4 At-Home Factors That Could Seriously Impact Your Child’s Health

Your kids are more likely to be injured in your home than anywhere else. Many of these injuries are preventable by taking some safety measures. Here are some of the things to consider in your home that could impact your child.

Take Driveway Safety Under Consideration

Children under the age of six are the most at risk for driveway accidents. This is because they are harder to see when backing your car out. They are also more likely to crawl under your vehicle while playing. Many injuries and deaths can be prevented by practicing good driveway safety techniques. Teach your kids to watch for cars. Sometimes these accidents occur because the child ran behind a car trying to get to a parent. New cars are required to have back-up cameras to prevent these types of injuries.

Utilize Window Locks

Every year hundreds of children are injured due to falling out of windows. This could have easily been prevented. You should install window locks on all of your windows so that they can only open a few inches. Many parents assume that young children aren’t able to open the windows. Kids learn very quickly by watching you. That screen won’t prevent them from falling out of the window. Another thing to help stop this injury is to not have furniture next to the windows. Kids can climb onto the furniture and push on the window.

Rodents Carry Disease

Mice and rats can live in the walls and attic space of your home. Their feces can cause disease in people. The fleas that live on rats can also cause disease. Consider using an exterminator, like that from Greenleaf Organic Pest Management, to eliminate this threat in your home. You will also need to clean up the feces and dust left behind from the rodents. Your kids can breathe the debris in and become ill. Use the recommended guidelines from the CDC when cleaning the rodent debris. Having a home that is free of a rodent infestation will make it healthier for everyone in the family.

Identify Choking Hazards

Young children put everything into their mouths. Get down on your hands and knees every day to ensure that there aren’t any choking hazards in your home. Also be mindful of devices that have batteries. Smaller button style batteries pose a choking risk. Make sure to keep devices that contain batteries out of reach of young kids. Check your kids’ toys for small parts. Broken toys should be removed. Make sure that your blinds don’t have cords. These present a strangulation risk for kids. Consider purchasing blinds without cords or get a cord retainer.

Keeping your children safe takes some preventative measures. Use these guidelines to make your home safer for your children.