by Gulrukh Tausif

Created on: September 04, 2008   Last Updated: November 15, 2010

Children are extremely inquisitive by nature. They learn by exploration and by putting everything in their mouth. A toddler will crawl around the house on her hands and knees and discover all those things that your vacuum cleaner missed. She will invariably learn to open cupboards best left alone and sample your liquid detergents, soaps, toilet cleaners and machine oil. This can be highly dangerous and potentially fatal. So working on the maxim "prevention is better than cure", it is best to ensure child safety within your house before your baby learns to crawl.

~First things first~

Take a critical look around your home and make a list of all possible dangers. Electric outlets are the most obvious as little children love to stick their fingers into those. But sometimes seemingly innocent and innocuous objects in the house can be very harmful.

If your child has started crawling, store away all expensive crystal decoration pieces, heavy ashtrays, fragile urns, paper weights and lamps. Table mats weighed down with such items can be pulled down by the child and everything will land on his vulnerable skull.

Clear away your dressing table leaving only the bare essentials. Make-up items such as nail polish remover can be life threatening if ingested.

Use plastic crockery for children instead of glass or china as broken glass can be extremely dangerous.

Keep all medicines out of children's reach, preferably in a locked cabinet or on a high shelf. Sewing implements like needles, scissors, buttons and stationery supplies like ink-pots, staplers, etc., must also be kept out of sight.

If your child shows interest in eating soil, it might be a good idea to get rid of indoor plants or hang them by ceiling hooks. Strings, cords, wires and kite strings must never be placed where little fingers can reach. They can cause strangulation.

~Kitchen~

The kitchen is probably the most dangerous room in the house for a curious child. In most households, cleaning chemicals and pesticides are stored under the sink area. Utensils on burning stoves, matchboxes, sharp cutting implements and electric appliances can also be extremely hazardous.

Never leave your child alone in the kitchen. Place plastic items on lower level and store dangerous or heavier items in upper cabinets. Use back burners for frying, making tea or boiling water. Saucepans and frying pans with long handles can be grasped by the child if he learns to stand on tiptoe.

~Bathrooms~

In the bathroom, a toddler is at risk from

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