CHILDPROOFING YOUR HOME Safety tips Some 2,096 children in the United States, age 14 and under, most 4 and under, die from accidental injuries in the home each year, and millions more are injured.

Explore every room for hazards at a child’s eye level.

Anything that can fit through a standard 1 1‚Ñ2-inch toilet paper tube is a potential choking hazard.

Cleaning products, medications, alcohol, firearms and other potentially harmful products need to be stored out of reach and locked up.

Test your smoke alarms every month. They should be in every level of your home, outside each sleeping area and in every bedroom.

Check for fire hazards such as frayed electrical wires or flammable materials near heating appliances.

Supervise children while they’re in the bathroom, and follow other important safety guidelines. Set your water heater at 120 degrees F; test the bath water with your wrist or elbow before putting your child in it; keep toilet lids closed and locked, and doors to bathrooms and utility rooms closed; when not in use, put razors, curling irons and hair dryers out of reach.

Never leave young children alone in the bathtub.

Install a self-closing and self-latching gate around the home swimming pool.

Keep all plastic bags out of reach, and cover electrical outlets that are not in use.

To avoid choking, don’t allow children under age 3 to eat small, round or hard foods, including hot dogs, hard candy, nuts, grapes and popcorn.

To prevent serious falls, keep furniture away from windows; install guards or stops on windows that are not emergency exits; install safety gates at the top and the bottom of stairs; never use baby walkers; and use protective surfaces beneath playground equipment.

Lock up potential poisons out of children’s reach, including cleaning supplies, pet food, medicine, vitamins, beer, wine and liquor.

Read labels and follow directions when giving medicine to children.

Keep poisonous houseplants where children can’t reach them.

Install carbon monoxide detectors in every sleeping area and test them every month.

Keep guns locked, unloaded and where kids can’t reach them. Lock ammunition in a separate place.

Keep emergency numbers by every telephone. Call 911 if a child is choking, collapses, can’t breathe or is having a seizure. If you suspect a child has been poisoned, call (800) 222-1222.

Check your first-aid kit to make sure it is fully stocked. Make sure baby sitters know where to find first-aid supplies and how to handle an emergency.

For more information about kitchen safety, window blinds, cribs, windows, furniture and other hazards around the home, call Lucinda Sentner, Safe Kids Mahoning Valley coordinator, at (330) 675-7818 or visit www.usa.safekids.org.

Source: Safe Kids coalition