At this time families are spending most of their time at home so it is important to give some extra thought to general home safety and accident prevention.Family Safety Week, supported by Royal Soc...
At this time families are spending most of their time at home so it is important to give some extra thought to general home safety and accident prevention.
Family Safety Week, supported by Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), is also coming up (30 March to 3 April) so it’s a perfect time for Warwickshire County Council (WCC) to share some useful tips on how people can help keep their family safe in the home.
There are approximately 89,000 accidents amongst 0-14 year olds every year and just under half of these are children aged five and under. A large majority of these accidents to young people happen in their own homes. Odd bumps or scrapes are part of growing up - they are how children learn about the world around them however there are lots of things you can do to keep your child safe in the home and to avoid a more serious accident.
By getting down to our kids’ level and seeing the world through their eyes, we can spot dangers, and help to keep them safe.
Take a look at WCC’s top tips to keep your kids safe at home during self-isolation:
Certain foods and small objects can be risky for young children - anything smaller than a two pence piece can get stuck in their throats. So, avoid foods like this or cut them up lengthways or into quarters to make them safer to eat.
If your child is mobile, it’s surprising the things they can reach! Make sure to keep things like blind cords, plastic bags and drawstring bags out of reach.
When you’re cooking, make sure saucepans are out of reach and handles aren’t sticking out and most importantly, don’t leave kids unsupervised in the kitchen
Did you know that your child’s skin will scald a lot more easily than yours as an adult? A hot drink takes 15 minutes to cool down to a temperature that will not scald so whenever you’re making a cuppa, be sure to keep it out of reach of your children and on a high surface
Keep medicines in a high, lockable cupboard (including everyday painkillers like paracetamol) so that your children can’t reach them
If you’re planning on doing lots of cleaning around the house over the coming weeks, keep your cleaning products out of reach in high cupboard and out of site and remember to put them away once you’ve finished cleaning
Put small objects away – things like button batteries for toys can be a choking hazard for small children and can also cause internal bleeding
If you’ve got a garden, you’ll be wanting your little ones to get some fresh air over the coming weeks, just makes sure your garden chemicals and equipment are locked away in a garage or shed and keep an eye out for some garden plants, such as bright red yew berries and foxgloves which are especially attractive to small children but incredibly toxic. If you’re planning on getting some new plants, remember to always ready the label.These are just a few small steps you can take to keep your child safe at home. Find out more about child accident prevention:
RoSPA have created a Keeping Children Safe hub on their website with lots of useful tips for parents - https://www.rospa.com/Resources/Information-hubs/Keeping-Kids-Safe
For more information and support for you and your family, visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/childrenandfamilies
Published: 26th March 2020