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Children's Health Children's Safety

Avoiding Common Pitfalls When Baby Proofing Your House

Summary & Participants

Find out how to protect your child from the kind of accidents in the home that lead to the emergency room.

Medically Reviewed On: August 07, 2008

Webcast Transcript

ANNOUNCER: Any parent with a young child knows there are going to be some falls. But there are ways to prevent the kind that lead to the emergency room.

Michael Kelley, Owner, BabySafe: A very important area in the house, of course, is the top of the stairs. It's very simple for the child to come running, slip, fall right down the stairs.

ANNOUNCER: Professional child-proofer Michael Kelley shows parents how to make their home safer.

Michael Kelley, Owner, BabySafe: We can put a nice wooden gate here for you which attaches between the wall and the baluster. You lock it when you want to and it keeps him from getting down the stairs. The situation you always want to avoid, trying to use a pressure gate at the top or the bottom of the stairs. As the child gets older and larger, they're going to be able to push it over, then it becomes a nice slide to go down the stairs.

ANNOUNCER: A safety gate at the bottom of the stairs is just as important.

Michael Kelley, Owner, BabySafe: What a lot of people don't realize is that, at the bottom of the stairs, if there's not a gate, the child can climb the stairs, find the gate at the top closed. It's going to, he's going to have to turn around and come back down. It's like having no gate at all.

ANNOUNCER: Balconies with railings spaced too far apart are also a danger zone.

Michael Kelley, Owner, BabySafe: This one's three and a half.. Anything over two and a half inches is considered dangerous. Their bodies might be able to slip through. Very simple fix for this is just a piece of clear Plexiglas that gets tie-wrapped around the newel posts. Doesn't do any damage to the railing at all.

ANNOUNCER: And think again if you’re using plastic covers like this to protect your child from outlets. Experts say they’re easy for little fingers to remove.

Michael Kelley, Owner, BabySafe: We actually recommend that you put a plate on here, a safety plate. These slide over to one side, so that, as the plug's pulled out, they slam shut and the child can't get their fingers or anything else in there.

ANNOUNCER: Accidents happen, even in a child proofed house, so it’s important to post emergency numbers near the phone. And don’t forget to clue in the babysitter.

Michael Kelley, Owner, BabySafe: You want them to know the address of the house they're at, the phone number of the house they're at, your cell phone number, and any allergies or medications that the child needs. Very important.

ANNOUNCER: Thanks for joining us on today’s Once Daily.