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Action 3: Keep Environments Safe and Secure

Environments play an important role in preventing injuries. Children learn by exploring and experimenting with everything around them. They depend on adults to set up safe environments that allow them to play without risk of injuries.

A safe environment starts with age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate equipment in good condition. Maintenance and inspections ensure the safety of materials and equipment over time. Watching for changes in the environment and observing how children use materials and equipment can help keep the space safe.

In a culture of safety, staff look for hazards and remove them before injuries occur. Encourage communication about safety concerns. Make sure your program has policies and procedures to help you respond quickly to any hazards.

Keep Environments Safe and Secure

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Action 3. Keep Environments Safe and Secure

Narrator: Children learn by exploring and experimenting with everything around them. Children depend on adults to set up safe and secure environments, so they can play, and learn, and grow without risk of injuries. 

What does a safe and secure environment look like? It is free from hazards, and includes toys, equipment, and furniture that matches the ages and developmental levels of the children and allows them to explore safely.

Hazards may involve equipment and furniture that could tip over or lead to falls or cuts; tools, appliances, and toys with small parts that could cause injuries or choking; cleaning supplies, art materials, and medications that could lead to poisoning; heat and cold that could lead to burns or frostbite; or animals and insects that could bite or sting. In a culture of safety, you identify hazards and remove them before injuries occur. 

You can prevent many injuries by taking precautions related to three factors: the child, the environment, and the adult. When you understand common injuries and young children's behavior, you can set up an environment that allows for a developmentally appropriate play and exploration, with appropriate adult supervision, so you can keep children safe.

For example, infants learn through exploring their environment and often put things in their mouths, so you can adjust the environment to make sure there are no toys with small parts or other choking hazards within reach. The adults continually scan the environment for hazards and stay close to young children.

Their proximity and supervision ensure that they can respond quickly if needed. So, how do you make sure your environment is safe and secure? Observe the environment from a child's perspective and look for things that could be a safety hazard. Think about children's abilities, how they interact with their environment, and how this may change as children acquire new skills.

For example, place toys on low shelves so young children do not have to climb furniture to reach them. Add safety latches to low cabinets to ensure children cannot access what's inside. Install covers on electrical outlets so children cannot put anything into them. Conduct frequent checks using safety checklists for indoor and outdoor environments.

Be sure the checklists are matched to the ages and developmental abilities of your children. Once a hazard has been identified, eliminate it immediately or report the problem so it can be fixed as soon as possible. If a hazard cannot be fixed or removed right away, do not allow children to access any unsafe areas until you have been informed the repairs are completed.

After you set up a safe environment and use a checklist to check for hazards, watch children interact with the environment to make sure it remains safe for exploration and learning. In a culture of safety, programs value conversations to discuss injuries, safety concerns, and near misses. These learning opportunities can help you figure out why a problem occurred in the first place and make a plan to prevent it from happening again.

We are all responsible for a culture of safety.

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Implementation Tips

  • Set up a safe environment. Choose materials and equipment that are age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate and free from hazards. Arrange the room to support active supervision, as well as children’s development and learning.
  • Observe the environment from a child’s perspective. Look for things that could be a safety hazard. Think about children’s abilities, how they interact with their environment, and how this may change as children acquire new skills.
  • Get safety equipment. Install safety gates, electrical plug covers, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, locks on cabinets and doors, and other safety devices to prevent injuries. This allows children to explore their environment safely and supports their school readiness.
  • Train staff on safety practices. Provide training on the types of injuries that can happen in early childhood programs. Discuss how injuries are often related to children, adults, and the environment.
  • Conduct a safety check. Make sure that staff know how and when to use safety checklists to review classrooms, playgrounds, or the family child care home.
    • Checklists should include the smallest, easiest-to-miss hazards. Be sure the checklists match children’s ages and developmental abilities. To ensure your checklist covers all the important elements, review the CFOC Online Standards Database.
    • Record the results of your observations. Determine if there are any immediate risks to children’s safety and address them right away. This may include restricting access to unsafe areas and removing damaged materials or equipment.
  • Use monitoring systems to report, repair, and maintain the safety of your facilities and equipment. Work with your supervisor, facilities manager, or others to repair or replace damaged materials. Use your ongoing monitoring systems to inspect the environment. Keep up preventive maintenance of the facility and equipment.

Resources to learn more:

Check for Recalls 
Health and Safety Screener 
California Childcare Health Program Health and Safety Checklist 
Designing Environments 
Strategic Maintenance Planning Tool 
A Guide to Safety Conversations with Families

Read more:

,  Safety Practices