“There’s no doubt that the typical family home can be a hazardous place,” says Debbie Brown, director of trauma services at Children’s Medical Center Dallas. “But you can reduce your family’s risk for injury tenfold, simply by taking the right attitude about safety.”

• Install smoke detectors on each level of your home, outside bedrooms, and in the basement and garage.
• If you smoke, don’t smoke in bed or when drowsy.
• Keep working fire extinguishers in the kitchen, garage and basement.
• Plan a fire escape route and practice it twice a year.
• Plug portable heaters directly into wall sockets, not extension cords. Unplug them when they’re not in use or you’re not in the room.
• Don’t overload electric outlets.
• Keep electric cords and plugs in good repair.
• Never leave a child with a fireplace or wood-burning stove that’s in use.
• Keep hot liquids or food out of children’s reach.

• Never leave children alone with cleaning, cosmetic or medical products.
• Store alcohol and tobacco products out of reach.
• Keep medications, vitamins and herbal remedies out of sight and reach.
• Handle, mix, store and dispose of hazardous materials safely.
• Install carbon-monoxide detectors on every floor and outside bedrooms.
• Make sure fuel-burning appliances are installed and maintained properly.
• Never use a gas range or oven to heat a room.
• Never leave a car running in a garage.

• Never leave a child alone in or near a bathtub, wading pool or other body of water. Visit childrens.com for an interactive feature on protecting children from drowning.
• Never leave small objects within a baby’s reach.
• Buy age-appropriate toys that are too large to swallow.
• Put your baby to sleep face up to prevent suffocation.

• Never leave an infant alone on a changing table, bed or sofa.
• Use gates on stairways and install window guards above the first floor as soon as your baby can crawl.
• Place adhesive covers on the corners of sharp-edged furniture.