Every parent wants their child to be safe and grow up happy and healthy. Children birth to four years grow and develop new skills constantly. They love to explore, but are not able to understand or recognize dangers that can cause them to be injured.
Supervision is the best way to prevent child injuries
Here is what supervision looks like:
- Staying close to your child and checking on him or her often.
- Looking closely for things that could hurt your child at home.
- Removing your child from danger.
- Giving your child something to do that will keep him or her busy when you have something to do nearby.
Understanding the normal stages that a child learns new skills will help you to make changes to your home before your child is at risk. For more information visit our Child Development page.
Babies and young children are more likely to be injured in the home than any other age group. At any stage of development, both supervision and changes to your home will help keep your child safe.
Common ways young children can be injured are from falls, burns, poisoning, and drowning.
| Falls |
Falls are the number one reason children birth to nine years old end up in hospital.
Common ways your child can fall are:
- Jumping on a bed, couch or other furniture.
- Playing on the stairs.
- Climbing on furniture.
Tips to prevent a fall in your home:
- Put infant seats on the floor, never on high surfaces like tables or counters.
- Keep one hand on your child when using the diaper change table.
- Keep floors dry and clean up spills.
- Mount safety gates to the wall at the top and bottom of stairs.
- Keep the crib and other furniture away from windows.
- Use window guards so windows can’t open more than ten centimetres (four inches) and keep balcony doors locked.
- Remove items that may tempt your child to climb high furniture. For example, toys, television remotes, or treats.
- Attach heavy furniture to the wall so it won’t tip if your child climbs or pulls on it.
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| Burns |
Children under two years are burned most often when they pull a hot drink or food onto themselves while they are being held.
Other common ways a child can be burned are from:
- Hot pots on the stove.
- Hot bath water.
Here are some tips to prevent a burn or scald injury in your home:
- Use a travel mug with a lid when drinking hot liquids.
- Cool hot food before feeding your child.
- Set your hot water temperature to 49°C (120°F) or lower.
- Test bath water before you place your child in the tub.
- Cook on the back burners and turn pot handles inward.
- Keep kettles, hot foods and liquids at the back of the counter.
- Install a screen or gate around your fireplace and remember, these can get hot too.
- Keep matches, lighters and candles out of sight and reach of your child.
- Install working smoke alarms on each level of your home and near sleeping areas.
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| Poisoning |
Children are at higher risk to be poisoned than any other age group, most often from medications.
Common household items that can poison your child are:
- Laundry detergents
- Medications
- Plants
- Household cleaners
Tips to prevent a poisoning in your home:
- Put medications out of reach of children such as in a high, locked cupboard.
- Store all cannabis products as you would medications and other potentially toxic products – locked up and out of reach in child-resistant packaging or containers.
- Keep cleaning products and other poisonous household items locked away and out of reach of your child.
- Remove you child from the area or watch them closely when poisonous household items are being used.
- Keep poisonous plants out of reach of children.
- Look for the poison symbol on products to help you know if it can hurt your child.
- Keep the Ontario Poison Centre phone number (1-800-268-9017) in an easy to find place.
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| Drowning |
An infant can drown in as little as 2.5 cm (1 inch) of water in just seconds.
Common places a child can drown:
- A bathtub.
- A swimming pool or hot tub.
- Standing water (rain barrels, ponds, buckets).
Here are some tips to prevent a drowning at your home:
- Never leave your child alone in the bathtub.
- Never rely on bath rings or seats to keep your baby safe.
- Empty the bath water right after use.
- Keep the toilet lid down and close the bathroom door when not in use.
- Hold your baby in your arms when in water.
- Keep your toddler within arm’s reach when in or near water including the bathtub, pool, hot tub, rain barrel or pond.
- Empty kiddie pools when not in use.
- Only use a rain barrel with a lid.
- Keep the hot tub cover fastened when not in use.
- Swimming lessons for children and use of life jackets (personal floatation devices) are recommended, but do not replace close adult supervision while in or near the water.
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How can you be prepared for a child injury?
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Call 911 in an emergency
- Get a first aid kit, know where it is and how to use it.
- Take a course in first aid and CPR.
Have important contacts:
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Resources
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Information on how to protect your child:
Keeping Kids Safe
Additional child safety information:
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