Small children have an amazing ability to thwart all your efforts to keep them safe. They open baby gates and foil supposedly childproof latches. They also stick fingers, forks and keys into wall outlets.

When a child sticks a metal object into an electric outlet, the consequences can be tragic. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that hospital emergency rooms treat 3,900 injuries associated with electrical outlets each year and about a third of these injuries happen when children insert metal objects into outlets. There are a number of products that can help keep children safe, including plastic caps that cover the outlet and sliding safety outlet cover plates that spring shut when a plug is removed. While these options help, they can all be thwarted by children's ingenuity.

There are at least two new designs for wall outlets that prevent current from flowing unless a standard plug is plugged into the outlet, pretty much eliminating the chance that a child could be injured.

The Child Guarde™ outlet from Power-Off Products only allows power to flow to the outlet when it reads that two objects have entered the outlet slots nearly simultaneously. Chris Skarie, an electrical engineer, developed the Child Guarde outlet after his toddler was just barely prevented from sticking a key in an outlet. It's easy to install and looks much like a standard outlet.

In 1998, Skarie approached Cass County Electric Cooperative in Kindred, N.D., with his idea. Officials thought it was a good one and passed it on to the Cooperative Research Network® (www.crnweb.org), the research and development service for the nation's electric cooperatives. CRN funds research for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (www.nreca.org), which represents more than 1,000 cooperative electric utilities, including Jackson EMC. CRN determined that the idea had promise and committed to help develop and fund the new type of outlet.

The Child Guarde™ outlet, which currently retails at $25, is available online at www.childguarde.com and at a number of Web sites that focus on baby products, including www.babyguard.com, www.cyberbabymall.com and www.safebeginnings.com. Another new product that offers protection from tiny fingers is ProtectConnect® (www.protectconnect.com) and its Safety Outlet System (SOS™), available for new home construction. SOS prevents injury and property damage by shielding the blades of plugs and preventing unintentional disconnection of a plug from an outlet. It also eliminates the risk of electrical shock or fire from accidental contact with half-in, half-out plugs. ProtectConnect's products shield the energized wires behind switches and outlets.

In addition to safety, another benefit of ProtectConnect products is reducing the cost of building. With this system, wiring is completed during framing and can be tested before drywall is hung. The product uses a special junction box and cover that keeps the outlets clean during drywall and other work. At the end of the building process, almost any worker can remove the protective covers and snap the desired switch or outlet into place. Additional changes are on the horizon for the lowly outlet, which may eventually bring you high-speed Internet connections, home networking and other ways to make your life safer, more convenient and more fun.