I was wondering how much child safety some people include in their report. This is because of a home I inspected a couple of days ago.
It was a nice house, and my client is a young mom, with 2 small kids. Dad is active-duty, serving in Afghanistan. During the inspection, I pointed out several items: no anti-tip device on the oven, long cords on the window blinds, etc.
I wondered if anyone has info or a source for child-proofing a home. This might be a nice handout in this situation again.
It does not hurt to give families tips/information about child safety. One of my first questions in an inspection is “do you have any children”? It changes my inspection procedures slightly. A list of child safety concerns should be given away at all inspections. I give several lists away, included with the report, on security, child safety, maintenance tips, etc.
Biggest thing I watch out… LOW window sills in 2 story houses. Kids can easily fall out. And watch out for balconies that are “climbable” a lot of contemporary modern homes have cables installed through guardrails, although most are code compliant many are are climbable.
And pools, always recommend layers of safety. I recommend all pool and spa properties have lockable covers, alarms on all doors and windows, and a perimeter fence. Inform your clients, its okay to EXCEED code standards and hundreds of kids die each year in pool and spa related accidents. Also, remove portable steps from spas…
Child safety is #1 in my home inspections, whether my Buyers have children or not. People do have company over and children may be tagging along with them.
As a parent and having 4 aged 9 - 16 I can give advice on child proofing from a been there done that POV, also there are some childproofing handouts like will’s and many more on the net. just google childproofing and ad them to the report as handouts when needed or include the link if your doing a computer report
Guys,
Google Government Printing Office. They have “tons” of free publications. I order them all the time and include them in all of my reports. They come in several languages too. They ship them for free to my office.