Did you know that accidents are the leading cause of death for children in the United States? You can protect your child from accidental injury and death by focusing on seven common sources: falls, motor vehicle accidents, drowning, poisoning, burns and fires, choking and firearms.

You may think that your child is relatively safe and secure from falls. But have you stopped to consider some everyday hazards? Inside the home, children can fall from stairs, windows or furniture. Outside the home are other sources of risk — shopping carts, playground equipment and more. Follow these guidelines to protect your child from falls:

• Look for playgrounds with soft surfaces to cushion your child if he or she falls. Examples of soft surfaces include wood chips, bark mulch, wood fibers, sand, pea gravel, shredded tires and rubber mats. Try to avoid concrete, asphalt and dirt surfaces. Under certain weather conditions, even sod may be too hard.
• Keep chairs and other furniture in your home away from windows. Make sure your windows are closed and locked when children are around. Get bars or window guards for your windows if you live in a tall building. Don't depend on window screens to keep your child from falling out a window.
• Secure throw rugs to the floor with a piece of foam carpet backing, double-sided tape or a rubber pad.
• Keep your stairways clear of clutter to prevent your child from tripping.
• Use safety gates to keep toddlers away from stairs. Be sure to attach the gate to the wall if you're using one at the top of a staircase.
• Use safety belts to keep your child from falling from shopping carts. Stay close to the cart while you shop.

SLIDE SHOW

Play it safe on the playground

In 2001, motor vehicle accidents resulted in 36 percent of accidental deaths in children ages 1 to 4. To keep your child safe:

• Be sure that the car seat you buy meets federal safety standards. A car seat with a 5-point harness will provide the best protection. Make sure the car seat is the right size for your child and that the car seat fits properly in your car. Buy a car seat that's easy to use every time.
• Read the instruction manual that comes with your car and the instruction manual that comes with the car seat. Keep both sets of instructions in your car in case you need them. These are important resources for properly using and installing your child safety seat.
• Learn about the Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system if your car was manufactured after Sept. 1, 2002. Some car seats require you to attach extra hardware for maximum safety.
• Make sure your child faces the right direction. Infants should ride in a car seat that faces the rear of the car until they're 1 year old and weigh 20 to 22 pounds. Infants who weigh 20 pounds before they're 1 will need a restraint approved for higher weights and should also face the rear.
• Install the car seat correctly. To best protect your child, the car seat should be held tightly against your car's back seat. If the lap part of the safety belt is not tight or if the safety seat slides around on the seat, your child could be hurt in a crash. After you install the car seat, make sure you can't move it more than 1 inch from side to side or front to back.
• Don't place a rear-facing car seat in the front seat of a car that has air bags. To avoid being hurt by inflating air bags, children 12 and under should ride in the back seat. The back seat of your car is generally the safest place in a crash.
• Make sure the harness falls at or below the child's shoulder when your child is in a rear-facing car seat. When your child is in a forward-facing car seat, the harness should be at or slightly above the shoulder. Be sure you can't get more than one finger under the harness.
• Keep your child in a safety seat with a full harness for as long as possible — at least until he or she weighs 40 pounds. Then use a belt-positioning booster seat. This booster seat provides a taller sitting height for your child so that the adult lap and shoulder belts fit better.
• Use adult lap belts with older children when they're 57 inches tall and weigh at least 80 pounds. At this height they can sit with their knees bent at the edge of the seat and feet on the floor.
• Restrain your child with a child safety seat or seat belt every time he or she rides with you. Don't make exceptions.
• Drive safely.

SLIDE SHOW

Car seat safety

Although lakes, rivers and ponds are obvious sources of risk, most children drown in residential swimming pools. Infants, however, can drown in just a few inches of water. This means that bathtubs and wading pools are potentially dangerous. Toddlers can drown in toilets and in 5-gallon buckets that are left outside. Follow these safety tips to protect your child from drowning:

• Don't leave an infant or toddler alone in a bathtub. Stay in the bathroom with your child.
• Supervise your child every minute he or she plays near water — at the beach, at the pool or in a tub. Tragedy can occur in seconds. If you must leave, take your child with you.
• Beware of neighborhood pools, whether it's your own or your neighbor's. Remove toys from in and around the pool when not in use. Toys can attract children to pools.
• Surround your swimming pool with a fence.
• Enroll your child in swimming classes when he or she is old enough.
• Empty buckets fill with water quickly. Store them out of children's reach.
• Teach your child to always swim with a buddy. Also teach your child not to dive into unknown bodies of water, but to jump feet first to avoid hitting his or her head on the bottom.
• If you enjoy boating, require every family member and passenger to wear a life jacket that meets U.S. Coast Guard standards. Make no exceptions.
• Make sure your child doesn't walk or skate on thin ice. No ice is 100-percent-safe, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which recommends a 4-inch layer of clear, new ice as the minimum thickness. You can determine the thickness by drilling through the ice with a cordless drill or ice auger. Or you can contact your local or state parks and recreation office for an update on skating conditions.
• Instruct your child to never skate alone on a frozen lake or pond. Check for cracks, holes and other debris on the ice before your child starts skating.

Poisoning is a common cause of accidents around the home. Toddlers are especially vulnerable. You can keep your child safe by being aware of potential hazards and following these safety tips:

• Store all medicines and cleaning solutions in childproof cabinets.
• Use child-resistant caps and keep medication lids tightly closed.
• Don't take medication in front of your child or refer to pills as candy. Children often mimic the behavior of adults.
• Check your garage for gasoline containers and toxic chemicals. Place them where your child can't get to them. A cabinet with a lock works best.
• Store cleaning solutions and other household chemicals in their original containers. Don't use juice or milk bottles to store such fluids.
• Find out if you have any poisonous plants in your home. Contact your local poison control center for information.
• Call your doctor or a poison control center immediately if you think your child has been poisoned. If you have a poison emergency in the United States, call 800-222-1222. Your call will be automatically directed to the closest poison control center. Do not induce vomiting unless you're specifically advised to do so.

Babies and small children may be more prone to burns than adults. They're curious, their skin is more sensitive, and they haven't learned the dangers of heat. So you'll want to make sure you keep them out of harm's way. Follow these tips to keep your child safe:

• Set the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120 F or lower. When bathing or showering a child, carefully test the water temperature first. Move your entire hand through the water for several seconds.
• Don't drink or carry hot beverages or soup while holding a child. Tea may be more dangerous because it's typically hotter than coffee.
• Avoid using tablecloths and large placements. A curious child can pull at them and overturn a hot drink or plate of food.
• Block access to your stove if possible. Cook foods on the back burners and turn pot handles away from the front of the stove. Avoid holding a baby or small child while you're cooking.
• Place a safety screen around fireplaces, wood stoves, radiators and baseboard heaters.
• Keep matches, lighters and candles out of reach and out of sight of children.
• Install smoke detectors in every level of your home. Change batteries when you set your clocks each fall and spring. Replace smoke detectors at least every 10 years.

Children have small airways. They're also curious and, as a result, place objects in their mouths to find out about them. Both facts make them especially vulnerable to choking. Anything a child places in his or her mouth can be a danger. Common culprits are food and toys. To protect your child:

• Don't give children under age 4 any hard, smooth foods that may block or partially block their windpipe. These include all nuts, sunflower seeds, watermelon with seeds, cherries with pits, raw carrots, raw peas, raw celery, popcorn and hard candy.
• Serve certain soft foods, such as hot dogs, sausages, grapes and caramels, chopped into small pieces. These foods can cause choking because they're the right shape to block the windpipe.
• Be careful when your baby starts to eat solid food. You'll need to beware of foods such as raw apples or pears. Raw fruit is difficult for babies to chew properly because their teeth are just developing.
• Encourage your child to sit still while eating and to chew food thoroughly. Teach your child to chew and swallow food before talking or laughing.
• Don't let your child run, play sports or ride in the car with gum, candy or lollipops in his or her mouth. If your child chokes while you're driving, there's little you can do until you stop the car.
• Store safety pins, jewelry, buttons, beads and other small objects safely out of children's reach.
• Remove drawstrings from children's coats and sweatshirts. Also remove window blind cords that pose a strangulation risk.
• Follow manufacturers' age recommendations when you purchase children's toys. Some toys have small parts that can cause choking. Check toys frequently for loose or broken parts, such as a stuffed animal's loose eye.
• Warn older children not to leave loose game parts or toys with small pieces within reach of a younger sibling or cousin, the young child of a parent's friend or a playmate's younger brother or sister.
• Never give latex balloons to a child younger than 8. A child who is blowing up or chewing on a balloon can choke by inhaling the balloon or a portion of it into his or her windpipe.
• Encourage children not to put pencils, crayons or erasers in their mouths when coloring or drawing.
• Take a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) course.

In the year 2000, 193 children in the United States ages birth to 19 died from unintentional injuries involving firearms. The best way to prevent accidental shootings is to avoid keeping guns in your home and to avoid exposing your child to homes where firearms are kept. If you do keep firearms in your home, follow these guidelines to prevent accidental shootings:

• Store guns in a securely locked case and out of children's reach. Be sure they're unloaded when stored.
• Use trigger locks and other safety features.
• Store ammunition in a separate place from the firearms, locked in a container that's out of children's reach.
• Take a firearm safety course to learn the safe and correct way to use your firearm.
• Practice firearm safety. Teach your child that guns aren't toys and should never be played with.