This week on Health Watch, we’re talking about caring for children. Young children haven’t yet learned which things may be dangerous and painful. They’re still exploring their world and touching everything. That makes it important for parents to keep them away from potential dangers.

At this time of year, families may use gas fireplaces for warmth or to make a room more cozy, but Dr. Douglas Baker, a pediatrician and emergency-room physician at UT Southwestern Medical Center, says children are burning themselves on the glass fireplace doors. They may fall and catch themselves on the hot glass, or they may touch the glass out of curiosity. Children should be supervised when the fireplace is being used, or it should be used after children have gone to bed. Barriers around the fireplace may also help protect children.

Visit  http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/patientcare/medicalservices/pediatrics.html to learn more about UT Southwestern’s clinical service in pediatrics.