Monthly Newsletter

• Install smoke alarms outside bedrooms and on every level of the home. For added protection, consider installing smoke alarms in each bedroom. Test them at least once a month and change the batteries at least once a year.
• Practice fire escape routes and identify an outside meeting place.
• To prevent strangulation, avoid strings on children's toys and pacifiers, loose cords on household items and small objects.
• Check age labels for appropriate toys. Make sure toy storage chests have safety lid supports.

• To prevent poisonings, lock away all medicines and vitamins, even those with child- resistant packaging.
• Have syrup of ipecac on hand, but use only at the recommendation of a poison control center or physician.
• Never leave a young child alone in the bathroom, especially in the bathtub.
• Make sure bathtubs and showers have non-slip surfaces and grab bars-
• Keep electrical appliances, like hair dryers, out of the reach of children and away from water.
• Avoid scald burns by keeping children away from hot water taps and by lowering the water heater temperature.

• Keep knives, plastic bags, lighters and matches locked away from children.
• Avoid fires and burns by never leaving cooking food unattended, turning pot handles to the back of the stove, and keeping hot liquids and foods away from the edges of tables and counters.
• Keep appliance cords unplugged and tied up. Replace any frayed cords and wires.
• Avoid scald burns by keeping children away from the hot water taps on drinking water coolers.

• Avoid smoking in the house, and especially around children.
• Make sure furnaces, fireplaces, wood-burning stoves, space heaters, and gas appliances are vented properly and inspected annually.
• Use safety gates to block stairways (and other danger areas), safety plugs to cover electrical outlets, and safety latches for drawers and cabinets.
• Keep children-and the furniture they can climb on, away from windows.
• To prevent falls, keep hallways and stairways well lit and use non-slip backing for area rugs.
• Keep cleaning solutions, pesticides, and other potentially dangerous substances in their original, labeled containers, and out of the reach of children.

Adapted from the Housing and Urban Development "Is y our Home a Healthy Home for Children?"