If you’re a mom, you probably have concerns or questions about child safety. And you can find a great resource at the Home Safety Council. It’s a great interactive website with tips, links, resources, videos and more.

The Home Safety Council (HSC) is the only national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to preventing home related injuries that result in nearly 20,000 deaths and 21 million medical visits on average each year. Through national programs, partnerships and the support of volunteers, HSC educates people of all ages to be safer in and around their homes.

All ages are represented on this site, but here is a bit about the little-ones…

Keeping up with active and curious toddlers isn’t easy. To help parents, the Home Safety Council recommends taking a second look at home safety as soon as babies show the first signs of movement. Baby-proofing was a good start, but toddler-proofing is different and just as critical.

Nursery Safety Tips:

• Keep cribs and other furniture away from windows. Have window guards or window stops on upper windows. Make sure an adult can open the window fast in case of a fire.
• Secure tall pieces of furniture by anchoring them to the wall stud so they don’t tip over if your child tries to climb on them.
• Use safety gates at the nursery door and at the tops and bottoms of stairs. For the tops of the stairs, gates that screw to the wall are more secure than “pressure gates.”
• Window blind cords should not have a loop. Cut any loop in two pieces and place them up high where children cannot reach them.
• Pick up small items like buttons, coins, jewelry and small toys. If something is small enough to fit in a toilet paper tube, it is not safe for little children.
• Make sure a smoke alarm is inside or near every bedroom. Test each smoke alarm every month. Push the test button until you hear a loud noise. Put new batteries in your smoke alarms at least one time each year.

Bathroom Safety Tips:

• Set your water heater at 120 degrees F or just below the medium setting.
• Make sure the electrical outlet has a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). Test it monthly.
• Always stay close enough to touch your child when he or she is in or near the bathtub or near the toilet.
• Install special tub spouts and shower heads that prevent hot water burns. They will sense if the water gets hot enough to cause a burn and shut off the flow of water.
• Keep the bathroom door closed. Use an outside lock or door knob cover to keep young children out of the bathroom when you are not with them.
• Keep toilet lids shut and use toilet seat locks.
• Know the things in your bathroom that are poisons. Look for the words “Caution,” “Warning,” “Danger” or “Keep Out of Reach of Children” on the box or bottle. Store all dangerous products, including medicines, cosmetics (makeup) and cleaning supplies in a locked cabinet.

Check out the Home Safety Council for more safety tips for all ages. This site has a lot of great information.

Here are some posts from other women blogging about child safety issues.

Single Minded Moms has a Child’s Safety Camp Check List…

Okay, so you think you found the perfect summer camp for your child. Now what? Well, before you enroll, you need to make sure the camp lives up to their reputation. This means asking questions. Kim Estes, Director of Education and Outreach at P.E.A.C.E. of Mind, has prepared a list of important questions that you should be asking the camp director before you ship your child off. So, keep this check list handy:

From Parenting Help Me – Protect Your Children, safety tips with strangers…

“Don’t talk to strangers” is one of the foremost practices that a lot of families try to instill in children when it comes to guarding personal safety. In recent times however, it has proven to be both inadequate and ineffective. As the world of strangers is becoming bigger these days, thanks to the internet and a host of other advanced technology, our children are more exposed and more vulnerable to predators than ever before. Kidnapping does not just stop at that. The more terrifying reality of it is that kids do not only go missing; they could be in danger of being victims of sexual abuse, human trafficking, or both.

This is from a post by Amy – Child Health and Safety: Top 5 Back To School Tips…

It’s that time of the year. The change is imperceptible to everyone, but to you as a parent it’s consuming. You look over to the most precious thing in the world, your child: innocent, naive, and vulnerable. Thinking about your child growing older and becoming more independent sends your heart flying out of your chest. But you’re not alone, with these Top 5 Back To School Child Health and Safety Tips you can venture into the unknown confidently knowing you have done everything possible to protect your child.

This is an important bit of information I found at Family Ties…

The top four causes of unintentional death in children ages 0-4 are:

– suffocation/strangulation
– automobile accidents
– drownings
– fire/smoke

For parents of college students…

If you’ve blogged about child safety, please leave me a link in comments. Thanks.