GO TELL MOM Ep12 – Kids and Safety at Home
One of those lovely new mom thoughts that passed through my brain as I took my firstborn home was, “Look how small he is! Oh my God, how can I protect him?!” That’s the disadvantage to being a journalist…you read all the bad stuff about what can happen to babies and toddlers. The stuff about kids nearly electrocuting themselves, or putting a dent in their heads when they’re cruising furniture, or chowing down in the dogs’ food dish…well, yeah, that actually happened, for about three seconds, while his dad was laughing….all that stuff you worry about when you haven’t done the parenting thing before.
So, how do you keep your fresh new contribution to humanity safe?
Even before we had him, I duct-taped all the electrical cords to the wall. I had leftover paint for our mostly stucco walls – we lived in a house built in the 40s in California – so I slapped it on over the duct tape and convinced myself no one would notice. Especially no one under two feet tall. Yes, I put plugs in the unused sockets and a baby gate across the two steps into the sunroom, and my ex rigged the cabinet doors and toilets with baby locks, and our new coffee table had rounded corners. Heck, everything either of us identified as a threat suddenly had rounded corners.
We made sure that the slats on the crib were sturdy, that the sheet was fitted, that there was nothing that could block his airway. We weren’t a blinds kind of house, so we didn’t have to worry about keeping him away from window cords. We discovered that scrunchies could double as drawer pull locks, so the kid couldn’t make his own stair steps to get to the petroleum jelly on the top of the dresser. (My brother did that in our bathroom growing up and downed a whole bottle of orange flavored children’s aspirin. Which meant an unplanned trip to the hospital to get his stomach pumped when he was two.) Keep all medicines out of sight…especially the ones that taste like sweet tarts.
My brother loved to make himself breakfast at that age. Mom would wake to a crash, and stumble, bleary-eyed, into the kitchen and realize he had been investigating the fridge again when she saw the door open, a carton of eggs smashed on the linoleum, and an incriminating bottle of chocolate milk dribbled across the room. Mom was not happy about the mess, but she was really scared at the thought of my bro shutting himself in the fridge. He was pretty nimble and skinny back then. So, she would, no joke, take a rope and tie it around the refrigerator before going to bed. Two days later, the same crash woke her up. He pulled her tall kitchen counter stool over, climbed up it, and shinnied the rope off the top of the fridge. She laughed about it later, and attributed it to the family stubbornness gene. But it was mildly terrifying at the time, I’m sure.
That’s not the only stuff you have to worry about.
There’s toddlers’ habit of putting small objects in their mouths – especially if they’re colorful or shiny. Safekids.org warns you to keep small electronics that have button batteries – you know, like key fobs and remotes – out of sight from little eyes, and away from little fingers and mouths. If you suspect your child has eaten a battery, go to the hospital immediately. No, this too shall not pass.
Same goes for those colorful Tide pods or Cascade pods or any pods meant to clean your stuff. It will NOT clean the kid’s stomach in a good way. Yep, hospital visit. Now, my son never snacked on that stuff. But he did swallow a quarter when he was five, one he got for buying candy because his babysitter said he was well-behaved. Until then. TeleNurse told us he would, eventually, poop it out. Yep, he did.
When they hit five, it’s easy to let your guard down a little because, hey, they can talk. They’ve developed a personality. That does not mean they’ve developed common sense. They still like to explore, like in their crawling days. When I was in the “exploring” stage, I saw my mom cooking, and I reached up and touched a hot burner…for about a split second. Long enough to make an impact about not touching when Mom says, “don’t touch.” My mom later told me she timed out that split second as a life lesson. I still remember the tiny heart-shaped blister I got on my finger. And I didn’t touch the stove again until I learned how to use utensils.
These days, you need to worry about the microwave as much as the stove. SafeKids says do NOT let kids use it by themselves until they get the concept that steam can cause burns. Now, I love scented candles, but I didn’t use them until the kids understood they could set the house on fire if they were knocked over. You know how they learned? We’d take them to open houses with the fire department. By the way, creating a family home fire escape plan is a great idea. We had one, and actually did a drill once. The kids loved it.
Be wary with curling irons, if you’re letting your child hang out with you when you’re getting ready for work. I remember hearing about a famous singer’s toddler daughter grabbing a hold of her mom’s. Even after unplugging it, if it’s still hot, it still burns.
You hear all about bug bites hurting kids, and yes, you need to be careful. But also be careful about what you use to fight off those bugs, the CDC warns us. Make sure you’re using EPA-registered insect repellents that are safe and effective. And always follow the product label instructions. They also suggest spraying the bug spray on your hands, and then applying it to your child’s face.
Avoid leaving doors and windows open when kids are small. Locks are good. Locks prevent kids from falling out of windows or tripping over threshholds when they haven’t quite gotten the hang of those feet.
How many home improvement shows do you watch when your kid’s around? I used to watch a TON. They make it look almost easy to use tools. I had several tough-to-open tool boxes full of those kind of tools. Raisingchildren.net warns that you need to make sure your kid doesn’t think your tools are HIS tools to use. At least, not until he’s old enough to help you hang a door.
They recommend locking away saws and drills, and keeping lawnmowers, chain saws and other sharp tools out of reach. And make sure the kid’s not at your elbow when you’re trimming that board. If you’re going to grab a glass of lemonade in the middle of your project, ensure either the tools or the kid is locked up and out of harms way.
Sometimes actual toys can be harmful to kids…especially if they have small colorful pieces, and the kid likes to swallow small colorful pieces. Choking hazards should be marked on the box of new toys…but if you’re getting a hand-me-down, you need to be careful. And…you need to make sure it’s clean. Just sayin’.
Toys intended for older children may pose a risk to younger, curious siblings. Or, in my son’s case, an older sibling who thought it would be funny to swallow his little sister’s soccer ball for her doll. Yeah, he pooped that out, too…but he just as easily could have choked on it. Kids are quick, so keep-away is not a bad game to play with them when it comes to toys they could choke on. When you put the toys away, make sure there are no holes or hinges that could catch little fingers in whatever container you use.
If the toy is a riding toy, you might want to get a super cool helmet to go with it. Especially if it’s a bike or skateboard.
You know it’s not a good idea to let your eyes off kids when they’re around water. Not just pools – ANY kind of water. That includes tubs, toilets, buckets…all of that. They all pose a drowning hazard with young kids. As for the pool, make sure your fencing and your gate is sturdy. Verywellfamily.com suggests having a self-closing and self-latching gate that is tough for little kids to open.
The best way to keep your kids water safe, of course, is to make sure they can swim. When we lived in California, we took our six month old to Mommy and Me swim lessons, where he naturally learned to hold his breath when he was dipped in the water. He loved the lessons and the pool.
Here’s how quickly a kid can get into trouble. We were house hunting in Florida when our kids were small, and considered a home with a pool. Our kids were with us when we toured the house, and we stood in the backyard afterwards, talking about how great the bedrooms were for the kids, and how we’d need to fence off the pool, so the kids would have safe yard space. Then we heard a splash…and there was our three year old blinking up at us under water, and blinking his big blue eyes. His dad jumped in immediately to grab him. Yes, I thanked God we had the foresight to teach him to swim a little…but the fence was up as soon as we moved in. His little sister watched with wide eyes….and stayed away from the pool until she felt like she could paddle around…and only when she was with someone.
One of the best ways to protect your kids is to make sure someone always has their eyes on them. Kids are not little adults. They’re still learning how to function in the world, and they rely on you to give them the guidelines.