A voluntary recall of about 900,000 Push ‘N Snap cabinet locks was recently announced by Dorel Juvenile Group (DJG) of Columbus, IN and the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC).

THE SAFETY LOCK PROBLEM

The problem is that young children can open the locks and become exposed to dangerous chemicals or unsafe items which could result in injuries. DJG has already received 200 reports of damaged or ineffective locks. Out of the 200 reported cases, 140 involved children between the ages of nine months and five years who were able to open the locks and enter the cabinet. In three of the reported incidents, children who gained access to the cabinets swallowed or handled dishwashing detergent, window cleaner or oven cleaner! Fortunately, all three were treated, observed and then released from emergency treatment centers.

Specifically, the recall involves Safety 1st Push ‘N Snap cabinet locks manufactured from January 2004 through November 2010, involving model numbers 48391 and 48442. Model numbers and dates of manufacture are on the rear side of the product or on packaging. These locks were sold at Bed, Bath & Beyond and other retail outlets, plus online at Amazon from January 2004 through February 2012. The products were manufactured in China.

CHILD SAFETY LOCK SOLUTIONS

These locks should be removed from the cabinets immediately and returned to DJG for a replacement. While you’re waiting for the replacement, don’t forget to secure the materials in the cabinet so that children are not injured. If further information is needed, please contact DJG toll-free at 1-866-762-3212 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday. You can also access the firm’s website at www.digusa.com.

CHILD SAFETY REMINDERS FOR LOCKS AND LATCHES

Meanwhile, here are some child safety reminders on locks and latches.

Make a quick tour through your house or apartment. Focus on drawers, cabinet doors and appliances that need protecting. Make a rough list of the number of locks you need for each type of storage facility. Be sure to include basements and garages. These areas are more apt to have equipment and materials that are dangerous to a small child.

Don’t forget refrigerators and freezers. These are attractive to a child because they associate good things to eat with both appliances, especially the refrigerator. The cool interior temperatures make these devices even more threatening. There have been too many news stories over the years about kids getting trapped in both in-service and abandoned refrigerators and freezers.

Remember to buy a latch for each toilet in the home. Curiosity causes a small child to look into the toilet, and then too often they fall in, head first. A child can drown this way. On a lighter note, adding a latch also reduces the possibility that clothing, toys and other items will find their way into the toilet. The price of a toilet latch quickly dwindles compared to a plumber’s charge.

CALL TO ACTION

First, determine if you have any of the Safety 1st cabinet locks, remove them and contact DJG for free replacements. Then survey your home for storage areas that need protecting, make a list and then acquire the needed locks. Once you have them, put them in place immediately. Pay particular attention to refrigerators, freezers and toilets! When all latches are in place, you can breath a sigh of relief knowing that your child is better protected.

Fires don’t occur often in homes, thankfully, but when they do, everyone must know what to do.  There won’t be time to check a manual or read a book.  The family must know immediately what to do and do it!  To make that happen, there must be a fire safety plan in place, and the family must have rehearsed it.

The Fire Safety Plan

The plan itself should provide for two ways out of the house.  This isn’t too difficult when everyone’s on the ground floor, but a second story is a little different.  Remember that a fire or smoke may block the only stairway.  Buy and install an emergency ladder with metal steps.  Secured beneath a window, it can easily be lowered out of that window so that family members can climb to the ground.  Once on the ground, children and adults alike should move to a designated meeting point that is safely away from the burning house.  This allows parents and fire fighters to determine who is safe and who still needs assistance.  It’s important to get to the meeting point because we definitely don’t want a fire fighter to risk his  or her life by entering a burning home when it’s not necessary.

Special Fire Safety Precautions

If you or a child are in a room behind a closed door, be sure to touch the door knob quickly before leaving the room.  If the knob is hot, there is fire or hot smoke and gases in the hallway.  Rather than entering a hall full of fire, plug the crack at the base of the door with a towel or piece of clothing to keep the smoke confined to the hallway.  Then, hang a bed sheet or towel out of the window to let the fire department know that you need help.

Long before an emergency ever occurs, smoke detectors should be installed throughout the house.  This is especially important on sleeping floors.  When a child is lost in a home fire, it is usually because there were no working smoke detectors in the structure and the child slept through the developing fire.  In order to depend upon them, fire detectors must be tested monthly and the batteries must be changed every six months.  Let kids hear the alarm so they know it and will react to it.  Change batteries when daylight savings time makes its changes.

Every home should have at least one fire extinguisher in the kitchen.  Provide a second one in the garage.  Check each one monthly to ensure it has pressure, and have them serviced each year.  This ensures the unit will be ready to perform when you need it.  Learn how to use the fire extinguisher and then show everyone else in the family how to use it.  While you are desperately trying to put out that nasty grease fire on the stove is no time to learn to use an extinguisher.

Place plenty of flashlights, usually one for each bedroom, and spare batteries throughout the house.  If the house begins to fill with smoke or there is a power outage in the middle of the night, each child is able to find their way out.  Likewise, each bedroom and the kitchen should have emergency numbers posted, especially 911.  Arrange to take your kids to the local fire station so that they can meet a real fire fighter.  This will help to reduce the “scary image” created by a fire fighter in full fire fighting gear in a dark, smoke-filled hallway.

Child Fire Safety Plans

As cold-hearted as it sounds, encourage kids to get out of the house immediately without looking for family pets.  To search through a smoke-filled house or apartment to find a dog or a cat can put a child at serious risk.  Animals often find their way out, and more than one pet has been saved by a fire fighter.

Teach children to crawl out of a smoke-filled room or hallway.  Hot smoke and gases rise to the ceiling, so the available oxygen is near the floor.  If a child’s clothing catches on fire, as it might in a cooking fire, teach your family to stop, drop and roll.  This reduces the oxygen available to the burning clothing and puts out the fire.

Ensure every family member makes it out safely by developing and practicing a home fire safety plan.  Provide two exits for every room and make sure kids know how to use them as well as fire extinguishers, emergency telephone numbers and flashlights.  Check smoke alarms monthly.  Teach everyone to stop, drop and roll in order to put out a clothing fire.

Falls are one of the major accident types in the home.  This is especially true for babies and toddlers who haven’t learned to anticipate changes in their environment like stairs and throw rugs.  Here are a few tips to prevent a serious fall for the baby or toddler in your home.

Falls On Stairs and From Cribs

One of the worst occurs when a baby falls from his or her crib.  A crib is supposed to be a safe place, but if it has a defect or isn’t properly maintained, a drop-side can slide down and the child falls to the floor.  More than one case has been reported where a side  failed and the baby broke an arm or suffered serious bruises and lacerations.  Larger toys and firm pillows can give the child just enough height to tumble over the rail to the floor below.  In either instance, a baby can be seriously injured. Read More→