Tips for Parents with Kids out of School from Safe Kids Missoula

With children out of school for a lengthy period of time due to the coronavirus crisis, safety should be an important issue, so Safe Kids Missoula has put together a checklist of safety tips to make the time at home safer and less stressful.

Safe Kids co-coordinator Kira Huck was also working remotely on Wednesday and provided the following common sense advice.

“With more kids at home during this pandemic, doctors and injury prevention experts across the country are expecting to see a spike in child injuries,” said Huck. “With parents working remotely from home, there can sometimes be a break in child supervision. We’re just encouraging families to keep safety in mind as they get through this difficult time.”

Huck said a few minutes spent taking a look at your home from a child’s viewpoint can be very helpful in preventing possible injuries.

“Look at your child-proofing checklist, here are some things to consider,” she said. “Make sure you’re keeping cleaning products and medicines and other dangerous household products out of reach. Right now, parents might be using more cleaning products throughout the day and just making sure they’re safely stored away when not in use. We also encourage parents that if they have any heavy dressers or bookshelves that could tip over while children are playing, to make sure those items won’t tip over if they are climbed on.”

Huck said that with so many families and children at home, there may be children of different age groups together.

“Make sure that toys are age-appropriate for all the children, and if there are toys for older children that the younger children don’t have access to them in case there may be a choking hazard,” she said. “Families are taking more walks and bike rides, as well, so it’s good to make sure that all children have properly fitted helmets and other safety equipment. We’re also asking drivers to be super careful with some many more people out taking walks or bike rides and crossing streets.”

Get more safety tips by visiting the Safe Kids Missoula website.