Home Safety
In case you missed the news, I had the great honor of becoming a foster parent last month. Since then, I’ve been getting various questions about the process. One question has been, “Did you have a lot of things you had to do to your house?” I’m hopeful that some people who are asking are doing so because they are considering opening their homes and hearts to fostering. However, even if not, I knew that the topic of home safety would be a good one to share.
Part of the process of becoming licensed to foster is to go through a home inspection, to ensure that certain safety requirements are met. The first time I read through the checklist of safety measures, I had several eye-opening moments where I thought to myself that even if I wasn’t fostering, I should be doing these things at home. I’m happy to pass forward that knowledge here.
Protective outlet covers
This one was the most expected item on the safety list for me. Cover each outlet with a protective cover to eliminate electrocution so kids can’t stick fingers or objects into the outlets. Outlet covers have been around for a long time and there are various types out there. They’re affordable and it only takes a few minutes to cover all the outlets in the house. I went with the Child Safety brand. They are highly recommended with good reviews, and I like that they are easy to remove when you need to use the plug. Other brands are kind of hard to pry out of the outlet after they’re installed.
Magnetic cabinet locks
I love this magnetic cabinet lock mechanism where you just affix the lock to the inside of your cabinet and the corresponding locking piece to the cabinet door using adhesive pads (no screws necessary). And then - so cool - the way to unlock them is simply to wave a magnetic wand in front of the lock. It disengages the lock and the door opens. Love the easy installation. In fact, two of my goddaughters helped put them in the cabinets with me. I enjoyed having them be part of this process as we prepared for a future baby in the house. Once you have locks on the cabinets, you can lock up household cleaners, medications, plastic bags, and anything else you need to keep away from kids.
No plastic bags down low
No plastic bags should be stored low in cabinets, closets, bathrooms, anywhere. This includes no plastic bag liners in trash cans without tight covers. They are a suffocation risk, which obviously I am aware, but I never realized how many plastic bags I had in different places until I had to prepare for inspection. Felt good to keep them out of reach instead.
Locked medications box
All medications, both topical and oral, are required to be secured in a locked box then behind a locking cabinet. This added organization in the house. I had meds in various medicine cabinets and drawers in several rooms. Now it’s easy enough to find all the meds in my lock box. Also, having them locked up makes total sense so kids don’t have access. I just bought a simple locking box online. I heard that others just use a tackle box (typically for fishing) and then add a lock to it.
First aid kit
All homes (and offices and cars) should have one. The first aid kit requires at a minimum: band-aids, antiseptic, germicide, tape, thermometer and bandages. The first aid kit should be kept in a non-locking cabinet so everyone has easy access to it when the need arises.
Fire extinguishers
Ok, guys, fire extinguishers are a no brainer, right? I had none and I swear, the moment they were mounted in my house, I instantly felt safer. I now have one in the kitchen and one in the laundry room upstairs. The requirement is to have one on each floor of the home. The kitchen and laundry room are locations most prone to fires so that’s where I chose to have them mounted. Prior to being required to getting fire extinguishers, what was I planning to really do in the case of a fire? The answer is, I wasn’t planning anything. Not good. Here’s a tip, buy the kind that is rechargeable and then you don’t have to buy a new one each year, you just take it in to a fire station or fire equipment company, or bring a professional into the home to recharge it.
Fire safety ladders
The fire safety ladder was my biggest eye opening safety item of all. The requirement is that all two-story homes must have at least one fire safety ladder on the second floor. I went ahead and bought two ladders. One is kept in a central location and then one is in my room. It’s scary to imagine a fire in your home that may trap you upstairs leaving you without a way to evacuate. I had just watched a movie where the teenage boy tied bedsheets around his mom and his golden retriever and then hoisted them down out the window during a fire in their home. Wait, what? I do not think I would be successful hoisting anything nor tying bedsheets together in an emergency. Fire safety ladders you just swing out the window and climb down. Genius. And also, they are really not all that expensive.
Hidden gate key in the backyard
I have a locking side gate outside to get in/out of the backyard without going through the house. The point of hiding a key in the backyard is so that if I have to evacuate out the back door into the backyard, I have a way to exit to the street. This was something I never even considered before. I’d be trapped out there, and in an emergency you have to figure there’s no time to stop before evacuating to grab the gate key from a purse or from a drawer.
So those are some of the safety items that I hope I never have to use but really did give me peace of mind when I got them all done. I think they can pertain to anyone wanting a safer home. This is not the complete list of requirements. For example, I don’t have a pool so I didn’t have any requirements related to that but of course, there are some. I don’t have firearms in the home so that also didn’t apply to me. For a full list of safety requirements, and other statutes related to foster care, you can see them online here.
Hope this was helpful! Chime in if there are more safety precautions you use in your home.
This is foster care. This is my journey.
Part of the process of becoming licensed to foster is to go through a home inspection, to ensure that certain safety requirements are met. The first time I read through the checklist of safety measures, I had several eye-opening moments where I thought to myself that even if I wasn’t fostering, I should be doing these things at home. I’m happy to pass forward that knowledge here.
Protective outlet covers
Magnetic cabinet locks
I love this magnetic cabinet lock mechanism where you just affix the lock to the inside of your cabinet and the corresponding locking piece to the cabinet door using adhesive pads (no screws necessary). And then - so cool - the way to unlock them is simply to wave a magnetic wand in front of the lock. It disengages the lock and the door opens. Love the easy installation. In fact, two of my goddaughters helped put them in the cabinets with me. I enjoyed having them be part of this process as we prepared for a future baby in the house. Once you have locks on the cabinets, you can lock up household cleaners, medications, plastic bags, and anything else you need to keep away from kids.
No plastic bags down low
Locked medications box
All medications, both topical and oral, are required to be secured in a locked box then behind a locking cabinet. This added organization in the house. I had meds in various medicine cabinets and drawers in several rooms. Now it’s easy enough to find all the meds in my lock box. Also, having them locked up makes total sense so kids don’t have access. I just bought a simple locking box online. I heard that others just use a tackle box (typically for fishing) and then add a lock to it.
First aid kit
All homes (and offices and cars) should have one. The first aid kit requires at a minimum: band-aids, antiseptic, germicide, tape, thermometer and bandages. The first aid kit should be kept in a non-locking cabinet so everyone has easy access to it when the need arises.
Fire extinguishers
Ok, guys, fire extinguishers are a no brainer, right? I had none and I swear, the moment they were mounted in my house, I instantly felt safer. I now have one in the kitchen and one in the laundry room upstairs. The requirement is to have one on each floor of the home. The kitchen and laundry room are locations most prone to fires so that’s where I chose to have them mounted. Prior to being required to getting fire extinguishers, what was I planning to really do in the case of a fire? The answer is, I wasn’t planning anything. Not good. Here’s a tip, buy the kind that is rechargeable and then you don’t have to buy a new one each year, you just take it in to a fire station or fire equipment company, or bring a professional into the home to recharge it.
Fire safety ladders
Hidden gate key in the backyard
I have a locking side gate outside to get in/out of the backyard without going through the house. The point of hiding a key in the backyard is so that if I have to evacuate out the back door into the backyard, I have a way to exit to the street. This was something I never even considered before. I’d be trapped out there, and in an emergency you have to figure there’s no time to stop before evacuating to grab the gate key from a purse or from a drawer.
So those are some of the safety items that I hope I never have to use but really did give me peace of mind when I got them all done. I think they can pertain to anyone wanting a safer home. This is not the complete list of requirements. For example, I don’t have a pool so I didn’t have any requirements related to that but of course, there are some. I don’t have firearms in the home so that also didn’t apply to me. For a full list of safety requirements, and other statutes related to foster care, you can see them online here.
Hope this was helpful! Chime in if there are more safety precautions you use in your home.
This is foster care. This is my journey.
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