“On Your Own” Home Safety Checklist

List important numbers beside each telephone and/or program them in. You can print and fill out a form like this one.
Equip your phone with an answering device or service so it can take messages.
Have a phone with caller I.D. Tell your child to answer the phone only for specific callers. Let the phone take a message for all others.
Install a wireless home monitoring system that will alert you to when your child returns home. Receive these alerts to your cell phone, office phone, BlackBerry or email. Adding a video camera can provide an extra layer of security so you can be aware even when you are not there.

Provide secure locks for all doors and windows.
Store matches, lighters, medications, household cleaners, and other toxic substances in a safe place. Make sure they are clearly labelled and in their original containers.
Lock up alcoholic beverages, and check to make sure they do not mysteriously disappear.
Store firearms and ammunition separately and under lock and key.
Use light timers so your child doesn’t come home to a dark house.

You must have a smoke alarm on each level of the house (or for homes on one level, near the kitchen and all bedrooms). Test them to make sure they all work.
Replace any broken electrical cords and use no more than two plugs per outlet.
Keep your hot water heater below 60 C to prevent scalding.

Assemble a basic kit with your child, explaining what each item is and how to use it. Include:

box of different-sized bandages for small cuts;
sterile gauze pad for larger cuts, with adhesive tape to hold it and small scissors to cut the tape;
tweezers to remove slivers;
peroxide to clean cuts and cotton balls to apply it; and
digital thermometer to check for fever.

Keep a cold pack in the freezer.

Keep a flashlight or two (and extra batteries) handy.
Provide a few items that can run on batteries, e.g. radio, clock, electronic games.