One of the most important things I’ve learned, is to not assume a child can’t do something.  More than once, my boys have proven me wrong…I take the initiative to try to be one step ahead and to make our home safer.

Fortunately, I learned early that the boys require a very watchful eye.  I have learned that almost anything they want to do, they will try to do more than once.

Things to consider when there are children in the home:

1. In the kitchen—Keep the handles of the cookware turned towards the back of the store. It is common for a child to reach out for the skillet or pan.  In my extended family, there have been multiple accidents involving stoves and hot food.  For this reason, I don’t even use the stone burners in the front if the kids are up. I do tell them to never touch the stove or the pans.  I tell them it’s hot and will burn them and it will hurt.  Explaining things to them is helping to protect them.
2. The kitchen knives and scissors are stored higher up, in the cabinets. For me, this works because the boys aren’t climbing the kitchen counters (just climbing everything else). I think this is because their favorite foods are stored in the fridge and in the pantry.
3. Secure the lower cabinets or consider storing toxic chemicals (including detergent and MEDICINE) somewhere out of reach. Stores generally have different options for baby proofing cabinets and doors, in the baby area.
4. Trash-While teaching the boys to clean up after themselves, the trash become a point of interest…this now means throwing away anything sharp or poisonous directly into the outside trash.
5. I am teaching them to keep their fingers away from the edges of doors (especially car doors), while opening or closing doors. This is one of those on-going things I mention from time to time. “You never put your fingers here.” “Watch out for other people’s fingers.”
6. I pay attention and watch as they unassumingly try to open something like a front door lock. I want to know what they can do. I have seen them unlock the front door, then relock it. If I had not been paying attention, I wouldn’t know that locks won’t keep them safe inside the home (while I am in another room).
7. I try to stay aware of what I’m doing, because they notice everything. This has forced me to be more thoughtful about what or how I am doing almost everything (properly using scissors, wearing safety goggles- one of them said “oh yeah, we should always use goggles!).
8. Be careful with angular furniture– honestly it seems like nothing is made with kids in mind. Yet, so many households have children.  I try to be aware of glass and angles, and any unsteady furniture.  In my house, certain furniture pieces would just be expensive safety hazards- I mean what’s the point!  If your kids have a lot of energy, are curious, and creative (like using anything they find to do whatever they can think of)- then you know what a major pain furniture shopping can be…I’ve put that on hold…besides they don’t care where their sticky (cute) fingers land after eating their favorite cookies. They just stick out their tummies and all is right in the world.
9. Be careful with the “they’ll learn” mentality. Some unpredictable accidents can’t be undone.  Accidents are accidents because we didn’t see “it” coming. So many people tell me, “They’ll learn, once their (fill in the blank) gets hurt.” No, not in this case.  Their whole lives are experiential, and I choose to try to keep their bodies safe (because after childhood passes, we have to trust in the foundation we helped to create with them.).
10. Window screens are very flimsy and unstable. It has been my experience, that children will try to climb bookshelves, window sills and fireplace mantels (yes, I have human children- not monkeys or cats or small rodents. Truthfully, they have given me a lot of knowledge and experience. I am grateful.) Oh, and I should mention that I have even seen quiet young lady children (quietly) decide to climb on dangerous stuff.  Assumptions can be very dangerous.  I think all children can periodically have a wild streak. I was a quiet, to myself type and I very occasionally tried things I was told not to do- just because I felt like it in that moment (and if there was an opportunity).
11. Consider taking down window blinds– the kind with the long cord you pull or release to raise or lower blinds. Or, at least consider tying that string up and out of the reach of children.  In school, a professor showed us an actual recording of a child accidentally strangling himself (he was fine and lived) while a group of children were playing in a room.  The whole incident happened very fast (My own kids have inadvertently wrapped pull cords (from toys) around their necks while trying to figure out how the toy worked).  I wanted to mention blinds specifically, because these types of blinds are still the most common in the stores.
12. I keep an eye on the staircase railing and beams or rails around upper story landings. Kids, pets, adults have a way of hanging on and weakening decorative structures that aren’t often made to support our weight in the long run.
13. Swimming pools. Many pools aren’t fenced, or they are unlocked and open.  I do tell the boys matter- of- factly, that pools can be dangerous, and that people and animals can die if they cannot swim or find a way out.  When we are not swimming in a pool, I must either be close to them or just away from the area with a pool.  They do not understand what it means to be playing too close and they don’t understand that they shouldn’t try to reach for a toy or other things, in the pool.
14. Pets. As a child, other people’s good dogs bit me more than once.  I learned that a loyal pet, is loyal to it’s owner, not necessarily a child who is learning about how to interact with people and animals. I also know a pet owner who insists her pet would never bite anyone, as that very dog was biting a child.  I saw this dog bite four different good children.  Later, this owner explained that some children will never learn anyway. I have nothing against animals. At times, I am frustrated that we struggle to respect an animal’s and a child’s space, by not protecting both from each other.

I also talk to the boys about not pushing or shoving each other.  Sometimes, they get excited and forget to be safe and courteous.  It’s a process.