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Guide to Preventive Health:
Parent Safety Checklist
Guide to Preventive Health in Children:
The Pocket Guide to Good Health for Children, Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality (US DHHS)
Injury Prevention
More children die
from injuries than any other cause. The good news is
that most injuries can be prevented by following simple
safety guidelines. Talk with your doctor about ways to
protect your child from injury.
Safety Guidelines Checklist
Read the
list below and check off each guideline that you and
your family already follow. Work on those you don't.
Infants and Young Children
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Use a car seat at all times until your child
weighs at least 40 pounds.
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Car seats must be properly secured in the back
seat, preferably in the middle.
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Keep medicines, cleaning solutions, and other
dangerous substances in childproof containers,
locked up and out of reach of children.
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Use safety gates across stairways (top and bottom)
and guards on windows above the first floor.
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Keep hot water heater temperatures below 120
F.
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Keep unused electrical outlets covered with plastic
guards.
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Provide constant supervision for babies using
a baby walker. Block access to stairways and
to objects that can fall (such as lamps) or cause
burns (such as stoves or electric heaters).
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Keep objects and foods that can cause choking
away from your child. This includes things like
coins, balloons, small toy parts, hot dogs (unmashed),
peanuts, and hard candies.
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Use fences that go all the way around pools,
and keep gates to pools locked.
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Older Children
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Use car seat belts at all times.
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Children should use a car booster seat until
they are tall enough so that the lap belt stays
on their hips and the shoulder belt crosses their
shoulder.
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Make sure your child wears a helmet while rollerblading
or riding a bicycle.
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Make sure your child uses protective equipment
for rollerblading and skateboarding (helmet, wrist
and knee pads).
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Warn your child of the dangers of using alcohol
and drugs. Many driving and sports-related injuries
are caused by the use of alcohol and drugs.
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For All Ages
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Use smoke detectors in your home. Change the
batteries every year and check once a month to
see that they work.
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If you have a gun in your home, make sure that
the gun and ammunition are locked up separately
and kept out of children's reach.
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Never drive after drinking alcohol.
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Use car seat belts at all times.
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Teach your child traffic safety. Children under
9 years of age need supervision when crossing streets.
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Teach your children how and when to call 911.
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Learn basic life-saving skills (CPR).
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Keep a bottle of ipecac at home to treat poisoning.
Talk with a doctor or the local Poison Control
Center (1-800-222-1222) before using it. Post the
number of the Poison Control Center near your telephone
and write it in the space on the " Important
Information" form. Also, be sure to check
the expiration date on the bottle of ipecac to
make sure it is still good.
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Safe Kids Campaign Home Safety, Parents Checklist:
A general 10-point safety checklist to keep your children
safe at home.
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Adolescent
& Child Targets for Health Foundation, Inc. 
