American Medical Association Family Medical Guide - American Medical Association [54]
To be safe around animals, teach your children the following precautions:
• Walk slowly and keep quiet when around strange animals. Never scream or run.
• Avoid staring directly at or teasing an animal.
• Recognize the signs of a disturbed, angry, or frightened animal. For example, avoid dogs that are barking, growling, or showing their teeth; cats that are hissing; and cats or dogs that have their tails up or straight and their ears back.
• Never disturb an animal while it is eating—for example, don’t put your hand near a food bowl while the animal is eating.
• Don’t attempt to take a toy or bone out of a dog’s mouth.
• Don’t disturb an animal while it is sleeping.
• Never tease, hit, poke, or throw things at an animal or pull an animal’s tail or ears.
• Don’t touch or pick up strange animals. Stay away from baby animals because adult animals are protective of their young.
• Get an adult’s help if you see animals fighting. Don’t try to break up a fight between animals.
• After playing with animals (including turtles and other reptiles), keep your hands away from your mouth, and wash your hands immediately. Try to avoid letting an animal lick your face.
Childproofing Your Home
Hazards in the home injure or kill 2.5 million children nationwide every year. You can prevent injury to your children by childproofing your home before they learn to walk. Use the following guidelines to tackle this project, but keep in mind that no safety device is completely childproof. You still need to closely watch your young children to keep them safe.
• Buy safety latches and locks for cabinets and drawers in the kitchen and bathroom to prevent poisoning and other injuries. These inexpensive devices can stop your child from gaining access to household cleaners and other chemicals, medicines, and sharp objects such as knives. Make sure the latches and locks are sturdy enough to withstand pulling by small hands.
• Put up safety gates to keep children away from stairs and other dangerous areas in the home. At the top of the stairs, anchor the gate to the wall with screws so it can’t be dislodged. Check the gate to ensure that it has no openings large enough for a child’s head to fit through.
• In the kitchen, turn all stovetop pot handles inward when cooking so your child cannot reach up and pull down a pot.
• Set your water heater temperature no higher than 120°F to prevent scalding, or buy an antiscalding device for your faucets.
• Install spring-loaded electrical outlet covers to prevent electric shock and electrocution.
• Cut your window blind and drapery cords to prevent a child from strangling in the cord loops. You can also install cord cleats or tension devices to keep cords out of reach. Check at your local hardware store. You can get free replacement tassels, cord stops, and tie-down devices from the Window Covering Safety Council (1-800-506-4636).
• Put safety bumpers on the corners and edges of furniture and fireplace hearths to prevent injury should your child fall on them. Remove any furniture that has sharp corners and edges.
• Minimize your child’s exposure to lead (see page 425).
• Have your garage door professionally inspected to make sure that it is pinch-resistant and has properly working photo eyes and reversing mechanism. Teach children never to play with the garage door or its control panel or remote controls.
• Don’t keep a gun in the house (see page 72).
Crib and High-Chair Safety Standards
New cribs and high chairs must pass rigorous government safety standards before they can be sold, but many parents buy or borrow used cribs and high chairs or use cherished family heirlooms. Before you accept an older crib or high chair, check it to make sure it meets the following standards:
Cribs
• Slats are no more than 2½ inches apart.
• Surfaces contain no lead-based paint.
• End panels have no cutout patterns.
• Corner posts are flush with end panels.
• Mattress fits snugly and