Dr. Jamie Freishtat: Hi! I am Dr. Jamie Freishtat, a Pediatrician from Safe Kids USA. Today we are discussing Childproofing, room-by-room. As the mom of two very active boys, I truly understand and recognize how easy it is for accidents to occur in the home. As a pediatrician, I have witnessed far too many injuries which could have been avoided have the proper safety measures have been in place.

Sadly, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death and disability in children between the ages of 1 and 14. Many of these accidents occur in and near the home. Childproofing is important for children of all ages; from birth through adolescence. The ultimate goal of childproofing is to prevent children from sustaining injuries in the first place. The secondary goal is to reduce the severity of an injury should one occur.

Keep in mind that childproofing is a dynamic process, depending on the age of your child and their developmental level; different things would need to be implemented. A lot of the childproofing tips are actually quite easy to do. It just involves learning what needs to be done and putting these tips into action.

I am going to go through different rooms in the home and talk about ways to make them a safer place for your children. We are going to go to the family room and talk about how to keep your furniture safe and secure; the kitchen, and talk about how to store your medicines properly, adult bedrooms and talk about window safety and the kid's bedroom, and touch on crib safety. The bathroom, and talk about burn safety. We will also go to the garage and talk about poisoning safety, and we will also see backyard safety, and talk about drowning prevention.

Before we begin, let me tell you a little bit about Safe Kids USA. Safe Kids USA is part of Safe Kids Worldwide; a global network of organizations whose mission is to prevent unintentional childhood injuries. More than 600 coalitions of the United States and 19 member countries bring together child and health experts, educators, corporations, foundations, governments and volunteers to protect and educate families.

Remember, children are explorers by nature. This is how they learn about their world. It is our job as parents to make their surroundings a safer place for this to happen. Let's get started.