or stable piece of furniture. Dressers may seem secure until all of the drawers start to open; it’s always best to secure dressers and other unstable furniture to the wall with a bracket or strap.

Burns and Fire Prevention

Fire- and burn-related injuries are among the leading causes of injury to children under 5. To prevent burns, keep children at least three feet away from any hot surface including grills, stoves and heaters. It’s also a good idea to keep fire-building materials like matches, lighters and flammable materials out of reach of children.

For more tips on fire safety, visit our Fire Safety page.

Poison Prevention

The Poison Control Hotline handles over 2 million poisoning calls a year, and it's a good idea to save their number in your phone: 1-800-222-1222

Remember to keep medicines, chemicals and any other hazards out of reach of children and properly labeled. Without labels, children and even adults can struggle with safely identifying possibly hazardous materials like medicines or cleaning chemicals.

For more on Poison Prevention safety, visit our Poison Prevention page.