Home Safety
Bathroom
To prevent children from wandering into the bathroom unsupervised, install a sliding bolt on the outside of the door, high up where children can't reach. For extra safety in the bathroom...
- Medicines
- "Child-proof" or "child-resistant" caps only delay the time it takes for a child to figure out how to open the bottle. Keep medicines, both prescription and non-prescription (such as cough syrup or vitamins) in a locked cabinet well out of the reach of children.
- Avoid taking medicine in front of children. They may try to imitate you.
- Never encourage your child to take a prescription by referring to medicine as "candy".
- Phone the Poison Control Centre if your child has swallowed a poison; they will tell you what to do. Keep a bottle of syrup of Ipecac to make the child vomit if recommended by poison control.
- Toilets
- Keep the lid of the toilet closed; children can drown in just three inches (five centimetres) of water.
- Avoid using solid toilet bowl cleaners in the tank; these colourful cleaners are inviting, and toxic, to children.
- Sinks & Bathtubs
- When running a bath or filling a sink, always run the cold water into the tub first, then add the hot water. Finish off with a little more cold water to cool down the faucet. Make sure to test the bath water with your elbow before bathing your child.
- Face children away from the taps and give them a toy or washcloth to play with; this will distract them from the hot water tap.
- Always supervise young children in the bath.
