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Parent Caregiver Resources
Your Child's Sight

Home and Toy Eye Safety for Children

The most common causes of eye injuries to children are:

  • Misuse of toys
  • Falls from beds, against furniture, on stairs, and when playing with toys
  • Misuse of everyday tools and objects (work and garden tools, knives and forks, pens and pencils)
  • Contact with harmful household products (detergents, paints, glues, etc.)
  • Automobile accidents.

Indoor Safety

  • Use safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs.
  • Provide lights and handrails to improve safety on stairs.
  • Pad or cushion sharp corners and edges of furnishing and home fixtures.
  • Install cabinet and drawer locks in kitchens and bathrooms.
  • Store personal-use items (cosmetics, toiletry products), kitchen utensils, and desk supplies where they are out of reach for children.
  • Keep paints, pesticides, fertilizers, and similar products properly stored in a secure area.

Toy Safety

  • Read all warnings and instructions on toys.
  • Avoid toys with sharp or rigid points, shafts, spikes, rods, and dangerous edges.
  • Keep toys intended for older children away from younger children.
  • Avoid flying toys and projectile-firing toys; these pose a danger to all children, particularly those under five years old.
  • Be aware of items in playgrounds and play areas that pose potential eye hazards.
  • Keep BB guns away from kids.

Learn more…

Car Safety

  • Use occupant restraints such as infant and child safety seats, booster seats, safety belts, and shoulder harnesses in cars.
  • Children age 12 and younger should never ride in the front seat.
  • Store loose items in the trunk, or secured on the floor. Any loose object can become dangerous in a crash.