With summer vacations come family road trips and nights away from home. Your hotel room is your "home away from home" and contains its own set of potential safety hazards for your children. When staying in a hotel room, take a few minutes to childproof the room immediately upon arrival and avoid any potential dangerous mishaps on your vacation.

In a recent SAFE KIDS campaign conducted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 82 percent of cribs examined in 90 hotels and motels in 27 states had at least one safety hazard including soft bedding, loose hardware, or adult-sized sheets - all of which pose choking and strangulation hazards.

Other childproofing items to watch for include installing plastic plug guards in electrical outlets during your visit. Check all areas of the room (under cushions, under beds, in closets, etc.) for small choking hazards such as disposable lighters, hair pins, coins, and paper clips. Watch dangling cords on lamps that could be pulled down by a toddler. Also pull cords used to open blinds and drapes up and out of the way (they pose a considerable strangulation hazard to children). Remove complimentary packs of matches immediately. Check the hot water in the sink and bath to make sure it doesn’t become hot enough to scald your child. Be sure to place any prescription medication out of reach in your room - a closet shelf may be a safer choice than the sink counter top. Above all, review your fire exits and show them to your children in case of emergency. Vacations are meant for fun and relaxation. Don’t let a needless accident ruin that experience.