Child Safety

Every stage of your child’s growth will come with new skills and new safety risks. Understanding what your child can do at each stage can help you prevent injuries. Learn about your child’s growth and development at Development Timeline - Healthy Parents Healthy Children. 

Find helpful safety tips for every stage:

• Keep your young child safe around the house | Caring for kids
• Your Preschooler and Safety: How to Prevent Injuries at Home | Caring for kids

Many injuries can be prevented with supervision from an adult. Babies and young children should always be watched closely and never left alone. Always know where they are and what they are doing – especially when they are: 

• Eating
• Playing
• Near a window, balcony, or stairs
• In the bathtub
• On a changing table or any surface above the ground

Learn more about child safety:

• Injury Prevention | AboutKidsHealth
• Is Your Child Safe? series - Canada.ca

Always watching your baby or young child is one of the best ways to prevent injuries, but it is also important to make your home safer. 

Look for hazards from your child’s point of view in every room. Try kneeling on the floor to see what they can reach or climb on. Remove or fix anything that could cause harm. For example, you can help prevent your child from falling down stairs or entering certain rooms by installing safety gates as soon as they begin to crawl.

Learn more about how to make safe spaces for your child: 

• Safety & the Environment | AboutKidsHealth 
• Keep your young child safe around the house | Caring for kids
• Home Safety | Parachute 

Children learn by watching adults. It is important they see you making safe choices on a regular basis, so they will make safe choices too. 

Family safety rules help everyone stay safe – including you and your child. Here are some ways to make effective family safety rules:

• Keep rules simple and clear. Use short, easy-to-understand rules that stay the same. For example, “We always wear helmets when we ride our bikes.”
• Make rules fair for your child’s age. Rules work best when they match your child’s age and abilities. For example, “Let’s clean up the toys together, so no one trips and gets hurt.”
• Praise the positive behaviour. Notice and celebrate when your child follows rules. Praise the behaviour you want to see, instead of the behaviour you don’t want to see. For example, “Great job holding my hand while we crossed the street.”
• Be a role model and follow the rules too. Follow the same rules yourself. When parents and caregivers practice safe behaviour, children are more likely to do the same too. 

Learn more about how to create family safety rules: 

• Your preschooler and safety: How to prevent injuries at home | Caring for kids