Is Your Home Safe?

Every day in Canada, 60 children under the age of 5 suffer injuries in the home that are serious enough to require taking them to hospital. The causes of injury for young children are closely linked to the child’s developmental stage (Safe Kids Canada, Safer Homes for Children A Guide to Communities, 2006). Many injuries are predictable and preventable.

Common household injuries based on a child’s age and development:

Infants (birth to one year): falls, burns, strangulation, poisoning, choking, drowning
Toddlers (one to two years): falls, burns, choking, becoming trapped, drowning
Preschoolers (three to five years): falls, burns, becoming trapped, drowning

How do I keep my Child Safe?

By becoming aware of the potential dangers in your home, you are taking the first step to making it safer. Start by looking at your surroundings from your “child’s level” - what do you see that can hurt your child from their eye level? The following websites will provide tips on how to go through your home to make it safer for your child:

Thunder Bay District Health Unit - Home Safety

SafeKidsCanada - Home Safety

Check a House Out Room by Room for Safety Tips

Visit the Home Safety Council (HSC) site and take a Virtual Home Safety Tour. Go through each room in “your” house and learn about how to make each one safer for you and your family.

Help Your Child Pick out the Hidden Dangers in “Their” House

Niagara Regional Public Health: EB Monkey's World

See if you can help EB Monkey make his home safe? This site has been developed by Niagara Regional Public Health. This is a fun interactive site for you and your child to pick out hidden dangers in different rooms in a house and then how to make them safe.

Staying Alive: The Great Escape

Another website, Staying Alive, allows children to learn about fire and home safety in The Great Escape, an interactive game for the entire family. Your child will help Fire Lobster choose the safest way to escape from a fire.

Click here to enter Staying Alive: The Kid Zone

Staying Alive: Welcome to the Kid Zone!

Are you ready to learn about fire safety - the fun way? Visit Staying Alive - Kid Zone. It's got exciting games and activities that will test your Fire IQ. Take a look at the Kids Learning pages as well. There's lots of great information to help keep you safe!

(Staying Alive is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing fire safety and prevention information to as many people as possible. The site was founded by Shane Ferguson, a City of Winnipeg Fire Fighter who is committed to promoting fire safety education for all.)