Each year, children are injured by hazards in and around the home. 

The good news is that the risk of injury can be reduced or prevented 

by using child-safety devices and reminding older children in the house 

to re-secure safety devices after disabling them. 

Most of these safety devices are easy to find and are relatively inexpensive. You can buy them at hardware stores, baby equipment shops, 

supermarkets, drug stores, home improvement stores, on the Internet and 

through mail order catalogs. Safety devices should be sturdy enough to 

hinder access and yet easy for you to use. 

To be effective, they must be properly installed. Follow installation 

instructions carefully. Remember, too, that no device is completely 

childproof; determined youngsters have been known to overcome or 

disable them. 

Here are some child safety devices that can help reduce injuries 

to young children. The red numbers correspond to those on the image 

following the text. 

Use Safety Latches and Locks1 for cabinets and drawers 

in kitchens, bathrooms, and other areas to help prevent poisonings 

and other injuries. Safety latches and locks on cabinets 

and drawers can help prevent children from gaining 

access to medicines, household cleaners, 

matches, or cigarette lighters, as well as 

knives and other sharp objects.

Even products with child-resistant 

packaging should be locked away and 

kept out of reach. This packaging is not 

childproof. Look for safety latches and 

locks that adults can easily install and use, 

but are sturdy enough to withstand pulls 

and tugs from children. 

Use Safety Gates2 to help prevent falls down stairs and 

to keep children from entering rooms and other areas with possible 

dangers.

Look for safety gates that children cannot dislodge easily, but that 

adults can open and close without difficulty. For the top of stairs, only 

use gates that screw to the wall.

Use safety gates that meet current safety standards. Replace older 

safety gates that have “V” shapes that are large enough to entrap a 

child’s head and neck.

Use Door Knob Covers and Door Locks3 to help prevent 

children from entering rooms and other areas with possible dangers. 

Door knob covers and door locks can help keep children away from 

places with hazards. 

Be sure the door knob cover is sturdy, and allows a door to be 

opened quickly by an adult in case of emergency. 

Use Anti-Scald Devices4 for faucets and 

shower heads and set your water heater temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to help 

prevent burns from hot water. Anti-scald 

devices for regulating water temperature 

can help reduce the likelihood of burns. 

Use Smoke Alarms5 on 

every level of your home, inside each 

bedroom, and outside sleeping areas 

to alert you to fires. Smoke alarms are 

essential safety devices for protection 

against fire deaths and injuries.

Check smoke alarms once a month to make sure they’re working. 

Change batteries at least once a year or consider using 10-year 

batteries for alarms. 

Use Window Guards and Safety Netting6 to help prevent 

falls from windows, balconies, decks, and landings. 

Check these safety devices frequently to make 

sure they are secure and properly installed 

and maintained. Limit window openings 

to four inches or less, including the space 

between the window guard bars. If you 

have window guards, be sure at least one 

window in each room can be easily used 

for escape in a fire. Window screens are not 

effective for preventing children from falling 

out of windows. 

Use Corner and Edge Bumpers7 to 

help prevent injuries from falls against sharp edges of furniture and 

fireplaces. Be sure to look for bumpers that stay securely on furniture or 

hearth edges. 

Use Outlet Covers and Outlet Plates8 to help prevent 

electrocution. Outlet covers and outlet plates can help protect children 

from electrical shock and possible electrocution. 

Be sure outlet protectors cannot be easily removed by children and 

are large enough so that children cannot choke on them. If you are 

replacing receptacles, use a tamper-resistant type.

Use a Carbon Monoxide (CO) Alarm 9 to help prevent CO 

poisoning. All consumers should install CO alarms near sleeping areas 

in their homes. Change batteries at least once a year. 

Use a Tassel on Each Separate Window Blind Cord 

and Inner Cord Stops on Mini Blinds10 to help prevent 

strangulation. 

For older mini blinds, cut the cord loop, remove the buckle, put tassels on each cord and put inner cord stops on the cords two inches from 

the headrail. Be sure that older vertical blinds and drapery cords have 

tension or tie-down devices to hold the cords tight. When buying new 

mini blinds, verticals, and draperies, ask for safety features to prevent 

child strangulation, and consider buying cordless products.

You can get window blind cord safety information and free tassels by 

calling 800-506-4636 or visiting www.windowcoverings.org.

Use Anchors to Avoid Furniture and Appliance Tip-Overs

11 . Furniture, TVs and ranges can tip over and crush young children. 

Deaths and injuries occur when children climb onto, fall against or pull 

themselves up on television stands, shelves, bookcases, dressers, desks, 

chests and ranges. For added security, anchor these products to the floor 

or attach them to a wall. Free standing ranges and stoves should be 

installed with anti-tip brackets.

Use Layers of Protection with Pools and Spas12 . A barrier 

completely surrounding the pool or spa including a 4-foot tall fence with 

self-closing, self-latching gates is essential. If the house serves as a side 

of the barrier, doors heading to the pool should have an alarm or the 

pool should have a power safety cover. Pool alarms can serve as an 

additional layer of protection. 

Sliding glass doors, with locks that must be re-secured after each use, 

are not an effective barrier to pools.

Childproofing Your Home

12 Safety Device s to Protect Y our C hil d ren

Childproofing Your Home

ren d hil C our Y to Protect s 12 Safety Device

THIS BROCHURE BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814

Web site: www.cpsc.gov

Toll-free hotline: 1-800-638-2772

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) 

is a federal agency that helps keep families and children 

safe in and around their homes.

Go to www.cpsc.gov to check for recalled products and 

sign up for automatic e-mail recall notifications.

Publication 252 112008
Childproofing 

Your Home

1 2 S a f e t y D e v i c es t o 

Protect Y our C hild ren

Child safety devices are an important aid

 to parental supervision. Here are 12 child 

safety devices that will help keep your home—and 

children—safer.

Use SAFETY LATCHES and LOCKS

1 for 

cabinets and drawers in kitchens, bathrooms, and 

other areas to help prevent poisonings and other 

injuries.

Use SAFETY GATES

2 to help prevent falls 

down stairs and to keep children from entering 

rooms and other areas with possible dangers.

Use DOOR KNOB COVERS and DOOR 

LOCKS

3 to help prevent children from entering 

rooms and other areas with possible dangers.

Use ANTI-SCALD DEVICES FOR FAUCETS and 

SHOWER HEADS

4 and set your water heater 

temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to help 

prevent burns from hot water.

Use SMOKE ALARMS

5 on every level of your 

home, inside each bedroom and outside sleeping 

areas to alert you to fires.

Use WINDOW GUARDS and SAFETY 

NETTING

6 to help prevent falls from windows, 

balconies, decks, and landings.

Use CORNER and EDGE BUMPERS

7 to help 

prevent injuries from falls against sharp edges of 

furniture and fireplaces.

Use OUTLET COVERS and OUTLET PLATES

8

to help prevent electrocution.

Use a CARBON MONOXIDE (CO) ALARM

9

near sleeping areas to help prevent CO poisoning.

Use a TASSEL ON EACH SEPARATE WINDOW 

BLIND CORD AND INNER CORD STOPS ON 

MINI BLINDS

10 to help prevent strangulation.

Use ANCHORS TO AVOID FURNITURE AND 

APPLIANCE TIP-OVERS

11

.

Use LAYERS OF PROTECTION WITH POOLS 

AND SPAS

12

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