Keeping kids safe during (unexpected) extra time at home

By Erin Summa, MPH

At Mary Bridge’s Center for Childhood Safety, our mission is to prevent unintentional childhood injury through health education, community partnerships and best practice prevention strategies.

While families around the world are staying home to slow the spread of the coronavirus, many are keeping their minds and hands busy by taking on overdue home projects. Now is the perfect time to add child safety improvements to your stay home to-do list.

If you have kids in the house, consider the following:

• Read or watch your car seat instruction manuals to make sure they are adjusted and installed right.
• Check the fit of each child’s bike helmet, which need continuous adjusting as kids grow.
• Look at the condition and weight limits of your life jacket. Kids should upgrade to the next size at 30, 50 and 90 pounds.
• Store guns unloaded and in a gun safe or lock box.
• Change the batteries in your smoke alarm.

For children under age 5, add these to the list:

• Don’t allow unstructured days to mess with your baby’s safe sleep routine.
• Make sure everything that can and should be is child-proofed.
• Prevent window falls by keeping accessible windows closed, or open less than 4 inches.

Families are feeling particularly vulnerable right now, and we know that supervising and homeschooling your kids while simultaneously trying to work remotely feels overwhelming. But it is more important than ever to give hospitals and clinics the time and space to focus on COVID-19, rather than a preventable injury.

Keep washing your hands and observing social distance guidelines, and let’s channel our protective urges into steps we can take to stay safe while we have this extra time at home. To learn more about ways to keep your family safe, visit MultiCare’s COVID-19 Resource Center.