Top 10 Dangers in your Home
25 April 2018
Family Safety Week
You probably think of your home as the safest place your child can be. However, everyday household objects and appliances can be a huge danger to toddlers and young children. We’ve listed the top 10 things in your home that put children in a hospital every year, information on how they cause accidents, and ways to prevent them.
1. Tip Overs
As children begin to crawl and walk, the house becomes their playground. They’ll begin to use what’s around them to pull themselves up and climb. Items like a chest of draws, wardrobes, and TV stands are most commonly pulled down items. If these things fall down and topple over on your child the result can be devastating. Consequences like suffocation, head trauma, or breaking multiple bones and even fatalities have happened around the country and continue to happen every week. You can’t keep watch of your child for every second of the day so to ensure a tip over doesn’t happen to your child you can buy fixtures that attach to your wall and furniture that keep them held back. You can buy straps to secure furniture for less than £10: https://tinyurl.com/y7maazez
You can also buy straps to hold your TV in place, as even if you have safety straps holding a chest of draws back, your TV can still come forward if not secured. You can purchase one here for under £10: https://tinyurl.com/yatmhtss
2. Cords on Blinds
The cords on blinds must be kept out of reach from children at all times, this means not putting a child’s bed or cot near one and making sure they’re wrapped securely around a safety hook so they’re and not left dangling in reach of a child. These chords easily become tangled and can suffocate a child. Straps to tie back cords can be purchased for £5 https://tinyurl.com/y9meg9zb
3. Loose Rugs and Carpet
Loose rugs and carpets can be a hazard as it is easy to catch your foot on them and trip. For small children who have just started walking or children who love running around the house, it can cause them to fall and injure themselves through carpet burns, broken bones, or worse if they trip and knock into furniture nearby. To avoid accidents, ensure all carpet is secure and unturned, you may choose to not have rugs down but if you do make sure they’re secure and pinned down with rug anchors or grips.
4. Fridge Magnets
Fridge magnets seem an innocent addition to your kitchen but their bright colours can often attract children and lead to them chocking if they put them in their mouth. Avoid this by keeping fridge magnets out of reach from small children
5. Buttons and Batteries
Buttons and batteries aren’t items we often leave lying around, but we do when they’re in the shape of our remote control. Surprisingly, many incidents of chocking are because of children getting hold of TV remotes, dislodging rubber buttons or getting hold of the batteries inside of them. Keep remotes or any item that contains batteries and buttons out of reach or shut away.
6. Pots and Handles on Stoves
As your toddler/child begins to pull themselves up and explore walking they begin reaching for things around them. The kitchen is one of the most dangerous places for a child, grabbing hold of handles on hobs can lead to burning and scolding. Always make sure handles to saucepans and frying pans are away from the edge of the counter and can not be reached by children. Putting a child gate on your kitchen stops children getting in without you knowing or try placing a secure playpen in the kitchen so you can keep watch of your child, but they can’t reach anything dangerous or get under your feet when carrying hot objects.
7. Hot Drinks on the Edge of Tables
It’s not something you think too much about but putting drinks close to the edge of coffee tables or night stands can be fatal for a child unaware of the dangers. Make sure drinks are out of reach.
8. Loose Change
Emptying loose change from your pockets when you get into your house can lead to a child choking. As children begin to explore they tend to put most things they pick up into their mouth, especially if they’re teething. Coins are the size of or bigger than a child’s windpipe, meaning if they do swallow it, it can get stuck and lodged. Always store your change in a box and not loosely on the side of a windowsill or table.
9. Liquid Detergents
Locking your kitchen cupboard doors with safety locks and keeping your dishwasher and washing machine locked will prevent your child getting hold of tablets and detergents that could poison them. Cupboard safety catches can be purchased for as little as £1.99-£2.50 https://tinyurl.com/y92hybk7
10. Falls
Falls can be fatal for young children, safety gates are a necessity, both at the top and bottom of your stairs. Whilst you might think you only need one at the top, one at the bottom is also required to stop a child climbing up and falling. Though they can be quite pricey they’re a necessity in every home and shops like Tesco often do deals to encourage you to buy two gates.
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