21 Oct HOME SAFETY HAZARDS AND COMPLACENCY CHECK
We need to talk about complacency. Complacency exists in our homes and accidents can happen in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately the statistics for childhood injuries around the home remain high. Every week, 3 children die due to serious injury in the home. A further 60, 000 are admitted to hospital each year. Your adult-friendly home has many potential hazards for a child. But you can keep your child safe by finding out what the risks are, and then preventing or removing them.
Here are our top safety tips for around the home:
✅ Use power point covers.
✅ Lock medicines and other poisons behind closed doors
✅ When your child starts climbing, lock windows – particularly upper-storey windows – restrict window openings, or shield them with firmly attached window guards. This will stop your child climbing out and falling.
✅ Check that furniture is sturdy – your child shouldn’t be able to pull it down or knock it over.
✅ Anchoring furniture like bookshelves and wardrobes to the wall or floor reduces the risk of them tipping.
✅ Put stickers on glass at eye level.
✅ Lock away hand tools like saws and drills, and keep lawnmowers, chainsaws and other sharp tools out of reach.
✅ Putting a child-safety latch on the doors of cupboards where you keep household poisons.
✅ Wrap blind cords in cleats attached to the wall at least 1.6 m above the floor.
Regular risk assessment of your homes are essential in preventing accidents with our little ones.Ensuring that you are sufficient in first aid and CPR training is also essential for keeping our little ones safe!