The home can be a minefield for young children. Baby walkers, car seats, change tables, bike helmets, bath seats and blinds are the kinds of products that can pose a danger for youngsters.

Safe Kids Canada, a national organization based at the Hospital for Sick Children, is drawing attention to the hazards during its annual Safe Kids Week this week.

A booklet titled From Cribs to Car Seats: Are Your Kids Safe? is being distributed free. It contains tips parents can use to check products they own or are thinking of buying.

And the London Safe Kids Committee is holding three product roundups -- one in London and two in Middlesex County -- on Saturday to collect unsafe items for free destruction.

Everyone who brings in an item to the product roundup has a chance to win a safe, stationary activity centre for babies.

London Safe Kids Committee chairperson Susan Wray says children's products can be hazardous for different reasons.

Some are dangerous and not recommended for use. Safe Kids Canada puts baby walkers in this category.

Based on several studies, Safe Kids estimates 1,000 children a year are injured using baby walkers. Some kids topple downstairs, others use the extra height from being upright to grab ovens, irons, poisons and other hazards normally out of reach. And being able to roll along at a metre per second often makes the walkers too fast for supervising adults to catch up before disaster strikes.

There is a voluntary ban on the sale of baby walkers in Canada. But not every retailer honours the ban. Other walkers are sold at garage sales, imported after a purchase over the Internet or handed down in families.

Other products, such as car seats and change tables, have to be used correctly to be safe.

Some, such as baby bath seats and baby gates, may give a false sense of security to parents. "Supervision is the key," Wray says.

Other products lose their effectiveness over time. Bike helmets, for example, should be replaced every five years because straps and padding deteriorate.

Wray urges parents to check for safety hazards and product recalls on new products as well as items they buy at garage sales or accept as hand-me-downs.

A Safe Kids Canada survey in March showed 99 per cent of parents think they're doing all they can to protect their children from product-related injuries. But 87 per cent assume products they buy or receive as gifts are safe. And 48 per cent don't check for recall notices.

IF YOU GO

What: Safe Kids Week product roundup of unsafe children's products

When: Saturday, 10 a.m.- 2 p.m.

Where: Argyle Mall, London; Kenwick Mall, Strathroy; Thames Centre firehall, Dorchester; the Dorchester event is also a child car seat check

FOR MORE INFO

Safety checklist

A booklet titled From Cribs to Car Seats: Are Your Kids Safe? is available from London Bridge Child Care, Children's Safety Village, Middlesex-London Health Unit, Once Upon a Child and other places serving children

Product recalls

- Health Canada: www.hc-sc. gc.ca/hecs-sesc/cps/index.htm or www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/ protection/warnings.html

- Transport Canada (car seats): www.tc.gc.ca/ roadsafety/ childsafe/cindex_e.htm

- US Consumer Product Safety Commission: ww.cpsc.gov/ cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html