It’s Child Safety Week from Monday 22nd June. According to the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT), two million children and young people a year are harmed in accidents.<\/p>\n
In the birth to four age group, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) lists 617,317 children as being involved in an accident in the home or during a leisure activity, in 2002.<\/p>\n
Some children will simply have an accident in a padded cornerless room. Their parents will always have NHS direct and the health centre in their mobile phone contacts list. Their homes will be a fortress of gates, door stops and high shelves to manoeuvre through.<\/p>\n
Other parents don’t believe in safety equipment, preferring instead to teach six month old babies the idea of setting themselves boundaries and that they should have the emotional maturity to learn not to go up stairs because of the consequences.<\/p>\n
We have put together a list of common safety issues based on issues that parents have told us about.<\/p>\n
Smoke alarms are vital for everyone’s safety. Contact your local fire brigade who run schemes giving them away for free. Top end smoke alarms also have carbon monoxide detectors. Teach your children about the importance of the emergency services and instil a healthy respect for the boys in blue. Be aware of the Fireman Sam phase, and that 999 is only for emergencies.<\/p>\n
Tumbling up or down stairs is common accident. Fit safety gates across the top and bottom of the stairs if you don’t want to hear the start of Eastenders echoing through the hallway. When the children are old enough to start climbing them, teach them how to do it safely and always supervise.<\/p>\n
Put safety gates across dangerous rooms such as kitchens that you don’t want toddlers gaining access to. Safety gates can be learnt by children. They may also quickly learn to push something near it to stand on, but the gate will buy you some valuable seconds to hurdle across the room.<\/p>\n
Window locks are essential to stop children falling from height or escaping onto the road.<\/p>\n
Putting finger guards on the top of doors will stop little ones from slamming their hands or fingers in the door. Watch out for the insides of doors and hinges.<\/p>\n
Bumping out of bed is a common problem when your toddler moves from cot to bed. Invest in some good bed guards such as the inflatable Dream Tubes. Keep the first bed as close to gravity as possible, and bunk beds should never bed used by the under sixes.<\/p>\n
Once children start to walk they will walk into everything. It is possible to buy cushions to go onto the corner of tables, chairs or anything that sticks out. More often than not, the toddler will simply remove these, chew them, then bang their head on the corner spitting it out.<\/p>\n
Bookshelves, gates, banisters, high things, wheels draw little boys like magnets. The monkeys will be swinging from the lampshade if you blink too slowly.<\/p>\n
Keep older children\u2019s toys away from babies and toddlers. If you want to wake up at 4 am to find a two year old boy skating through the house you may learn the hard way. Small items, dice, counters, Ken’s boots and Barbie’s shoes will all have passed through a child’s digestive system at one time or another. Be wary though, children can choke on small things.<\/p>\n
Magnets are very dangerous. They are not only a choking hazard, but swallowing more than one magnet may cause the pair to attract, ripping holes through the digestive system.<\/p>\n
If your child seems clumsy and accidental, keep the floor as clear as possible, and get their hearing checked. Bad balance and accidents are a symptom of glue ear.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh don’t worry he doesn’t bite\u201d is not good enough. Cujo was once a friendly dog too. Install common sense into your child when dealing with animals. Don’t let them approach other people’s dogs and remember that your own dog can get hot and cranky too. Animals are never predictable. Yes it is still illegal to own and breed Pit Bulls.<\/p>\n
Make sure chemicals and medicines are up out of reach. Don’t put chemicals into different bottles such as bleach into a lemonade bottle. Child proof tops are not always child proof, and not all pain killers come in bottles.<\/p>\n
Test bath water before putting babies and children in. A good indicator is a bath thermometer and a good old fashion elbow. It should feel comfortable but not hot. Never leave the baby unattended and empty the bath out straight away afterwards.<\/p>\n
Electrical sockets and electricity fascinates little ones of all ages. Put in socket covers.<\/p>\n
Don’t leave children unattended in high chairs or push chairs and make sure they are safely in with a five point safety harness. Sleeping babies and toddlers can overheat in a pram, and never, ever leave them sleeping in the house in the car seat.<\/p>\n
Cycle helmets are essential once they are away on their trike. Elbow and knee protectors are also a good idea.<\/p>\n
Does your child know how to swim? There are plenty of baby and toddler swimming initiatives running at local swimming pools. Children go free in Bristol, so take advantage of this to get them water confident.<\/p>\n
Be aware of toddlers, babies and hot drinks. Don’t leave them lying around, and mind you don’t trip whilst carrying them across the room. Pushing a pram with one hand whilst drinking a frapalapachino can only be done with a copy of the Guardian in the shopping basket, and a Grazia magazine under the elbow.<\/p>\n
Keep curtain or blind cords looped up out of reach. Watch out for drawstring bags. Children have strangled themselves as a result of getting hold of both items.<\/p>\n
Keep up with first aid relevant to your child’s age. In recent years, the resuscitation process has changed slightly for babies under one year. Check with your health visitor as some health centres run free baby first aid courses.<\/p>\n
According to capt, in 2007, more than 23,000 children under the age 0f 16 were killed or injured on UK roads.<\/p>\n
In the UK, the law says that all children must travel in child car seats that are appropriate for their age, weight and height. There is no excuse for not wearing seatbelts, and that includes the driver.<\/p>\n
New research suggests that rear facing car seats should be used until the age of four years as they are safer.<\/p>\n
Make sure that yourself, the grandparents and anyone else who transports your child knows how to fit the car seat into the car correctly.<\/p>\n
For more information about getting the right seat for the right height, visit: www.britax.co.uk and use their Fit Finder service to help you work out what car seat you need.<\/p>\n
Hold your toddler’s hand when walking down the street, or if they are unpredictable and fast, use a safety harness.<\/p>\n
Make sure you teach your children the green cross code and always to use road crossings where appropriate. It is also important to teach them that although they may have the priority on the crossing, frequently cars and cyclists will jump red lights despite pedestrians crossing legally.<\/p>\n
Teach your children from a young age about stranger danger. You don’t have to teach them to stone paedophiles, but make them aware that both men and women who are unknown to them are a potential danger. Don’t let your supervision lapse whilst on holiday or in familiar situations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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