If you have a young child, you will know the importance of keeping them safe at home when you’re out and about.
But according to Kidsafe, an organisation that works to prevent accidents to children, they are more likely to be injured at home than anywhere else.
Home safety for kids is just as important as taking care of them once you step outside of the house. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to keeping your child safe and secure at home.
Stay safe on the drive
Let’s start with before you even enter the home. Your drive is a hazard for children, particularly if they are under six years of age.
This is because small children can’t always be seen from inside a car, even with parking sensors or a rearview camera. And all cars have blind spots that can’t be seen from the driver’s seat.
You should always know where your child is before you or someone else reverses out of a driveway. Walk around the car to make sure that it is safe to drive away. And never back out of a driveway in a hurry. Slowly and surely is the key.
Keep your kitchen safe
Your kitchen is a common site for injuries to children. Here are some of the things you can do to keep your child safe in the kitchen:
- Keep your child out of the kitchen in a safe place when you are cooking.
- If this is not possible, keep the handles of pots and pans turned towards the back of the stove so they are out of reach.
- Even better, fit an oven guard or button covers to prevent burns.
- Use tap covers to stop your child from getting scalded by hot water.
- Fit child safety locks on cupboards where hazardous items such as knives or detergents are stored.
- Keep dangerous items out of children’s reach.
Make bath time worry-free
The bathroom is another place where accidents can happen. Children may scald themselves with hot water, slip over on wet surfaces or even drown in the bath.
Here’s what you can do to make bath time worry-free:
- Always supervise your baby or child in the bath. Do not leave the room, even for a short amount of time. A small child can drown in only 5 cm of water, so it’s not worth the risk.
- Fit a device to your bath taps to ensure that the water is delivered at no more than 50 degrees Celsius to avoid scalding.
- Test the temperature of bathwater before placing your child in the tub. Aim for a temperature between 37 and 39 degrees Celsius.
- Use an anti-slip mat in the bath to stop your child from falling over.
- Make sure that hot water taps are turned off before your child gets in the bath and supervise at all times.
More ways to keep your home safe
Look around and you will see that there are hazards all around your home. Here’s what you can do to make it a safer place for your kids:
- Fit a smoke alarm on each floor of your house.
- You can also fit a carbon dioxide alarm to detect this odourless and highly toxic gas.
- Maintain any alarms on a regular basis, changing batteries as needed.
- Use child safety gates to stop your child from climbing up or down the stairs.
- Fit window guards on upstairs windows.
- Put corner cushions on sharp corners.
- Do not use blinds with looped cords, which can strangle a child.
- Secure heavy furniture to the wall.
- Cover electrical sockets when not in use.
Keep a first aid kit handy
No matter how careful you are, minor falls and accidents are a part of everyday life when you have kids. That’s why it’s a good idea to keep a first aid kit in the home to deal with any bumps, cuts and bruises.
You can opt for a first aid kit specially designed for kids, or why not invest in a family first aid kit to cover most minor emergencies?
To help you know what to put in it, here’s our first aid kit checklist to cover the basics:
- Sterile dressings
- Waterproof plasters
- Adhesive strips
- Thermometer
- Bandages, including a triangular bandage to make a sling
- Antiseptic cream
- Burn dressings
- Disposable gloves
- Eye pad
- Scissors
- Tweezers
- Saline pods for wound cleansing
A secure environment for all the family
Your family’s safety is our priority. This is why all our products are dedicated to helping you create a secure environment for all the family. Browse our shop for first aid kits and a whole range of other health and safety products.