6 Must-Have Safety Rules for Families With Kids

Rule No. 1: Always Use the Proper Car Seat and Wear a Seat Belt

Tick off strict car seat laws as a major child safety win of the last 25 years. Compared to just using a seat belt, proper car seat usage reduces the risk of injury in a car accident by 71 to 82 percent for children 12 and under. However, it’s vital to have the right type of car seat installed in the correct position for your child’s age. To make sure your car seat is properly installed, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has a step-by-step guide, plus resources to find a certified technician near you to get your seat inspected.

When it comes to saving lives, seat belts are no slouch for older kids and teens, either. According to the NHTSA, seat belts reduce fatalities in car crashes by 45 percent, and of the fatalities reported annually, 58 percent were unrestrained. But proper seat belt placement for a growing kid is also important. Make sure the shoulder harness is worn across the chest and doesn’t hit the neck or chin. The lap belt should be worn low and snug around the hips. Don’t put the shoulder strap behind you, and if your child complains it’s uncomfortable, it’s often because they’re not wearing it properly, or because they’re too short to be out of a car seat.

Car seats and seat belts should be non-negotiables in your rule book.

Rule No. 2: Wear a Helmet While Biking or Scooting

Head trauma is among the most common childhood injuries, especially while biking, skateboarding, or scooting, but helmets reduce brain and head injury by 63 to 88 percent, according to a study by the Child Health Institute.2 Unfortunately, adherence to helmet laws is not as high as it should be considering the data. Laws vary by state, but almost every state has a helmet law on the books. Not surprisingly, the states with the stricter universal helmet laws saw better adherence to helmet wearing, according to the Journal of Safety Research.3

It should be noted that children are more likely to wear helmets if the adult in their life does as well, so even if you feel dorky, strap one on and model smart safety behavior. Additionally, it’s not just about wearing a helmet, it’s about wearing a helmet properly.

Follow the below steps for correct positioning and placement, per the NHTSA:4

• Your helmet should sit level and low on your forehead, with just two fingers of space between your eyebrows and the front of the helmet
• The side strap should form a “V” under and slightly over the ear
• The chin strap should be snug, and no more than one or two fingers should be able to slide between the strap and you chin

Rule No. 3: Fence in Your Pool and Teach Swimming Early

Accidental drowning is a real and scary concern, and your two best defenses are constant supervision while near the water, and a childproof gate around your pool. The next-best form of prevention is teaching your child to swim between the ages of 1 and 4. According to the American Association of Pediatrics5, lessons under the age of one are useful as a parent-and-me activity and to get infants accustomed to water, but aren't true swim lessons.

Rule No. 4: Lock Up Your Firearms or Keep Them Out of the House

Firearms are the number one cause of death of people between ages 1 and 19, according to the New England Journal of Medicine6, accounting for 20 percent of children and teen fatalities in the U.S. While gun deaths aren’t always preventable, storing your own gun properly at home will ensure your child (or anyone else, like a teen in crisis or at risk for suicide) won’t have easy access to it.

What’s the proper way to store a firearm? Follow these four rules:

• Store the firearm unloaded and locked in a safe
• Keep ammunition stored separately
• Keep the key to your locked guns as inaccessible as possible, especially to any troubled family members
• Consider storing guns away from your home

Rule No. 5: Don’t Engage With Strangers Online

Stranger danger isn’t just about a guy with a puppy in the park. In 2023, creeps are lurking on the internet, too. Explain these tips to kids if you allow them to play games online or be on social media:

• Never play games online with someone unless you know them offline
• Never share sensitive personal information with anyone on social media or over private messaging
• Never agree to meet someone in person that you met online
• And for parents, monitor your kid’s computers and phones to make sure there’s no suspicious behavior

Rule No. 6: Baby-Proof Cleaning Supplies and Medications

Another frequent kid emergency? Poisoning. Whether it be from cleaning supplies that aren't locked up, or medications that aren’t kept high enough, poisoning can happen to any child if you aren't careful.

The number one way to prevent accidental ingestion of dangerous items is to fully baby-proof your home7 and to adhere to the important steps below:

• Store all cleaning and household chemicals in their original packing and in a cabinet with a childproof lock
• Keep all medications up high, even ones you take every day
• Have Poison Control’s number posted and easily accessible: (800) 222-1222

Final Thoughts

Feeling a little overwhelmed, yet? We get it; there are a lot of steps and guidelines to remember. But the good news is that these safety concerns don’t happen all at once. Tackle one issue at a time — first car seats and baby-proofing the home, then pool safety, and so on. Once you have the basics down, it’ll become second nature, and it’ll become routine for your child, too.