This article will guide you on how to ensure kids safety at home. I’m a father of two kids.
And as an engineer working for a leading company in the field of oil and gas, where our workplace contains many shapes of hazards, I deal with safety first rule in my own life and in my home, I try to make my home safe for me and for my kids too.
I realized that hazards can be hidden, and kids can’t protect them selves. They only need to play. They of course need parents safety culture to teach them.
In this article I will start with common safety hazards at home like fire and electricity, and then I will provide you some hidden unknown hazards at home.
1-Electrical Safety
Electrical cards, Devices, Switches, and extensions are most things in use. Therefore, proper attention is necessary.
According to reports 20% of the injuries and hospitalization occurs due to electric shocks. So important steps for kid’s safety are.
- Always use electrical outlets with a plastic sheet cover.
- Use proper circuit breakers and other safety devices if any current overflow occurs in the circuit.
- Keep electrical devices, like radio, hair driver, extension cords, and other electrical appliances away from children.
- Train and guide your child to avoid unnecessary touching of electrical appliances and wires.
When I was a young boy, I took a metallic nail and I directly put it into an electrical outlet.
Of course I got electrocution, it was painful, Fortunately I let the nail go.
I’m still a life and I’m sharing this hazard with you to ensure your kids safety at home.
The main hazard in my accident was not electricity! It was,
- NO one teach me about the risk and hazard of electricity
- No protection cover on the outlet
- No ground fault circuit interrupter GFCI
For more read our article, How to Avoid Electrical Hazard at Home?
2-Fire Hazard
Fire is another worth mentioning hazard. Keep your children away from inflammable and combustible material.
Always lock the kitchen door after use and make sure that the gas supply and electric oven are properly locked.
Install fire alarm and smoke detectors. Guide your kids to follow precautionary steps and evacuate during a fire.
Always perform a practice after a proper interval and make sure that kids are familiar with fire alarm sound
No fireworks allowed at home, All should be outside and under parents supervision.
If we properly follow the steps of electricity and fire, we will ensure 50% of kids safety at home.
Read also: Fire Protection at Homes Tips And Rules
3-Slip, Trips and Fall
The next important factor for kids safety at home is to prevent slips, trips and falls of kids. For this purpose, we have to follow some proper arrangements like.
- To prevent kids from slip, make sure that the walking surface is properly cleaned and dried.
- The kids use proper shoes so that the ratio of fraction between shoes and walking surface is more.
- Avoid using slippery material on floors.
- To avoid trips, always do proper housekeeping.
- To avoid fall from height install grills and guardrails on height like stairs, roofs.
- Block stairways and cover main holes.
- Properly lock the doors and secure windows.
4-Fall from bed
Some kids are moving too much while they are sleeping, This can lead them to fall from the bed.
If your kid do so, then make sure to :
- put a heavy blanket on the floor besides the bed. In case the kid fall he will fall on the soft blanket instead of the hard floor.
- use any thing besides your kids like a pillow, while he is sleeping.
- make the bed besides the wall.
5-Stairs hazard
3 years old kids can’t climb up and down the stairs alone. Always make sure that your kids use the handrail and do not leave them climb the stairs alone. grab your kid hand carefully.
Teach your older kids to:
- use the handrails
- climb steady and never be in rush
- do not allow them chasing each other on the stairs
- no mobile phone games when climbing the stairs up or down
- never slide on the handrail
- never try the skateboards on the stairs
6-Sharp Tools at Home
Knifes, scissors, nails, needles and screwdrivers are shapes of sharp tools that are risky for kids.
Not only using them is the risk but also being around you while using these sharp tools can cause kids injuries. Keep your kids away while you are using any tool.
Some times you ask your kid to bring you a knife from the kitchen to do some thing with it, Even he is 9 or 10 years old kid, you must teach him the safety way to bring the knife. here is the safe way to do so for both kids and adults.
- grab the knife carefully to prevent it from falling and injuring you.
- grab the knife from the metallic sharp part, and make its sharp direction backward. If the sharp edge is forward and your kid comes running and meet you, the knife can injury him or even kill him.
A sad accident happen several years ago, and was published in the newspaper
An Egyptian mother has two kids, She asked one of them to bring the knife.
The kid brought the knife and run to his mother, while he was running, his sister met him.
Accidentally the knife injured the girl and she was died.
- Never rush while you have a knife or any sharp tool in hands
7-Windows and heads
IF you put a chair under a window, make sure when someone, specially kids, sit on the chair that that window is not opened on his head.
Many times I saw my kids under an open window, I gently ask him not to stand up, and I close the window.
8-Falling From an Edge
I don’t mean a very high edges, but I mean edges like chairs or beds. Sitting on the edge of a bed or a chair while your face towards the bed and your back towards the floor is an other shape of both adults and kids safety at home.
Kids may fall on their back hitting their heads on the floor. Don’t let kids do so.
9-Smart Phones an TVs Hazard
All homes contain one or more smart phone. And kids are using it too much. This is another kids hazard at home.
Not only the hazard of radiation but also spending too much time playing video games or watching cartoon videos can cause many health and mental problems for children, A child may become autistic and not integrate with other children.
Preventing kids completely from using smartphones is not applicable, but controlling the time of using it is a solution. Also making the phone on flight mode when kids using it is better.
Cartoon videos which has violence, fighting and killing are also a hazard at home. Be aware what kind of videos your kids are watching.
Also control the periods that your kids spend watching cartoons.
10-Another Kids Safety at Home to consider is Violent playing
Kids who are watching fighting, killing or violence cartoons are likely to fight each other and do violent playing with other kids.
This type of playing can cause injuries, cuts or even fatalities if not controlled by the adults.
11-Toys and Coins
Some toys are not suitable for kids under 3 or 4 years. These toys have small parts that the baby can swallow it.
Make sure to read all warnings on the toy before allowing babies to play with it.
The same hazard is associated with coins. This happened to my kid when he was about 3 years old, He was about to swallow a coin. I learned the lesson and now I’m teaching you that kids can swallow coins. Take care.
Important Kids Safety at Home Tips
- keep your kid’s sleeping area bare as much as possible, So they can easily breathe.
- Avoid large-size blankets.
- Keep babies away from pets.
- Store medicines in safe custody and keep all medicine away from the reach of small children.
- Secure your swimming pools with grills and if possible make a combination that only people of the allowed age group have access to swimming pools.
Most people think that a child is safe if he/ she is at home. However, it is not true. Because there are a lot of hidden hazards that exist at home.
And if not given proper attention, The kids may be in danger. Please make one principle not to leave a child alone.Therefore, besides taking care, also teach your kid how to be safe in the home.
Kids Safety At Home Conclusion
Kids safety at home is the parents responsibility. If the parents don’t know common and hidden hazards at home, they will not be able to protect the kids.
Learn and then tech your kids about the hazards and how to avoid them. Set home safety rules to protect your self and kids
