1. AUDIO and/or VIDEO MONITOR CORDS: If you have any stereo, entertainment, or computer systems in your home, their cords can run down the side of furniture or along the floor where your child can grab them and get tangled or strangled while you’re not even in the room. Don’t leave these cords exposed and within reach while you are pre-occupied preparing dinner or answering e-mails.
2. SHOEBOXES: Chances are your shoeboxes contain those small white Silica gel packetsthat most shoe manufacturers use to preserve shoes after they leave the factory. To a child these look like a nice candy treat. The gel balls in the packet are not necessarily deadly but can be a dangerous for a child and are easily accessible. Spare yourself the 911 call, Get rid of them!
3. DISHWASHER: Forget locking. I find that in most cases they are not even clicked closed. Children love to help. We don’t need any help putting away the steak knives, do we? Even more importantly, remnants of Cascade — which also looks like candy to a child — are often times found in the now open dispenser. One finger dip in the mouth and it’s another 911 call you don’t need to make.
4. CLUTTER: Clutter can contain paper clips, loose change, bobby pins, etc. All of these things are choking hazards and other types of clutter can also be a serious tripping hazard as well. Carrying a child up near your head creates a blind spot and even a tiny pile of clutter becomes a serious hazard.What about clutter on the stairs? Most people have a little pile things they want to take upstairs on their next trip. Funny how it just kind of stays there.
5. STOVE FRONT BURNER: Cooking on your stoves front burner in a pot that your child was just playing with on the floor and thinks is theirs, is a receipe for disaster! Move your HOT cooking pots to the back burner of the stove and out of their reach!