A safe home for a curious toddler

Between the first and third birthday a child learns to walk, climb, open, pour and taste, faster than any adult can react. Home injuries are a leading cause of death and disability at this age, and most follow a few predictable patterns that a handful of changes can prevent.

Falls

• Windows and balconies. In multi-storey housing a fall from height is the most serious risk. Fit window guards or locks that limit opening to about 10 cm, and never rely on a mosquito net: it does not hold a child's weight. Move beds and chairs away from windows, lock balcony doors and keep nothing climbable near the railing.
• Stairs: a safety gate at the top and bottom until about two years.
• Furniture: anchor wardrobes, chests of drawers, shelves and the TV to the wall; a toddler climbing an open drawer can tip the whole piece.
• Baby walkers are not recommended: they give speed without balance and are linked to falls down stairs and to burns.

Burns and scalds

In homes where tea is served all day, a cup of hot tea pulled off the table is the most common scald in small children. Hot liquid burns deeply in seconds.

• Keep hot drinks, teapots and kettles well back from table edges, and avoid tablecloths a child can pull. Do not hold a child and a hot drink at the same time.
• In the kitchen, use the back rings of the gas stove, turn pan handles inwards and keep the child out while you cook. The tandir and the oven door are off limits.
• Irons: unplug, lift the cord and let the iron cool out of reach. Set the water heater to 50 °C or lower and test bath water with your wrist.
• First aid: cool the burn under running tap water for 20 minutes, remove clothing that is not stuck to the skin and cover with a clean cloth. No oil, toothpaste or ointment. See a doctor for any burn bigger than the child's palm, on the face, hands, feet or genitals, or with blisters.

Poisoning

• Medicines are the most common cause: iron and vitamin tablets, blood-pressure pills, a grandparent's handbag. Keep them in a locked box, out of sight and reach, and ask visitors to do the same.
• Household chemicals, vinegar essence (70 % acetic acid, which severely burns the mouth and oesophagus), bleach, rat poison, washing capsules, cosmetics and perfume: high up and locked, always in the original container, never in a drink bottle.
• If you suspect poisoning, call 103 and give the product name and the time; the dispatcher can put you through to toxicology advice. Do not make the child vomit, especially after an acid or alkali.

Drowning, choking and suffocation

A child can drown silently, in a few centimetres of water, within a minute.

• Never leave a child alone in the bath, not even to answer the door. Empty buckets and basins straight after use and store them upside down.
• Hovuz, garden pools, irrigation ditches and water tanks need a fence or cover, and an adult within arm's reach whenever the child is near water.
• Small objects: coins, buttons, beads, parts of older children's toys, nuts and seeds; anything that fits through a toilet-paper tube can choke. Button batteries and small magnets are especially dangerous: if one is swallowed, go to hospital at once even if the child seems fine.
• Plastic bags, blind cords and strings, including a dummy cord longer than 20 cm, can strangle. Tie cords up high and keep bags away.

Electricity, roads, animals and heat

• Fit socket covers or shuttered sockets, hide extension leads and keep phone chargers out of reach.
• A correctly fitted car seat on every trip, however short; never on a lap. Near roads, including quiet mahalla streets, hold the child's hand or use a pushchair: a reversing driver cannot see a child below the bonnet.
• Never leave a toddler alone with a dog, even a family dog, and teach them to keep away from stray animals. Wash any bite and see a doctor; a rabies vaccine may be needed.
• Never leave a child in a parked car, even briefly with the window cracked: in summer the inside becomes dangerously hot within minutes. Outdoors, use shade, a hat, loose clothing, water and sunscreen, and avoid the midday sun.

First aid, numbers and the real safety device

• A basic kit: sterile dressings, bandages, plasters, an antiseptic such as chlorhexidine, a digital thermometer, children's paracetamol or ibuprofen with the dosing chart, oral rehydration salts, tweezers and scissors.
• Consider a paediatric first-aid and CPR course: knowing how to clear a blocked airway and do chest compressions is worth more than any gadget.
• Emergency numbers in Uzbekistan: 103 ambulance, 101 fire service, 112 unified emergency number. Save them in every phone at home.

No gate or lock replaces a watching adult. Most injuries happen when the usual routine breaks: a guest arrives, the phone rings, a parent falls ill. Expect those moments, hand over supervision out loud ("you are watching him now"), and every few months crouch to your child's eye level to see what has come within reach.

This article is general information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor about your own situation.