Holidays And Our Childrens Safety

Childproofing for the Holidays

Most parents understand the importance of childproofing their homes. Gates on stairs, using smoke and carbon dioxide detectors, and keeping medicines and poisons out of reach are fairly standard in many homes. In addition to the risks of holiday decorations, younger children can get into trouble if they visit a home during the holidays (or anytime of year) that isn't childproofed.
It is especially likely that a home isn't childproofed if you are visiting grandma and grandpa and they don't usually have children in the house. In addition to not having safety locks on cabinets, gates on stairs, covers on electrical outlets, etc., they may also have prescription medications that aren't in a child resistant container. Things to be especially watchful for, and which you may want to ask about, include:

Do they have a pool? Does it have a fence with a self-closing, self-latching gate? Can the children get to the area where the pool is located?

Are there guns in the house? Are they stored unloaded in a locked box with the bullets locked separately?

Are there small objects, such as hard candy or nuts in candy dishes, where younger children can get them?

Are there gates on the stairs?

Are medications, poisons and household cleaners out of reach?
Do they have a pet that may harm the children, such as a Rottweiler, pit bull or German shepard?

If your child has food allergies, will they be serving that food?

You may think that you will just watch your child more closely, even if the house isn't childproofed, but this is hard if there are a lot of family members and friends present and the kids are all playing together. If there are going to be a lot of younger children present at a holiday gathering, you might consider volunteering to go over before hand and childproof the house for them

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