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Safety Checklist: 4 - 7 Years

Safety issues at this age are related to the increasing mobility and curiosity of the child. Children at this age enjoy exploring their environment, putting object in their mouths, and they can be fearless. Their speed of mobility is increasing so even a split second of inattention in an unsafe area can lead to an injury.

At this age children are becoming more independent. They like to make their own decisions and they may start to like certain activities such as bicycle riding or swimming. Their mobility is advanced but their judgment is still immature.Sometimes strict adherence to rules such as wearing a bicycle helmet is necessary.

Safety hints at this age include:

  1. All medicines and poisonous substances should be locked and out of reach of children;
  2. All small objects, plastic bags and balloons, which can cause choking, should be inaccessible;
  3. All sharp objects such as knives or scissors should be inaccessible;
  4. All electrical outlets should be covered;
  5. Syrup of Ipecac, which promotes vomiting, should be available as well as a number of your local poison control center;
  6. Children should be supervised near all pools, tubs or high places. Drowning can occur even in a bucket of water or toilet bowl;
  7. All pools or hot tubs should have fences on all four sides;
  8. A child can pull all dangling electric cords, blinds or tablecloths. These should be placed in such a position as to avoid this from happening;
  9. All furniture such as dressers or chests of drawers should be securely latched to the wall to prevent being pulled on top of a child. Many children will pull out drawers and try to climb on a chest of drawers only to have it tip over and fall on them;
  10. All curling irons, irons, hot liquids and other objects should be unreachable;
  11. Sunscreen of at least 15 SPF should be used for outdoor activities;
  12. Insect repellent containing up to 10% DEET should be used in places where insects are prevalent. Children should be checked for tick attachments if they live in an area of tick settlements;
  13. Car seats should be used for all car trips. The car seat should be in the back seat facing forward until four years of age and forty pounds at which point a booster seat should be used until 54 inches and 70 pounds. The Auto Safety Hotline number is 1-888-327-4236;
  14. Extension cords should have electric tape wrapped around the junctions;
  15. Parents should know CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation). Call the American Heart Association at 1-800-242-8721 for information;
  16. Safety gates should be placed at the top and bottom of all staircases;
  17. Windows should be closed and locked or guarded. Screens are not enough to prevent a child from falling through a window;
  18. Guns should be safely stored and locked;
  19. The water heater should be 120 degrees Fahrenheit (50.0 degrees Celsius) or less;
  20. All cooking pots and pans should be on the back burner with the handles facing the back;
  21. Do not store poisons in drinking bottles, glasses or jars;
  22. Outdoor play should be closely monitored;
  23. Children should not be placed on a bicycle with an adult. Instead, they should be pulled in a carrier or learn to ride by themselves. They should wear a helmet at all times;
  24. Store toys in a chest without a dropping lid to avoid harming the fingers;
  25. All houses should have a smoke detector, fire extinguisher and fire escape plan;
  26. All of these safety precautions should be present in any home, daycare, preschool, mother's day out, friend or family location;
  27. Watch children near traffic as children frequently will start to walk or run into the street at this age;
  28. All medicines should have safety caps;
  29. Children should be instructed not to play with matches or lighters;
  30. All baby sitters should be at least 13 years of age, mature enough to handle emergencies, and known and trusted by the parents;
  31. Children should be taught animal safety. They should learn not to approach unknown animals and not to try to play with animals while they are eating;
  32. Children should not be in the yard during lawn mowing as the blade can throw objects. Also, ride-on mowers should not be used as a recreational vehicle;
  33. Everyone on a boat should use a coast guard approved life jacket. At least one adult swimmer should be present for each child who cannot swim;
  34. Children should learn how to swim starting at this age. However, there should still be supervised swimming;
  35. Children should learn how to dial 911;
  36. Children should be taught to never eat anything unknown. Prior to four years of age, children should be watched very closely to be certain that they don't put anything in their mouths. After four years of age it is harder to keep close watch on children at all times and children can be more independent and entering into the pre-school years, therefore it is important that the children learn themselves not to put anything unknown into their mouths.