UH Rainbow Safety Store Now Open

The Rainbow Safety Store is officially open for business. Run by the Rainbow Injury Prevention Center, the new store has a display case located at the atrium entrance to UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. A product list and ordering information are available online at rainbowbabies.org/safetystore.

The Safety Store offers a wide range of safety products, including baby-proofing items, car seats, booster seats, carbon monoxide detectors, smoke detectors, personal safety items such as medical alert IDs, special-needs products such as wheelchair ponchos and evacuation mats, and sportssafety items such as bike and ski helmets. All items are sold at cost, well below retail prices.

The Safety Store provides a convenient opportunity for staff, patients’ families and hospital visitors to get a wide range of safety products at great prices.

Home Safety 101

In these tough economic times, it may seem even more difficult to think about what’s necessary to keep your family safe. Here’s the good news: Keeping your children safe doesn’t have to be expensive.

There are plenty of free things you can do to help make your home safer without breaking your budget. Consider the following tips to help you get started:

• Keep an eye on your children at all times. This is the best way to keep children safe, and it doesn’t cost a penny.
• Keep poisonous items, such as medicines and cleaners, locked away and out of reach of children. Don’t let children play on stairs, furniture, balconies or roofs, or in driveways, streets or parking lots.
• Practice an escape plan with your family in case of a fire or other disaster.
• Cook on back burners and keep handles facing away from the front of the stove, so curious children can’t pull hot contents down on themselves.
• Keep bathroom doors closed with a hook-and-eye latch above a child’s reach to keep kids away from hazards in the bathroom.
• Tape any loose rugs firmly to the floor/carpet to avoid slips and slides of running toddlers.

Safety on a Budget

We all know that nothing replaces active supervision, but the right safety devices can go a long way in helping to protect children. Be a savvy shopper with these low-cost investments. (The price in parenthesis is the average retail price.)

Remember: A higher price does not mean the device is safer or easier to use.

• Outlet plug ($2)
• Cabinet/drawer lock ($4)
• Window stop ($5)
• Furniture strap/bracket ($5)
• Smoke alarm ($10)
• Carbon monoxide alarm ($20)
• Window guard ($30)
• Safety gate ($40)