We've seen the troubling photo of a young child crawling in the middle of the road and while your gut reaction may be to shame the caretakers we ask that you fight that impulse with all your being. If you think this kind of thing could not happen in your home, you are mistaken.
We spend a lot of time on here encouraging people to be more mindful of the safety of themselves and their families. That's because children end up in dangerous situations in every kind of household, with parents from every socioeconomic background, all. the. time.
If there's one thing you should take away from that photo it's that this is the time to evaluate your own home and ask yourself how you could make it safer.
Is your furniture anchored to the wall? Do you have cordless window blinds? Is there a smoke alarm in every bedroom and on every floor? Do you have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen? Do you own a decent first aid kit? Do you have a working flashlight?
Are your medicines locked up and out of sight of kids? Is your vape juice? Do you have a carbon monoxide alarm? If you have a baby, are they sleeping on their back? Is their crib stuffed with pillows and blankets that could suffocate them?
Friends, we've got multiple websites dedicated to all the things you should think about when it comes to safety. That's because our NEISS database is full of injuries that were the result of a lack of safety mindfulness in the home.
You should be shocked by that photo. It's a truly nightmarish image. But your reaction should be self-reflection, not shaming. A desire to improve the quality of safety in your own life, not gawk at the lack of safety in someone else's.
You can start by checking out our Safety Education Centers: cpsc.gov/Safety-Educati… also our @poolsafely campaign, and anchorit.gov
This thread brought to you by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
