Hidden Hotel Travel Dangers: Safeguarding the Room for Kids

Hotel armoire presents tipping danger. Photo Credit: HomeSafetyGuru.com

We are preparing for a mini tropical escape to the Keys in Florida where we’ll be staying at Hawks Cay Resort. We are anxious to experience the amenities and location off this family-friendly location. When traveling with kids to any hotel or resort, it is important to ensure that your accommodations are kid-proofed, just as parents do at home.

I have had the pleasure of working with The Home Safety Guru Louie Delaware and he is chalk full of great safety tips, particularly travel-related tips to ensure that extra precaution is taken to ensure no unnecessary, preventable, dreaded accidents occur dampening the vacation experience.

“Hotel rooms are full of things that a child can get into trouble,” Delaware explains. “Items like electrical outlets, windows, balconies, unstable furniture, hot water and many other items which are safeguarded at your home are now hazards once again.”

On a recent hotel stay, Delaware’s family inspected their hotel room and discovered some potential hazards for children. Something that is present in most hotel rooms is an ironing board behind a door. ”It is relatively easy for a child to push the board up and off of the hook (let alone hitting the iron and causing it to drop as well),” he adds.

Photo Credit: HomeSafetyGuru.com

Windows are a blaring red light to pay attention to in terms of hotel hazards. In the hotel room the Delaware family stayed at the room contained a tip-down window. Delaware explains that the handles can be reached by a child and pulled down and the opening is large enough for a child to fall through the window. To top off the type of window that was present, a chair was near the window, making it easier for a child to get access to the window opening, he adds.

Furniture is another hazard category. In the Delaware’s hotel room there was an armoire with a TV, not an uncommon fixture. “The risks here are either a tip-over hazard when a child pulls out a drawer and stands on it or pulls on an opened door (especially if they see the video game controller on top of the TV),” Delaware points out. “The other is the shelf that the TV set is on can be pulled out an either the TV can slide off of be tipped off of the shelf.”

Bathroom hazards for kids. Photo Credit: HomeSafetyGuru.com

The Delawares also documented the hazards present in the bathroom. The toilet was unlocked and this is a concern because Delaware reminds us that drowning is the number one cause of death in a home for children aged one- to two-years-old. For the bathtub, there was no anti-slip mat on the bottom of the bath, nor no edge protection on the hard sides. “Further, in nearly every motel / hotel that I have ever stayed at, the water is way too hot, well over the 120 degrees recommended for a child,” he says.

Delaware has created some tips to help ensure a safer and more peaceful vacation, hopefully void of any mishaps. Below are a few of his suggestions, but to see them all, please visit http://www.homesafetyguru.com/.

• Ask - Some hotels have rooms that have been childproofed. One example of this is The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida. They will childproof your room ahead of your arrival if you request this service.
• BYOCG - Bring Your Own Childproofing Goods. You may need to bring items like outlet plug inserts, safe non-incandescent night lights, bathtub mats and the like to help make your room safer.
• Get Down At Your Child’s Level - Like you may have done at your home, go around the room and inspect it for hazards. Things like small items left on the floor or in drawers, sharp metal objects protruding down from the bottom of table and beds, plastic bags left by a previous guest, drawer or cabinet knobs that can come off, and rubber door stop caps.
• Duct Tape - This can be used to create barriers that a young child can’t get past. Items like windows, TVs, toilet seat covers, drawers, shower doors, drawers & cabinets, etc. can be easily “locked” by using a little creativity. You can even use duct tape with a rolled up towel to pad the corners of tables to make them less “hard”. Don’t forget to do this for night stand for kids that like to jump from bed to bed.
• Bathroom Items - Put all hazardous items on a high shelf and disconnect blow dryers and coffee makers.
• Balconies - Many older balconies have spacing that is too wide apart to be safe for a child, or are horizontal rungs which act as a ladder for the child. If in doubt, you may be able to get the hotel to put up a barrier. Otherwise, do not allow your child to have access to the area.
• Window Cover Pull Cords - Loop and tie up any longer window blind cords.  

“Your trip to a hotel should be a fun event for everyone,” according to Delaware. “A little bit of time spent at before you go to the hotel and after you get to the room can make all of the difference in your stay. A little bit of proactive work can go a long way to keeping your family safe.”

Do you have any hotel/resort safety rituals you perform?