zt: What can I do to prevent burns in the first place?

It's important to take all the precautions you can to protect your baby from burns. Children's skin is thinner than adult skin, so it burns more easily. Children under age 4 are also more at risk for complications from burns.

Here are some commonsense steps you can take to reduce your baby's chance of suffering a burn:
• Install and regularly check smoke alarms in your home.

• Install a fire extinguisher where the risk of fire is greatest, such as in the kitchen or near the fireplace.

• Use the back burners on the stove when possible. If you must use the front ones, turn the pot handles toward the back.

• Don't sit with your baby on your lap while drinking a hot beverage, and don't try to carry your baby with one hand while carrying a hot drink with the other.

• Place hot food and drinks away from the edges of counters and tables. And don't set them on placemats or tablecloths that a mobile baby could pull down.

• To reduce the chance of scalding in the sink or bathtub, set your hot water heater no higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Keep irons, curling irons, lit candles, and other potential burn hazards out of reach.

• Use a fireplace screen in front of your fireplace, and keep your baby away from the area. Also keep him away from wood stoves, radiators, barbecue grills, and space heaters.

• Cover electrical outlets with outlet covers, and keep cords out of your baby's reach.

• Check your baby's car seat before placing him in it. The seat and buckles can get hot enough to cause second-degree burns. (You might want to throw a towel over the car seat if the car will be sitting in the sun.) Also check metal playground equipment (a steel slide or swing, for example) before sitting your baby on it.