Child and Adolescent Safety

Locking Devices

Learn more about firearm locking devices and choose the best option for you:

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Lock Up All Your Firearms

Lock up all your firearms when they are not being used to reduce risk of accidents, theft, and suicide. There’s a spectrum of security and safety for firearm storage.

Least Safe and Secure

Firearm stored loaded and unlocked

More Safe and Secure

Firearm stored loaded and locked up

Most Safe and Secure

Firearm stored unloaded, locked up, with the ammunition locked up in a separate location

Other Steps You Can Take

You can also:

• Talk with others about firearm safety, including safe and secure storage. It may feel awkward at first, but it’s just as important as other safety topics, like seatbelts and bike helmets.
• Take a firearm safety class, such as those offered by local shooting ranges.
• Plan for the future of your firearms by making a firearm life plan. Planning tools for you and your family are available on the Firearm Life Plan website, developed by the University of Colorado with feedback from firearm owners, family members, and others who have experience with firearms.

Learn more on the Firearm Industry Trade Association website’s Gun Storage Check page.

• Share your room, not your bed. Place your baby’s crib, bassinet, pack-n-play, or cradleboard in your bedroom.
• Choose a firm, flat, and level surface for your baby to sleep on, such as their own crib, bassinet, pack-n-play or cradleboard.
• Remove all toys, blankets, pillows, bumper pads and other objects from your baby’s sleep space.
• Dress your baby in pajamas or a non-weighted wearable blanket for sleep.
• Place babies to sleep on their backs at naps and at night until they are 1 year old.

Learn more about creating a creating a safe sleep plan.

• Store all prescriptions and over-the-counter medications in a medication lock box or pouch.
• Store substances not appropriate for children, like alcohol, tobacco, vaping devices and e-juice, cannabis, and any other drugs in a locked cabinet, lock box, or locked pouch.
• Store household products and cleaning solutions in a cabinet or drawer that is secured using a safety latch or lock or out of children’s sight and reach.

Learn more on the Washington Poison Center’s General Poison Prevention page. There, you can download the Washington Poison Center Poison Safety Checklist and walk through your home to identify more ways to keep kids safe.

• Attach furniture, TVs, and appliances to the wall using anchors, anti-tip brackets, braces, or wall straps to prevent items from falling on curious children as they explore their environment.
• Install window guards and safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs to prevent falls. At the top of the stairs, only install safety gates that screw to the wall.
• Keep toilet lids closed and use toilet seat locks to prevent drowning.
• Add corner or edge bumpers to furniture to prevent injuries caused by falling against sharp edges.
• Use doorknob covers and door locks to prevent children from entering rooms with dangers or hazards.
• Cover electrical outlets with outlet covers or outlet plates to prevent electrical shock.
• Install cordless window coverings or remove dangling window cords to prevent strangulation.

Read the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s guide, Childproofing Your Home: Several Safety Devices to Help Protect Your Children from Home Hazards, to learn more. 

• Install smoke alarms and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms on every level of your home, including inside bedrooms and near other sleeping areas. Request a free smoke alarm from the Red Cross or the Spokane Fire Department.
• Test smoke alarms and CO alarms each month, and change the batteries or replace alarms when needed.
• Create a home fire and CO escape plan, including two ways you could exit each room and where your family will meet outside the home.
• Practice your home fire and CO escape plan with your family at least twice each year.
• Teach children to exit the home quickly if the smoke alarm or CO alarm sounds, crawl low and below smoke, get to the meeting place, and do not go back inside.

Learn more about how to: Prevent Home Fires on the U.S. Fire Administration website.

• Set your water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.
• Use anti-scald devices for faucets and shower heads.
• Place objects in the kitchen so that they cannot be pulled down or knocked over.
• Turn pot handles away from the stove’s edge.
• When younger children are in the home, have a child-free zone of at least three feet around the stove, grill, or fire.
• As kids grow older, teach them how to cook safely including using dry oven mitts or potholders to prevent burns from hot cookware.

Learn more about Burn Prevention, First Aid and Calling 911 on the FEMA website.

• Gather everything you need, like towels, clothes, soap and toys, before bathtime begins so you don’t have to leave your child alone in the water.
• Check the bath water temperature with the inside of your wrist before placing your child in the water. Safe bath water should feel warm to the touch but not hot.
• During the bath, keep infants and toddlers within arm’s reach of an adult at all times.
• After the bath, empty tubs, buckets, containers, and kid’s pools immediately and store them upside down so they don’t collect water. 

Learn more about Bathing Your Baby at HealthyChildren.org.

Media Use and Screen Time

• Build a family media plan, including guidelines for family screen time, how everyone in the family will use social media, and how devices fit into your lives.
• Balance time with and without devices by creating screen-free places in your home, such as areas where the family eats and bedrooms, planning regular screen-free family activities, and planning screen time when it feels beneficial for your family.
• Talk about social media regularly with kids, starting at a young age. Ask questions with an open mind to understand their experiences and perspectives. Describe how social media platforms work, and make sure your children know they can come to you to talk about their experiences online.
• Set a good example for your children by discussing healthy social media habits you practice and sharing what you are doing when you are looking at your devices.
• Know which platforms are age- and content-appropriate for children.
• Know who kids are connecting with online and set safety rules for online chatting and chatting while gaming.
• Set privacy settings at their most secure levels. 

Find more social media and technology health and safety resources on the American Academy of Pediatrics website.

• Keep toys with choking hazards or small parts, including water beads, away from young children (3 years old and younger).
• Check the age and safety guidance on toy and game packages and consider your child’s development when purchasing toys. 
• In your home, separate toys by age and store toys and games with small parts up and away from young children. 

Learn more about toy safety on the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) website.

When using all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) or off-highway vehicles (OHVs):

• Keep ATVs and OHVs off roads.
• Know the limits of your ATVs or OHVs including the number of passengers who can safely ride and age limits for drivers.
• Wear safety gear while using ATVs and OHVs, including helmets, eye protection, boots, gloves, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt.

Learn more about OHV and ATV safety on the CPSC website.

• Wear bright clothing or reflective gear when around roadways and teach your children to do the same.
• Ensure all children younger than 13-years-old ride in the back seat of every vehicle. The middle back seat is the safest place for a child.
• Choose the right car seat or booster seat based on your child’s weight and height. Read The Ultimate Car Seat Guide on safekids.org.
• Keep your child in a rear-facing seat as long as possible, until your child has outgrown the seat by height or weight.
• Use and install your car seat according to the directions. A properly installed car seat should not move more than one inch when its base is tugged. Sign up for a free professional car seat installation or safety check provided by Safe Kids Spokane.
• Teach your children to buckle up for every ride, starting at a young age.
• Eliminate distractions, such as texting, while you are driving. Kids watch and learn from their parents, even when you think they might not be.
• Start talking with your children about driving safely a few years before they start learning to drive. You and your teen can learn more together using the Countdown2Drive program on safekids.org.
• Enroll your teen in an approved driver's education course and consider participating in safety incentive programs for young drivers. Find more information and education for young drivers on the Washington Traffic Safety Commission website.

Recommendations provided by the following local, national and international organizations informed the development of this page.

• American Academy of Pediatrics Online Health and Safety Resources
• American Red Cross Northwest Region Red Cross Home Fire Campaign
• City of Spokane Fire Prevention Public Education
• Consumer Product Safety Commission
  Childproofing Your Home: Several Safety Devices to Help Protect Your Children from Home Hazards
  OHV & ATV Safety
  Toys
• FEMA Burn Prevention, First Aid and Calling 911
• Healthychildren.org Bathing Your Baby
• Safekids.org
  A Parent's Guide to Child Safety
  At Play
  Car and Road Safety
  Home Safety
  Safe Kids Month
  The Ultimate Car Seat Guide
• Spokane Valley Fire Department Events, Classes, Tours and Programs
• Spokane County Target Zero Task Force Spokane shares the road.
• University of Colorado Firearm Life Plan
• U.S. Fire Administration Prevent Home Fires
• Washington Poison Center General Poison Prevention
• Washington Traffic Safety Commission Young Drivers