Decreasing dangerous infant behaviors through parent instruction.

The team visited three families at home. Each baby kept doing risky things like crawling toward outlets or grabbing glass.

Parents got one short lesson. They locked up hazards, used a playpen time-out when the baby neared danger, and praised safe play.

A multiple-baseline design showed that parents started the plan at different times. This proved the training, not luck, cut the risks.

Danger acts fell from many each hour to almost zero right after the lesson.

Seven months later the gains were still there. No new gear or drugs were needed—just parent action.

Baer et al. (1984) did similar home visits but only taught parents to remove hazards. Their houses got safer, yet kids could still lunge for new dangers. R et al. added child-proofing plus time-out and praise, so the babies themselves stopped approaching risk.

Allison et al. (1980) paired time-out with toy-play rewards for older, oppositional kids. The combo beat either tactic alone, echoing R’s blend of mild punishment and praise for infants.

Scudder et al. (2026) later had bachelor-level staff deliver parent coaching at home. They copied the same two-step logic: boost safe skills, briefly block bad ones. Their wider reach shows the 1987 recipe still works when you scale down the provider degree.

You can copy this package in one visit. Bring outlet covers, show the playpen spot, and script praise like “safe hands.” Parents leave with a clear rule: hazard gone first, time-out second, applause last. Use it for any family whose toddler heads for stairs, cleaners, or sharp tables. The low cost and seven-month follow-up mean you get durable safety without long case hours.