Ground Zero

Perhaps you’re expecting your first child or you’ll soon have a friend or relative visiting with a toddler. The best way to prepare your house for a little one? Get on your hands and knees.

“You can get down to their perspective and see what they see,” says Ken George, a childproofing consultant who runs Safety for Toddlers in Laguna Hills. “You won’t believe the hazards you’ll come across just by doing this.”

Childproofing a house can be daunting because it means looking out for dangers that otherwise might never occur to you.

With a little patience and some common sense, it can be done. Here is some advice from experts to get started.

For Starters

Open a door and you’ll probably find a doorstop screwed into the molding in the back. If your stoppers are the type that have a plastic cap, it’s time to take action.

“It’s easy for a small child to pull these off, and the caps become a choking hazard,” says George. Replace them with cap-free stops, or glue the rubber cap into place so that it can’t be removed.

In the living room, low tables with sharp corners should be padded.

Watch out for free-standing or pole lamps. “These offer quite a temptation for a child who will want to grab onto one and try to pull himself up,” George says. “But they’re not very sturdy, and they’ll probably fall down on top of him.” It may be best to store these lamps until the child is out of the toddler stage.

Anyone who’s tried childproofing knows about electric outlet covers. However, these won’t guard against all threats.

“You’ll often see one of the plugs covered; then the other has a lamp cord going out of it,” George says. “The child just has to pull the cord out to get to the outlet. I prefer using outlet covers that close automatically once something is unplugged.”

Speaking of lamps, when a bulb burns out, do you remove it and make a note on your shopping list to get a new one?

Bad idea.

“You don’t want a child to reach into the empty socket and turn the switch on,” says Pam Raidy of Baby Safe in Huntington Beach. “Leave the old bulb in place until you replace it.”

While taking that hands-and-knees tour, look for obvious hazards--a piece of hard candy or other small things to choke on under the couch, etc.--as well as more subtle ones.

Run your hand along the molding, where splintering could have occurred. Sand and repaint those areas.

The fireplace is always an area to watch. Move accessory sets with pokers and brushes out of the way. Remove the gas key and matches or other fire starters.

Use nonflammable bumpers along the sharp edges and corners of a raised stone hearth. Don’t use pillows for padding on the hearth, because a wayward spark could ignite them. Glass fireplace doors or a secure fire screen can help keep children away from the flames.

In the Kitchen

Using safety latches on cabinets, the oven door, refrigerator doors, pantry, you name it, should be the first task, and it’s probably best to do this before the child is mobile.

“Once you start locking up cabinets he or she has been opening up easily, the child gets frustrated and angry, something that could have been avoided if they were locked up in the first place,” George says.

If someone in the house usually leaves a purse on a table or counter, find a new place that’s definitely out of reach for young hands. Purses can contain medication, sharp objects such as tweezers or a nail file and other things small enough to be swallowed.

Also clear counters of electrical cords from items such as toasters and blenders that could fall on the child if pulled. Keep dishwashers and trash compactors locked, and make sure forks and knives are pointed down in the dishwasher.

It may be disconcerting for your cat or dog, but it’s best to keep bowls of food and water and litter boxes out of reach, preferably in a garage or laundry room that’s gated and inaccessible to the toddler.

Bath Time

Toilet lid locks are critical to keep a child away from water. Select a good one and make sure you install it properly. Always close and latch bathroom doors. It’s also a good idea to lock the medicine cabinet, experts say.

Hot water can be extremely dangerous. Set your water heater thermostat at low, or 120 to 130 degrees. You also might want to loosen the hot water handle in the bathtub, which will allow you to remove it when it’s not in use.

Install a full-length bath mat and a spout guard in the bathtub.

Kids in the Hall

Bedroom and bathroom doors that can be locked from the inside by pushing a button could be a hazard. A child can go inside, close the door and lock it.

“Most of these types of locks are relatively simple to open with a small screwdriver or awl inserted into the knob,” says contractor Dave Emmons of Anaheim. “It’s probably a good idea to practice unspringing one of these locks from the outside so that you’ll know how to do it.”

Gates are integral to the safety of a young child.

“The pressure-style gate is popular because with one hand you’re able to lock it in place or pull it up,” Raidy says. “On the downside, they don’t create as tight a seal over time, and they can punch holes in the walls. They’re best in temporary situations when you have a child visiting for a little while.”

A swinging gate, in which a fixed jamb is screwed into both walls, is a better permanent solution.

Avoid accordian-style folding gates, which can trap small fingers, or gates designed to contain pets. Try to secure the gate to a wall stud. Never anchor it to just the wallboard or plaster.

Railings for an open hallway that looks down onto a ground floor or for a staircase should have a space between the posts of no more than 4 inches.

“For railings with wider spaces, plexiglass barriers can be used to close them off. For an occasional use, you could try netting,” Raidy suggests.

Better Bedrooms

An old toy chest might fit the decor, but make sure it has a lid that won’t slam shut; replace the hinges with spring-loaded ones.

Keep cords for blinds and curtains tied off out of reach from young hands, and move cribs away from windows, mirrors and framed glass for earthquake security.

Use night lights with child-safe features. Look for night lights with completely enclosed light bulbs and safety tabs that help prevent children from removing the night light from the outlets.

Carefully examine an antique crib. It may have gaps between the posts wide enough for the child to get his head between two and get stuck. Also, while it may have a new coat of paint, it could have originally been finished with a paint that contains lead.

The Great Outdoors

A small child should be supervised in the back or front yard. A door left ajar and an adult looking away is a real temptation.

“Door alarms are inexpensive and are a good way to keep a child in the house,” Raidy says. “They attach to the jamb and let you know if a door has been opened. If your home has an alarm system, you can probably have it modified by your monitoring service to beep when someone opens a door or window.”

If you have a pool or spa, take extra precautions. The best advice is to erect a fence around the pool and make sure doors and gates leading to the backyard are locked.

Don’t worry about the look of your yard. Flexible fabric fences can be erected or removed when needed and, properly installed, are an excellent safety product.

Test your garage-door opener by putting a chair in the way as it closes. “If the door hits the chair and raises again, it’s got a safety-reverse feature that helps protect children from getting caught by a door that’s closing,” Emmons says. “If your door doesn’t reverse, contact a door installer to see if that feature can be added.”

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Resources

For information on childproofing contact:

* Consumer Product Safety Commission, (800) 638-2772; free information available on the safety of children’s products.

* Danny Foundation of Crib Safety, (800) 833-2669; free safety information on cribs and bassinets.

* National Safe Kids Campaign, (202) 662-0600; free childproofing brochures available.

* MPI Inc., (888) 840-SAFE; has published a home safety guide in cooperation with the American Academy of Family Physicians and National Safe Kids. Send $1.50 for shipping and handling to Home Safe & Sound, Free Offer No. 8, P. O. Box 6960, Villa Park, IL 60181.

* Opfer Productions, (800) NO TEARS; a video, “Home Safe Not Sorry!” ($18.45), gives an overview on the process of childproofing.

* U.S. Government Printing Office Bookstore, (213) 239-9844; free publications available on home safety.