The Parenting Journal

The living room looks safe. Soft couch, low coffee table, maybe a basket of toys in the corner. But the outlets clustered behind the entertainment center, the lamp cord snaking across the baseboard, the window blind cord looped over its...

Every 15 seconds, someone in the U.S. calls a poison center about an exposure, about 2.1 million calls in 2024 alone, according to America’s Poison Centers. A significant share of those calls involve children who found something under the kitchen...

Every 15 seconds, someone in the U.S. calls a poison center about an exposure. America’s Poison Centers logged nearly 2.1 million human poison exposures in 2024, the equivalent of one case every 15 seconds. A significant share of those calls...

Every summer, I watch parents at the neighborhood park do the same thing: they settle onto a bench, pull out their phones, and assume the equipment is safe because it’s there. It isn’t always. For toddlers specifically, the gap between...

The outlet in my living room was about eight inches off the floor. I didn’t notice until my older daughter started pulling herself up to stand, at which point that little two-slot receptacle was exactly at eye level for a...

The bedroom feels safe. It’s quiet, familiar, carpeted. But CPSC reports one child death every two weeks from furniture, TV, or appliance tip-overs, and half of all child tip-over deaths happen in the bedroom. Not the kitchen. Not the stairs....

The drawer my older daughter opened at 22 months wasn’t the knife drawer. It was the one below it, the one I figured was fine because it held baking sheets and a cast iron skillet. She pulled the drawer all...

Sliding doors are among the most overlooked hazards in a baby-proofed home. Parents spend hours installing cabinet locks and outlet covers, then leave a 70-pound glass panel on a track that a determined two-year-old can move with one hand.The risk...

The garden looks harmless. It’s just dirt and plants and a little afternoon sun. But the same space where you grow tomatoes and deadhead roses is full of hazards that are difficult to see until you’re down at crawling height,...