Safety 101: General Toddler Safety Tips

Here are some general toddler safety tips to add to the list for the bedroom, kitchen and bathroom lists.  I realize some of them are quite obvious, but in our busy day we sometimes over look the obvious.

*Don't let your toddler walk or run around with glass objects in their hand, sharp objects in their hand or anything in their mouth

*Keep sharp objects out of their reach.  This includes objects that they can climb to get to.  Toddlers can be quite resourceful when they want to be.  Vaccum often to keep small items off the rug.

*Cover sharp corners on furniture, especially that coffee table.  Many bumps have risen on my own children's heads when they were first learning to walk.

*Scan your house for small objects that your toddler can get to.  Toddlers explore their world often times by putting things in their mouth.  Choking is a leading cause of death among toddlers.

*Block steps with an approved baby gate both at the top and bottom of the steps. This is a huge pain for the adults to climb over, but it really is important to preventing toddler injuries.

*Use plastic whenever possible.  Glass and toddlers don't mix.

*Install vent locks or a window guard on upper story windows to keep them from opening more than three and a half inches.

*Make sure TV stand is sturdy and wires are out of the reach of toddler.

*Cover outlets as I have known many toddlers who loved to stick things in the outlet.  One even stuck their tongue in it. 

*Don't run fans on the floor, toddler fingers are small enough to fit through the spokes.

*Keep purses out of reach.  They usually contain many small objects and pills.

*Keep cleaning and other products in their original containers to avoid any mix up. (This is a good one at any age)

Safety 101: Keeping Your Toddler Safe in Their Bedroom

A few simple rules to follow to keep your toddler safe in the bedroom:

*Make sure the crib mattress fits tightly in the crib.  You should not be able to fit more than two fingers between crib and mattress.  Toddler’s head could get trapped between mattress and crib rails

*If you are using an older crib make sure that the crib slats are no more than 2 3/8 inches apart (new cribs meet this requirement).  In addition make sure that there are no missing rails.

*Make sure all hardware on crib is properly installed and tightened.

*The use of bumper pads, pillows, heavy quilts, and stuffed animals is not recommended for children under the age of twelve months.  Use sleepers instead.

*Try not to place toddler’s crib by a window.  If you must place it by a window, make sure it is locked and/or secured out of the reach of tiny toddler hands as they can be quite resourceful when they want to be.

*Make sure there are no blind cords hanging down where toddler can get to them.  This is true for the crib and any room.  We wound our blind cords up very high and secured them with either an electrical tie or wrapped and tied it up well out of the reach of our children.  Several toddler’s have choked to death on these cords.

*Make sure that toddler’s closet can be opened from the inside, so that they do not become trapped.  One thing that we did was take the closet door off and allow our toddler access to the closet.  We placed their toys down low and everything that we did not want them to get to on the upper shelves.   

Safety 101: Toddler Safety in the Bathroom

+Be sure to check the water temperature of your toddler's bath water prior to placing them in it.

+Never leave your child alone in the bathtub even for just a minute.  Children can drown in less than two inches of water.  If you forgot something, take the toddler out before getting forgotten item.

+Use a toilet lock on your toilet.  Toddlers can get into anything in a flash.  If they get into the toilet, it is not just about being nasty it could be about drowning.  If. they fall into the toilet, they do not have the upper body stregnth to pull themselves out

+Place locks on cabinets in the bathroom that contains cleaning supplies, perfumes or other hygiene items that your toddler should not be getting into.

Safety 101: Toddler Safety in the Kitchen

+Keep matches and lighters out of the reach of little hands
+Place safety latches or locks on all cabinets, drawers and doors that contain cleaning products, medicines, glass, knives, scissors and small objects (leave the pots and pans cabinet open every once in a while because of the fun time that your child will experience pounding on them)
+Remove small magnets from the refrigerator because small items can get lodged in a toddler's throat (find another way for them to learn their letters)
+Use the back burners on stove whenever possible and always turn pot handles towards the back of the stove
+Keep electric cords out of reach and cover all outlets within their reach with safety covers
+Keep hot drinks away from the edge of table, or on a tablecloth that a child may pull down on
+Don't pass hot drinks over your child's head
 +Dispose of or secure all plastic bags immediately because they can cause suffocation
+Use a safety gate to block child's access to kitchen when no one is around


Toddler safety does not mean overprotection.  Toddlers are going to get lots of bumps and bruises as they are learning to manuever and explore their world.  Don't beat yourself up when they get hurt, learn from it if you need to and then go on.