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Home » Family Articles » 12 Costeffective Ways To Keep Your Child Safe Around The Home

12 Cost-effective Ways to Keep Your Child Safe around the Home

About 2-1/2 million children are killed or injured by hazards in the home each year. The good news is that many of these occurrences can be prevented by using simple child safety devices that are readily available today.

You can childproof your home for a minimal cost without compromising the safety of your child and without paying a fortune for a professional to do the job. And safety devices are easy to find. You can buy them at hardware stores, baby equipment shops, supermarkets, drug stores, home and linen stores, and through mail order catalogues.

Here are some child safety devices that can help prevent many injuries to young children.

1. Safety latches and locks are a must have item on cupboards in kitchens, bathrooms, and other areas to prevent poisoning from medication and cleaning products. This will also prevent injuries from knives and other sharp objects.

Look for safety latches and locks that adults can easily install and use, but 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.

Typical cost of a safety latch or lock: less than $2.

2. Preventing falls or keeping children out of areas where danger lurks can be helped by the use of safety gates.

It is best to buy safety gates that children cannot dislodge easily, but that adults are able to open without any problems. For the top of stairs, gates that screw to the wall are more secure than "pressure gates."

Typical cost of a safety gate: $13 to $40.

3. Use Door Knob Covers and Door Locks to help prevent children from entering rooms and other areas with possible dangers. Door knob covers and door locks can help keep children away from places with hazards, including swimming pools.

Be sure the door knob cover is sturdy enough not to break, but allows a door to be opened quickly by an adult in case of emergency. By restricting access to potentially hazardous rooms in the home, door knob covers could help prevent many kinds of injuries.

Typical cost of a door knob cover: $1 and door lock: $5 and up.

4. Use Anti-Scald Devices for water taps and shower heads. Anti-scald devices for regulating water temperature can also help prevent burns.

Typical cost of an anti-scald device: $6 to $30.

5. Use Smoke Detectors on every level of your home and near bedrooms to alert you to fires. Smoke detectors are essential safety devices for protection against fire deaths and injuries.

Check smoke detectors once a month to make sure they're working. If detectors are battery-operated, change batteries at least once a year or consider using 10-year batteries.

Typical cost of a smoke detector: less than $10.

6. Use Window Guards and Safety Netting to help prevent falls from windows, balconies, decks, and landings. Window guards and safety netting for balconies and decks can help prevent serious falls.

Typical cost of a window guard or safety netting: $8 to $16.

7. Use bumpers on corners and edges to help prevent injuries from falls against sharp edges of furniture and fireplaces. Corner and edge bumpers can be used with furniture and fireplaces to help prevent injuries from falls or to soften falls against sharp or rough edges.

Typical cost of a corner and edge bumper: $1 and up.

8. Use Outlet Covers and Outlet Plates to help prevent electrocution. Outlet covers and outlet plates can help protect children from electrical shock and possible electrocution.

Be sure the outlet protectors cannot be easily removed by children and are large enough so that children cannot choke on them.

Typical cost of an outlet cover: less than $2.

9. Use a Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detector outside bedrooms to help prevent CO poisoning. A carbon monoxide (CO) detector can help prevent CO poisoning. Consumers should install CO detectors near sleeping areas in their homes. Households that should use CO detectors include those with gas or oil heat or with attached garages.

Typical cost of a carbon monoxide (CO) detector: $30 to $70.

10. Cut Window Blind Cords; use Safety Tassels and Inner Cord Stops to help prevent children from strangling in blind cord loops. Window blind cord safety tassels on miniblinds and tension devices on vertical blinds and drapery cords can help prevent deaths and injuries from strangulation in the loops of cords. Inner cord stops can help prevent strangulation in the inner cords of window blinds.

For older miniblinds, cut the cord loop, remove the buckle, and put safety tassels on each cord. Be sure that older vertical blinds and drapery cords have tension or tie-down devices to hold the cords tight. When buying new miniblinds, verticals, and draperies, ask for safety features to prevent child strangulation.

11. A common injury in children is crushed or pinched fingers and hands from doors. The use of door stops and door holders will help to avoid this type of injury.

Typical cost of a door stop and door holder: less than $4.

12. Use a Cordless Phone to make it easier to continuously watch young children, especially when they're in bathtubs, swimming pools, or other potentially dangerous areas.

Cordless phones help you watch your child continuously, without leaving the vicinity to answer a phone call. Cordless phones are especially helpful when children are in or near water, whether it's the bathtub, the swimming pool, or the beach.

Typical cost of a cordless phone: $30 and up.

Anne Wolski has worked in the health and welfare industry for more than 30 years. She is the owner of http://www.mummansun.com, a discount retail outlet, and a co-director of http://www.betterhealthshoppe.com which is an information portal with many interesting medical articles. She is also an associate of http://www.timzbiz.com which features many articles on internet marketing and resources.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

What Is A Tax Lien And When It Is Used?

A lien is defined as the right to hold or sell property that is owned by an individual who owes debt. The property is often sold to make payment on the debt or the property is held as security until the debt is paid off. There are many financial institutions that use a lien to obtain the amount of money owned to them. In addition to financial institutions, the federal government also uses tax liens to obtain money until their debt is paid off in full.

When the federal government makes a tax lien claim on a property, there is really nothing a taxpayer can do besides pay the amount of money they owe or try to work something out with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Since the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is mostly interested in getting their money and nothing else, taxpayers may wish to hire the services of a professional tax attorney. Professional tax attorneys are experienced with dealing with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and developing a solution that benefits everyone involved.

When the government takes hold of a property they have a number of things they can do. Most county governments offer what is called a tax sales auction. This auction is open to the general public and the public can purchase the property or purchase a debt that will be later paid off. When an individual is purchasing the debt instead of the property it is as if they are loaning money to the taxpayer who is behind on their taxes owed. The individual who agrees to pay the amount of taxes due on the property will have their name placed on a lien certificate. This certificate will be used in case a property owner still is unable to make good on the amount of money he or she owes. At this time the individual who purchased a lien on the property has the right to foreclose on the property if they wish to do so.

In addition to auctions where only a lien certificate is purchased, there are tax lien property sales. These sales are also open to the general public and they are often performed as an auction. When an individual is the winning bidder at deed sale they become the new owners of the property. These new property owners will not be responsible for any previous mortgages or previous liens. http://www.taxhelpdirectory.com/taxliencertificate/.

A tax lien is often imposed by the government as one last chance to try and obtain the amount of money a property owner owes them. Once a lien tax has been filed against an individual and their property, their credit may be damaged. A lien imposed by the government often prevents individuals from being able to purchase new properties, new vehicles, or even lease an apartment. If you are unable to pay the amount of money owed on your taxes it is important you contact a tax attorney today. Take action now and learn about your tax lien options before it becomes too late.