Your services do not end when the inspection does
Your services do not end when the inspection does
All medications should be stored in locked cabinets or containers out of children's reach. Many children's medications taste good and children may consume entire bottles if accessible. Vitamin gummies and liquid medications are particularly appealing to young children.
Active toddlers are tall enough to reach bathroom counters and may climb to access medicine cabinets. Medications designed for children often taste good, leading children to consume entire bottles if accessible. Liquid medications can be mistaken for juice, and pills can look like candy to young children.
Search: "medication safety locks and storage for children"Children under 6 should not sleep in top bunks due to their poor coordination and tendency to roll during sleep. Falls from top bunks commonly cause head injuries, fractures, and concussions. Guardrails may have gaps large enough for a child's body to slip through while their head remains trapped.
Search: "bunk bed safety guidelines and age recommendations"Paint, paint thinner, turpentine, and other solvents should be stored in locked garages or sheds out of children's reach. Fumes from these products can cause dizziness, nausea, and respiratory problems, and ingestion can be fatal.
Search: "safe paint storage away from children"Homes built before 1978 likely contain lead-based paint, and deteriorating or peeling paint creates chips that children may eat due to the sweet taste. Lead paint was also common on older wood windows, and can create lead dust when the windows are operated. Lead poisoning causes developmental delays, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and can affect virtually every system in the body. Any peeling paint should be addressed professionally using lead-safe practices, and children should be tested for lead exposure if living in older homes.
Search: "lead paint hazards children testing"All tools should be stored in locked cabinets or toolboxes. Sharp tools, power tools, and small hardware pose multiple hazards including cuts, electrical shock, and choking. Workshop chemicals and automotive fluids must also be secured.
Dangling appliance cords can be pulled, bringing hot coffee makers, slow cookers, or irons down onto a child. Children can also bite through cords causing electrical shocks or start fires by inserting objects into power strip outlets. Electrical burns to the mouth from biting cords can cause severe disfigurement.
Search: "cord management and power strip safety covers"Enhanced security may be needed as children become more adept at opening standard doorknob covers. Some areas may require keyed locks or slide bolt locks that children cannot operate.
Active toddlers may be able to defeat standard window locks and can climb on furniture to reach higher windows. Window guards or enhanced locking mechanisms become more important as children grow stronger and more resourceful.
Children in this age group are climbers and have no understanding of consequences, often using furniture as ladders or pulling on items to stand. From 2020 to 2022 there was an average of 17,800 emergency room treated injuries and from January 2013 to July 2023 there were 217 reported fatalities due to tip-over incidents. Tall furniture (dressers, bookshelves, entertainment centers) and flat-screen TVs should be evaluated for anchoring needs.
Search: "how to anchor furniture and TVs to prevent tip-overs"Children in this age range are fascinated by fire but cannot understand its danger or control it once started. House fires started by children playing with lighters or matches kill hundreds of people annually. Children often hide after starting a fire out of fear rather than alerting adults.
Search: "fireproof lighter and match storage"Pet food poses a choking hazard and may contain ingredients inappropriate for humans, while standing water in pet bowls can harbor bacteria. Active toddlers may eat pet food out of curiosity or mimicry of pets.
Search: "keeping pet food away from toddlers"Many common houseplants are toxic if ingested, including pothos, philodendron, dieffenbachia, and peace lilies. Children at this age put objects in their mouths less frequently than younger toddlers but are curious about berries, flowers, and leaves. Even small amounts of certain plants can cause serious illness, with some causing throat swelling that blocks breathing.
Search: "toxic houseplants and child safety"Child-safe scissors and craft tools should be monitored during use, while adult scissors, box cutters, and utility knives must be stored in locked drawers. Active toddlers experiment with tools they see adults using and don't understand the cutting danger. Running with scissors, using them on inappropriate materials, or cutting hair, clothing, or skin are common accidents in this age group.
Search: "safe scissors storage and supervision for toddlers"Space heaters should have automatic tip-over shutoff switches and overheat protection features to prevent fires. Active toddlers can knock over heaters during play, cover vents with toys or clothing, or place flammable materials too close to heating elements. Even heaters advertised as "cool touch" can cause burns, and all heaters should have a three-foot clearance zone around them.
Search: "space heater safety features for homes with children"Children in this age group are developing the fine motor skills to pull triggers and are intensely curious about forbidden objects. Accidental shootings by young children most commonly occur when they find unsecured firearms while playing or exploring. Many children do not understand that real guns cause real injuries, confusing them with toy guns.
Search: "safe gun storage with trigger locks and safes"Freestanding ranges and stoves can tip forward when a child climbs on an open oven door or pulls on the door handle, crushing or burning the child. Active toddlers use oven doors as steps to reach countertops and don't recognize the tipping risk. Anti-tip brackets are often not installed even though they come with new ranges.
Search: "oven anti-tip bracket installation"Knife blocks should be moved to high shelves or locked areas as children become tall enough to reach countertops. Magnetic knife strips should be positioned well above child reach.
Microwave door locks prevent children from operating the appliance unsupervised. Children may place inappropriate items in microwaves, creating fire or explosion risks.
Enhanced security is needed for detergent storage as children become more determined to access restricted areas. High shelves and locked cabinets are essential.
Front-loading washers and dryers can be dangerous if children climb inside. Door locks prevent children from accessing these appliances unsupervised.
Free-standing bird baths and water features can tip over onto children who pull on them or try to reach the water. Even shallow water in bird baths poses a drowning risk for toddlers who fall face-first into the basin. The standing water also breeds mosquitoes and harbors bacteria that can cause illness if children drink from or play in the water.
Search: "securing bird baths and water features"Low-voltage landscape lighting and solar lights can have exposed wiring or batteries that active toddlers can access. String lights and decorative fixtures hung at low heights can be pulled down, creating strangulation hazards from cords or electrical shock from damaged wiring. Hot bulbs in decorative fixtures can cause burns, and broken glass from damaged lights creates laceration risks.
Search: "outdoor lighting safety with young children"Children playing in driveways are not visible in vehicle blind spots, and backover accidents kill approximately 50 children annually. Young children do not understand that vehicles can't see them and may suddenly run behind cars. Backup cameras help but do not eliminate blind spots, and children can enter the area after the driver has checked. Cul-de-sacs can often create a false sense of security, since through traffic may not be common, but kids may dart out from parked cars when playing.
Search: "preventing backover accidents with children"Heavy garden statues, decorative rocks, and yard ornaments can tip over onto children who climb on them or pull at them. Some statuary has sharp edges, points, or breakable parts that cause lacerations. Cement and stone figures are heavy enough to cause crush injuries, fractures, or head trauma if they fall on a child.
Search: "anchoring garden statues and ornaments"Grills remain hot enough to cause burns for up to an hour after use, and children are attracted to the smell of cooking food. Propane tanks can be knocked over or turned on by curious children, creating fire and explosion risks. Grill brushes can leave behind wire bristles that, if ingested with food, require emergency surgery.
Search: "grill safety barriers and propane storage"Riding lawn mowers can run over children who are not visible to the operator, and children can fall off rider mowers or have limbs caught in blades. Push mowers can throw rocks and debris at high speeds, causing severe injuries. Garden tools with sharp edges pose laceration risks, and gasoline/oil for equipment are poisonous if ingested.
Search: "lawn mower safety around children"Outdoor stairs, porch steps, and deck stairs without railings or with railings only on one side pose significant fall risks. Toddlers have poor balance and depth perception, making stair falls likely even on shallow steps. Weather conditions make outdoor stairs especially dangerous when wet, icy, or covered with leaves, and the transition from indoor to outdoor surfaces can be slippery.
Search: "installing railings on outdoor stairs"Outdoor plants like oleander, castor beans, foxglove, and yew are extremely toxic and can be fatal if ingested. Children may eat berries or flowers that look appealing without understanding the danger. Some plants cause severe reactions from mere skin contact, and symptoms may not appear for hours after exposure.
Search: "identify poisonous outdoor plants for child safety"Porch railings must be sturdy enough to withstand a child's weight and have spacing no greater than 4 inches between balusters. Deteriorating wood railings can break under pressure, and loose railings give a false sense of security. Children who climb on railings or push against them during play can fall if railings are not properly secured to posts and the house structure. (IRC Building Code - 4-inch spacing requirement)
Search: "porch railing safety inspection"Hard surfaces under playground equipment (concrete, packed dirt, grass) do not adequately cushion falls and cause severe injuries. Falls are the leading cause of playground injuries, with head injuries being the most serious. Proper surfacing materials (wood chips, rubber mulch, sand) should extend at least 6 feet in all directions from equipment. Metal equipment may also become very hot during sunny days and burn bare skin.
Search: "safe playground surfacing materials and depth"Playground equipment should be spaced appropriately to prevent children from jumping between structures or colliding during play. Adequate space around each piece of equipment is essential for safe use.
Impact-absorbing surfaces are crucial under and around playground equipment. Materials should be maintained at proper depth and replaced when worn.
Children under 6 lack the coordination and bone development for safe trampoline use, and most trampoline injuries in this age group occur even with adult supervision. Fractures, sprains, and head injuries are common, with collision injuries occurring when multiple children jump together. Netting and padding reduce but do not eliminate injury risk, and children should never be allowed to do flips or somersaults. Trampolines may also affect insurance costs due to known risks.
Search: "trampoline safety guidelines for young children"Children can transition to forward-facing car seats after age 2, but only after reaching the minimum weight and height requirements for rear-facing seats. The longer a child remains rear-facing, the better the protection.
Always follow manufacturer guidelines for height and weight limits. Children should use the car seat until they reach the maximum limits, then transition to a booster seat.
Proper installation is crucial whether using LATCH system or seat belt. The car seat should not move more than one inch in any direction when tested at the belt path.