Children's Hospital Colorado
U.S. News & World Report honor roll badge

Parenting Advice from Our Pediatric Experts

Tips and advice to support you through every age and stage of parenting.

How to Make Your Home Safe for Kids

1/14/2025 9 min. read

A mother and her pre-teen child wash dishes together.

Home is meant to be a safe place, but curious kids can get themselves into trouble around the house if caregivers don’t take the proper safety precautions. But how do you know what safety steps to take, and how can you prevent common accidents and injuries?

From first aid to the safe storage of guns, marijuana and more, experts from Children's Hospital Colorado weigh in on how to ensure your home remains a safe place for your child.

Prevent accidents and prepare for emergencies

Bumps and bruises happen with all kids, so be ready with first-aid supplies and knowledge. A well-stocked first-aid kit is essential for every family, even if you’ve already baby-proofed your home and taken other important safety precautions.

The Red Cross has a checklist of recommended supplies for a family of four. Kits come in all shapes and sizes, so pick one up or build your own and add to it based on your specific needs, including extra prescription medications, contact lenses or eyeglasses. Also keep labeled doses of medications such as ibuprofen (Advil), acetaminophen (Tylenol) and diphenhydramine (Benadryl) in your kit. Remember to include rescue medications such as albuterol (an inhaler for people with asthma) or epinephrine auto-injectors (for people with severe allergic reactions to foods or bee stings) if you or your family need them. Be sure to follow storage directions so the medicines don’t go bad.  

Consider learning CPR so you know how to quickly respond in an emergency. In less than three hours, you can learn effective interventions that can help a child whose breathing and heartbeat have stopped. Find a nearby Red Cross class on CPR and first aid.

Make your home fall-proof

The first and best way to prevent falls is to always supervise kids, but busy parents know that kids sometimes sneak out of view. However, making these simple changes around the house can prevent kids and adults from falling and hurting themselves:

  • Add nonslip mats beneath rugs to they don’t become trip hazards
  • Block off stairs with baby gates
  • Keep stairs, hallways and floors free of clutter and trip hazards
  • Add safety screens, locks or other barriers to windows
  • Secure televisions, large shelves and dressers to walls to prevent them from tipping over
  • Use nonslip mats inside and outside of the tub

Another important precaution is to avoid using baby walkers. Children in a baby walker can move three feet in just one second, making it hard for parents to respond to a walker-related fall even when they’re watching. Stationary activity centers, playpens and highchairs are all safe alternatives to baby walkers.

Teach water safety skills

Parents and caregivers should learn about bathroom safety for kids at every stage of development, especially as toddlers gain more independence when using the toilet and tub.

For instance, always supervise young kids when they’re in the bath and be sure to drain the tub right after you take your child out. Prevent burns by always checking the water with your arm or elbow and keeping your water heater set to around 120 degrees.

Toilets should be secured with toilet locks, and all adults in the house should know to close the lid when it isn’t in use. Teach kids how to stay safe around open water and in pools to prevent drowning during outdoor activities in the warmer months.

Prepare for natural disasters

One key part of home safety is staying prepared for natural disasters. For example, kids should memorize important phone numbers, including those of their caregivers and other important adults in their lives. This is especially important in the digital age, when many people rely on smartphones to store their information.

Make sure kids know that in a natural disaster, they need to follow their family’s emergency plan and get to safety as soon as possible — it's not the time to grab favorite toys. As kids get old enough to babysit at someone else’s house where they’re in charge, they need to have a clear idea of the safety plan at the home where they’re babysitting, i.e. where the exits are and how to get to the designated meeting spot.

This action plan should also be followed in the case of a home fire or wildfire. Also, be sure to brush up on our important fire safety tips for preventing and responding to house fires.

Prevent accidental poisoning

Households are filled with substances that can be harmful to children. That’s why it’s so important to understand the risks hiding in everyday products and to safely store them out of reach of kids.

To start, save the toll-free number of the nationwide Poison Control Hotline (800-222-1222) in your phone. Call this number with any questions about poisonings or ingestions — they will help you decide if you need to seek medical attention. If a child is choking, having trouble breathing or having a seizure, call 911, not poison control, and follow the 911 operator’s instructions. Whether you’re calling 911 or Poison Control, do not induce vomiting or give the child any fluid or medication unless directed.

Be smart with medication

Whether you have over-the-counter medications or important prescriptions in your home, always store them in their original, child-resistant containers with their original labels. Never switch pills to different containers, and when medications expire, dispose of them properly. When giving kids medicine or vitamins, never refer to them as candy. Children should not think of them as treats. When you give medicine to your children, follow dosage directions carefully.

Secure poisons and choose natural, nontoxic supplies

Many accidental ingestion incidents happen when adults are distracted, whether they’re on the phone, at the door or otherwise preoccupied. For this reason, you should never leave potentially poisonous products unattended while they’re in use. Store poisonous products and medications out of children’s reach and keep everything in its original container.

Some common examples of household products that may contain unsafe ingredients include:

  • Surface, toilet and appliance cleaners
  • Bleach
  • Windshield wiper fluid
  • Dishwasher and detergent products
  • Pesticides and herbicides
  • Fuel
  • Alcohol

Another way to prevent the negative effects of accidental ingestion is to choose natural and nontoxic cleaning products that don’t contain ingredients harmful to human health if swallowed. For example, vinegar and baking soda can clean surfaces around the house, and they don’t pose any harm to kids or pets when ingested.

Safely store marijuana and edibles

Marijuana edibles are now made in a range of forms that are tempting to kids, such as gummies, brownies, cookies, chocolate bars and more. Avoid accidental marijuana ingestion by making sure your child knows not to eat anything without asking first, whether they’re at home or at a friend’s house. Store marijuana products in a locked container or cabinet that is out of reach. 

You should also educate yourself on important facts about marijuana, its side effects, and how it can affect children and teens. For example, symptoms of marijuana ingestion in children include decreased levels of consciousness, sleepiness, balance challenges and breathing trouble. Children who ingest marijuana should receive medical attention.

Follow carbon monoxide safety

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an invisible, odorless gas that is emitted by fuel-burning appliances, vehicles, barbeque stoves and more. Exposure to carbon monoxide can make anyone seriously ill, so it’s essential to install a carbon monoxide detector in every sleeping area. Learn more expert tips for preventing carbon monoxide poisoning in your home, and visit the safety store at our hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus to purchase a CO alarm, along with other household safety products.

Prevent button battery ingestion

Keep button batteries and devices that use them out of reach of small children. Dispose of used button batteries properly and not in open trash cans where children can find them, because expired batteries can still cause damage. The symptoms of swallowing a battery can be tricky to recognize (they include coughing, drooling and discomfort), so if you have even the slightest concern, go to the hospital immediately or call 911. Learn more about what to do if your child ingests a foreign object, from pennies to magnets.

Be aware of toxic paint, plants and other decorations

If kids inhale the dust of lead-based wall paint, enough lead can build up in their blood to affect intelligence, growth and development. Lead-based paint was used in homes until 1978, so it’s important to know about your home’s lead content if you live in an older residence. It’s easy to get your home tested for lead by hiring a certified inspector.

Many families don’t realize that certain common household plants can be harmful to children, cats and dogs if ingested. Do your part to learn which plants are poisonous, and to whom. Keep poisonous houseplants out of reach and teach children not to put any indoor or outdoor plant in their mouths. This rule will help keep them safe when they are visiting other homes.

Lock away guns and firearms

It’s important to teach kids that guns are not toys, and they can be dangerous. It’s up to adults to ensure that kids and teens cannot access firearms and that they know what to do if they come across them. This is especially important when kids and teens are facing mental health challenges. Researchers from Children’s Colorado have found a link between mental health and access to guns — and how this plays a role in school and peer violence. If kids encounter real guns, they should learn to follow these safety steps:

  • Stop what they're doing
  • Do not touch the gun
  • Leave the area where the gun is
  • Tell an adult right away

If you own a firearm, it’s crucial that it’s stored safely and not accessible to kids or teens. In fact, it’s the law. Colorado state law requires that firearms are securely stored when they’re not in use. It also makes it illegal to keep a gun unsecured in a car.

Safe storage of guns might mean different things for kids of different ages. But generally, the more precautions you can take, the more secure your firearm will be. Follow these safe storage best practices in your home, and encourage your relatives and friends to do the same:

  • Store guns unloaded in a securely locked case out of kids' reach.
  • Store ammunition separately and in a securely locked container whenever possible.
  • Keep keys and lock combinations where children can't find them.
  • Use trigger locks or other childproof devices. Make revolvers childproof by attaching a padlock so that the cylinder can't be locked into place. For more information on navigating gun safety with kids and how to have conversations about gun safety with friends and family, visit Hospitals United.

Talk about home safety

You can only control what goes on in your own home, and sometimes, your child may wind up at the house of a friend or family member who follows different safety precautions. For example, a child’s grandparents may have medications that can be very dangerous for young bodies, and they might not think to childproof their home if they don’t have kids over often.

To make sure kids stay safe when they’re in someone else’s home, have candid conversations about home safety practices with grandparents, friends, neighbors and other relatives. Don't be afraid to ask questions about smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, cleaning supplies, medications, marijuana, guns and more — this simple discussion could save a child’s life.