This is according to registered nurse Sheila Swift, who wrote an article published in the Knoxville News Sentinel about the risk of tots being poisoned by medications lying around the house.

She noted toddler proof packaging on prescription drugs can reduce adults' worry about the chance their youngsters will be able to access and ingest the pills, but described this as a "false sense of security".

Many children can work out how to open bottles despite the designs used to keep them from doing so, the expert stated.

"Place all medications behind a safety lock accessible only by an adult," she recommended.

Dr Randall Bond, medical director of the Drug and Poison Information Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, recently warned the problem of infants being poisoned by medication is getting worse, not better.

This is according to Gene Kuchartski, owner of Chicago-based in-home childproofing firm Baby Safe Boundaries, who was quoted by Medill News Service as saying the Christmas tree is the biggest danger in the festive season.

A safety gate ought to be used to the room leading towards this decoration, he claimed, calling it "an absolute death trap".

Bob Baulac, who owns Safe Surroundings Childproofing, was quoted by the publication as advising mums and dads to take a playpen around with them when visiting friends and relatives so they can keep youngsters enclosed.

Furthermore, a portable child safety gate can also allow them to keep their offspring out of harm's way, he added.

Christmas presents bought for youngsters must be toddler proof and should not have any small parts, medical director of the Loyola Center for Health in Wheaton Dr Sean Cahill recently wrote for the Chicago Tribune's Triblocal Wheaton site.

This is according to Holly Schultz, mother of three and president of US-based product testing and research coalition The Baby Gizmo Company, who said in an article on ABC Local that safety gates and stair gates should always be on hand.

Furthermore, furnishings must be secured to the wall, with bookshelves, entertainment centres and dressers known to pose a risk to children, she continued.

Socket covers should be used as well, the expert added, recommending that mums and dads who are travelling with their offspring bring the devices in their luggage.

A toolbox with a child safety lock is "the perfect way to keep medications away from a child", Ms Schultz noted, pointing out that leaving them on a high shelf is not toddler proof, as youngsters will climb.

Recently, a study by 12-year-old girls Eleanor Bishop and Casey Gittelman found over one-quarter of kindergarteners and a fifth of teachers cannot tell whether a pill is candy or drugs.

This is according to US-based organisation the Home Safety Council, which pointed out family members can often gather in this room to assist the person cooking the meal.

Although children could be kept in a playpen with a baby sound monitor, the body recommended teaching youngsters to stay away from microwaves or stoves.

This can be done by putting tape around the kitchen to market it out as a toddler proof "no-kid zone", it argued.

Parents ought to keep a close eye on their offspring when anyone is cooking and pot handles should be positioned in such a way as to prevent children reaching hot pans and pulling them down, the organisation continued.

It said tablecloths and placemats should also be avoided when feeding young children, as they can move them around, potentially burning themselves with hot liquids and meals.

"Cooking is the number one cause of home fire," the group warned.

Writing in McAlester News-Capital, extension family and consumer sciences educator for the Pittsburg County Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service LaDell Emmons claimed parents "don't think twice" when fitting a child safety lock to cabinets and toilet seats.

However, they can often overlook television sets and items of furniture, she pointed out, adding: "Children are curious and like to climb."

Therefore, heavy products should be anchored to the wall and pushed back as far as possible, with anti-tip brackets attached to freestanding furnishings.

Mums and dads ought to spend time ensuring heavy furniture is safe in the same way they install safety gates to staircases or remove cleaning products and chemicals from low cabinets, the expert stated.

This echoes statements recently made by Eve Ackroyd, owner of Canadian-based Safe and Sound Baby Proofing, who was quoted by the Calgary Herald as saying: "We find overwhelmingly that parents do not consider the dangers of bedroom furniture."

Nurse Michelle Chacon is trying to raise awareness of this risk.

"You talk about childproofing your home and covering your outlets, and this needs to be a part of that," she declared.

According to the National Capital Poison Center, over 3,500 people of all ages swallow one of these products – also known as "button batteries" – every year in the US alone.

They are found in many household items, such as remote controls, musical greetings cards, digital scales, thermometers, watches and many other products that are frequently not made in a toddler proof way.

Recent research by Safe Kids USA and Energizer found 66 per cent of parents claimed to have never heard, read or seen reports of the dangers of these batteries, while 58 per cent stated their offspring seem to prefer playing with electronic products than with their own toys.

Eve Ackroyd, owner of Canadian-based store Safe and Sound Baby Proofing, was quoted by the Calgary Herald as saying: "It is not necessary to lock everything down."

However, while many parents are aware of the benefits of stair gates and socket covers, the professional noted mums and dads "overwhelmingly" fail to consider bedroom furniture.

If people were "thinking like a two-year-old", they would open up drawers and put weight on the bottom one, which makes the majority of dressers fall over, she continued.

Furthermore, children rearrange a room's furnishings in order to reach high places, so generally it is best to "move or remove a hazard", Ms Ackroyd declared.

The Children's Safety Association of Canada points out dangers exist in living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, stairs, yards and garages, as well as in other locations such as pools, cars and playgrounds.

Police officer and parent Darren Laur told the Victoria Times Colonist that prioritising 'stranger danger' can actually be harmful to youngsters.

"A child who can actually approach a stranger in public is less likely to be a victim than a child who is taught to never talk to strangers," he was quoted by the news source as saying.

Instead, the expert recommended informing children they can say "no" to everyone and to check the credentials of people claiming to have any authority.

Mr Laur, who wrote Enlighten Not Frighten, pointed out that children will always talk to individuals they do not know on a regular, day-to-day basis.

Instead, he suggested that they should be taught to recognise situational hazards, but should know not to go anywhere with strangers.

Youngsters ought to be constantly monitored and understand how to respond to dangerous events, vice-chairman of the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye recently wrote in the Star Online.

This is according to Pediatric Associates of Mobile paediatrician Dr Nancy Wood, who was quoted as saying by Fox10tv.com that this involves making both big and small items secure.

Flat screen televisions and bookshelves might be pulled down by youngsters, which can cause injury, she pointed out, adding that parents either want these items "secured to the wall, or [they] want the base wide enough" so children cannot pull them on to themselves.

The expert noted that planning ahead is essential when keeping children safe, stating that they will soon be running around and climbing on to things.

Items that could pose a risk to them should be put out of reach, she argued – a process that might involve using a child safety lock or stair gates.

Grandparents' houses, babysitters' residences and other locations that a youngster visits must be made toddler proof as well, Dr Wood declared.

Hotel rooms should also be made safe, Primary Children's child advocacy manager Janet Brooks recently told ABC4.com.

Bath and North East Somerset Council noted that a revised European Standard for these items in 2009 requires that all those sold after this time contain a warning informing people of the dangers of looped cords, alongside a cleat mechanism to keep them out of reach.

"Making sure children's beds or cots and other furniture" are not next to windows with these devices can also protect the safety of youngsters, cabinet member for neighbourhoods councillor David Dixon said.

Mums and dads frequently consider problems such as hot surfaces, walkers and edges on furnishings when making their domicile toddler proof but do not remember their windows, Dr Gary Smith was recently quoted as saying by McClatchy Newspapers.