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Summer Home Safety Tips to Keep Kids Safe

5 Tips from The Home Safety Council

By Melinda Copp

Summer vacation is here. And while that means more fun for families, extra time at home also presents a number of safety concerns that parents should be aware of.

With children out of school, they will be spending a lot more time at home, and possibly visiting relatives that may not have safety precautions in place. When kids have more time on their hands, their curiosity always creates potential for trouble.

The Home Safety Council has designated June as Hands on Home Safety Month. And they're working to let parents and grandparents know steps they can take to child-proof their home during the summer months, focusing on the five leading causes of home injuries to children – falls, poisoning, fires, choking and suffocation and drowning.

To help ensure a safe home for your kids, consider the following tips from the Home Safety Council.

Although parents often baby-proof stairs and other areas where babies and toddlers could potentially fall, they may not think about falling as a risk for older children. According to the Home Safety Council, falls are the leading cause of nonfatal home injuries among children under age 15, accounting for an average of 1.3 million injuries a year. So even with school-aged kids, parents need to be aware of potential falling hazards around the home.

To help prevent falls around your home, the first and most obvious place to start is at the stairs. You should have handrails along both sides so if your child slips he can grab the rail with his dominant hand whether heading up or down. You should check the lighting around your stairs and consider keeping a small light on through the night to help prevent accidents. And whenever you have a mobile baby or toddler in your home, even just for a visit, you should gate both the top and bottom of the stairs.

Want to see more?

• Summer Safety for Toddlers: Make Your Backyard a Danger-Free Zone
• Sun Smarts: A Crash Course in Sun Safety from Texas Children's Hospital Specialists
• Be "Danger Ranger" Ready! Animated, Action-Adventure Characters Empower Kids to Think Safe, Play Safe and Be Safe with 10 Important Summer Safety Tips
• Check out our Article Library.
• Talk about it!

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