Child Safety Tips

Did you know that November is Child Safety and Protection Month? It was created to raise awareness about the potential dangers each and every day. Statistics from the CDC & Prevention Child Injury Report are a sobering reminder of the importance of this issue. It found that an estimated 9.2 million children annually had an initial emergency room visit for an unintentional injury. Furthermore, on average over 12,000 children die each year in the U.S. from an unintentional and often preventable injury. Thousands of children are treated or hospitalized each year because of accidental poisonings within their own home. Here are some tips to keep your children as safe as possible:

Household Safety

• Keep cleaning supplies, medicines, garden chemicals and toxic art supplies locked away or on a high shelf. Make sure these items are put away immediately after each use.
• Purchase over the counter and prescription medicines with childproof caps. Keep them on a high shelf or in a locked cabinet, not on your bedside table.
• Keep vitamins and minerals such as iron out of reach. They can be hazardous, even fatal to children.
• Never use food containers to store nonfood substances.
• Keep knives out of the reach of children.
• Make sure that electric cords from an electric knife, coffee maker or mixer are not dangling off the counter within the easy reach of a child.

Outdoor Safety

• Supervise children as they play.
• When using tricycles, bicycles, skateboards, roller skates, and ride-on toys, ensure that children of all ages are wearing a helmet to prevent head injury.
• Always use safety straps to secure children in strollers.
• Teach children not to play near the street.
• Explain that children must ask for help if their toys roll into the street or driveway.
• Ensure that all outdoor play areas are fenced, especially when they are near a pool, pond, or railroad tracks.
• Check the outdoor play area routinely. Remove all trash, sharp objects, tools, and lawn equipment that could result in an accidental injury.
• When playing at a park or playground, check to make sure the equipment isn’t too hot or too wet.

Your friends at Apollo Insurance Services care about you and your children’s safety. Let’s keep safety in mind at all times.