Ethan BrooksBy Ethan Brooks

Most serious injuries to toddlers at home fall into a few groups: choking, poisoning, burns and scalds, falls (including from windows) and drowning. Each has well-established prevention steps from pediatric and safety organisations, and each needs a different emergency response. This guide covers all six, drawing on the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Safe Kids Worldwide and Poison Control. It is general safety information, not medical advice; for any injury or emergency, contact emergency services or your pediatrician.

Emergency numbers (U.S.): 911 for emergencies. Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222 (also online at poison.org). Button battery swallowed or suspected: call the National Battery Ingestion Hotline at 1-800-498-8666 or Poison Control right away; Poison Control advises not to delay. The AAP recommends that parents and caregivers take a certified CPR and first-aid course.

Choking

The AAP advises keeping high-risk foods from children until 4 years of age or older, depending on each child’s development. Its list includes hot dogs, hard, gooey or sticky candy, chewing gum, nuts and seeds, whole grapes, raw vegetables such as carrot sticks, raw fruit chunks such as apple pieces, popcorn, thick chunks of nut butter, marshmallows, meat sticks or sausages, and chunks of meat or cheese.

Non-food hazards on the AAP’s list include balloons (a risk up to 8 years of age), coins, marbles, toys with small parts, button or lithium coin batteries, pen or marker caps and medicine syringe caps.

  • Have children sit down to eat, and never let them run, play or lie down with food in their mouths (AAP).
  • Watch mealtimes closely.
  • Check floors regularly for small objects (AAP).

See choking hazards.

Poisoning

  • Lock household products and medicines out of reach and use child-resistant packaging, replacing caps securely (Poison Control).
  • Store household products separately from food and medicine (Poison Control).
  • Store laundry products, including pods, out of sight and reach in their original containers; biting into a laundry pod can cause serious injury (Poison Control).
  • Secure battery compartments on remotes, key fobs, watches and flameless candles; keep button batteries out of reach (Poison Control).
  • Use the correct dosing syringe or cup for medicines, not a household spoon (Poison Control).
  • Install carbon monoxide alarms in every sleeping area (Poison Control).

If you think your child has swallowed something harmful, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 straight away, even if you are not sure. See poison prevention.

Burns and scalds

  • Set the water heater so the hottest water at the faucet is no more than 120°F (AAP; CPSC advises 120°F or lower).
  • Do not carry a child while holding hot drinks or soup; keep hot liquids away from table and counter edges (AAP).
  • Never leave cooking unattended (AAP).
  • Screen fireplaces, woodstoves and heaters; glass-door gas fireplaces stay hot after being turned off (AAP).
  • Install smoke alarms as CPSC advises: every level, inside each bedroom and outside sleeping areas.

First aid (AAP): cool the burn with cool running water straight away; do not use ice, butter, grease or powders. Seek medical attention for burns that ooze, electrical burns, burns on the face, hands, feet or genitals, or large burns. See burns and hot surfaces.

Falls

  • Use safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs; at the top, CPSC advises only gates that screw into the wall.
  • Anchor TVs and furniture to the wall (Safe Kids, CPSC Anchor It).
  • Choose playgrounds with shock-absorbing surfaces such as rubber, sand, wood chips or mulch (Safe Kids).
  • Keep toddlers strapped in high chairs, strollers and changing tables as the manufacturer directs.

See falls.

Window falls

  • Install window stops so windows open no more than 4 inches, or window guards; guards on windows used as fire escape routes need an emergency release (CPSC, Safe Kids).
  • Never depend on screens to keep children from falling out of windows (CPSC).
  • Open windows from the top, not the bottom, where possible (CPSC, Safe Kids).
  • Keep furniture away from windows to discourage climbing (CPSC, Safe Kids).
  • Use cordless window coverings to reduce strangulation risk (CPSC).

See window safety.

Drowning

The AAP warns that young children can drown in as little as an inch or two of water, quickly and silently.

  • Stay within arm’s reach of young children during bath and swim time; never leave a young child alone in the tub or in the care of a young sibling (AAP).
  • Empty buckets, wading pools and containers after use (AAP).
  • Fence home pools on all four sides, at least 4 feet high, with a self-closing, self-latching gate (latch at least 54 inches from the ground), and keep the gate locked (AAP).
  • Add layers such as door alarms, pool alarms and covers (CPSC).
  • Use well-fitting U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets near natural water; floaties and inflatable toys do not prevent drowning (AAP).
  • Learn CPR; the AAP recommends it for parents, caregivers and older children, and recommends swim lessons as an additional layer of protection.

See water safety.

Supervision is the constant

Every recommendation above adds a layer of protection; none replaces watching your child. Injuries often happen during busy moments: cooking dinner, answering the door, unpacking after a trip. Those are the times to put your toddler in a safe space, such as a playpen or a gated room, or to have another adult take over.

Frequently asked questions

Which hazards should I deal with first?

Those that can cause the most serious harm quickly: water (bath, buckets, pools), medicines and chemicals, button batteries, furniture that can tip, windows and stairs, and hot water temperature.

Are these risks the same at grandparents’ homes?

Often greater, because homes without young children usually lack childproofing. See our safety checklists for a quick check when visiting.

Room-by-room steps are in toddler-proofing your home room by room. All hazard guides are under Everyday Hazard Prevention.

Sources

Ethan Brooks

About Ethan Brooks

Ethan Brooks is part of our editorial team and reviews and edits our childproofing guides, checking product details against manufacturer specifications and owner feedback.