ADT Offers Child Safety Tips

22 April, 2009

According to a leading consumer safety organization, approximately 2,000 children between 1 and 14 years of age die annually due to home accidents. More than 3 million children are injured in the home each year. Most of these incidents take place during the summer, when children are home from school and parents are at work.

"As children spend more time at home during summer break, parents should ask themselves if they are doing everything they can to keep kids safe at home," stated Anne-Marie Rouse, with ADT Security Services. "It's easy to get into vacation mode and forget about home dangers that put kids at risk."

ADT would like to remind parents that the home can be a dangerous place for children. Certain security precautions should be observed, including the following:

• Keep all lighters and matches out of reach. Extinguish candles when you leave the room or go to sleep – never leave children alone with an unattended open flame.
• Do not allow children to supervise each other while swimming or bathing. Adults must supervise children in and around water.
• Install safety locks on windows to prevent children from climbing and/or falling out of them. Teach older children how to properly use the locks during an emergency.
• Keep medications and cosmetics out of reach. Lock these items in a cabinet to prevent poisoning.
• Design an emergency escape plan, and perform regular practice drills.
• Most importantly, consider a 24-hour monitored home security system. Be sure to include smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

ADT urges parents to follow the above-mentioned safety tips. Reduce your child’s risk of injury – even death – by putting home security at the top of your summer to-do list!

"Home should be a safe haven, and we hope these safety tips will help parents create safer, happier, more secure homes for their families,” Rouse added.