Saturday 8 May 2010

Home Child Safety


There is nothing more precious than a child. In many cultures and traditions, the birth of a child is regarded as the most tangible evidence of a marriage that is blessed and successful. The home is expected to be a safe haven, the place of safety and security for parents, visitors and also the children. This of course will not happen automatically except there is a concerted effort to achieve this goal. Most parents believe their homes are safe for their children but the accidents statistics that are received on daily basis world over suggest that most homes aren't as safe as they should be.

Along with the joys of parenthood comes a great deal of worries, not least how to keep our children safe. Whilst most parents worry about our children’s safety away from the homes, we often forget about the very real hazards inside our own homes. It may be impossible to eliminate every single hazard imaginable, but it is possible to eliminate as many hazards as possible and to be prepared for all eventualities. Always remember that ‘prevention is better than the cure’ and one of the most important aspects of ensuring children are safe is to supervise them as much as possible. Never leave children unattended!

Accidents happen in the home, even to the parents and adult alike. However, this potential for accident increases with a child in the house, whether a newborn or an adolescent, accidents can happen all too easily and sometimes with terrible consequences. The causes and consequences of home injuries vary considerably by age and developmental level, reflecting differences in the child's ability to learn and understand about what is around them. Their ability to move around their environment also changes what should be considered safe. The majority of poisonings and other unintentional injuries in the homes could have been prevented by following a few simple steps to make the child's surrounding safe for them at each level of development.

You may be surprise at what your kids are capable of doing and at sudden development in their activities such as rolling over, crawling and trying to climb up using an open drawer as the ladder. These may lead to unexpected accidents such as tipping hot liquids over themselves, making a shelf and its content fall, cutting themselves, choking, swallowing small parts, poisoning, falling from height and wandering outdoors or on to the streets alone.

Homes must therefore be made absolutely safe for children especially because of their novice tendencies. The act of ensuring that a home is safe for children is known as childproofing. Childproofing our homes is something that we have to carry out in great detail, especially when children are very young. Although we might all think we are responsible parents who would not let our baby or toddler get into any harm at home, there are many hidden hazards lurking which could injure a young child or baby or could result in something even more serious than that. Therefore, it’s important that you take practical steps to understand the potential dangers that are present around the house and to take preventative measures to keep your children safe. Therefore, to keep your children safe and secure, childproofing is must for every household with young kids and curious toddlers.

This article will therefore explore various childproofing strategies that will help to identify many hazards that could exist in homes and how to minimize the risks to the children and the family as a whole. This would be considered under different sections and aspects of the homes where these hazards are present and most of the times not obvious except by serious assessment and evaluation. Some of the areas to be considered in this article subsequently are:

  • Swimming Pool
  • Bathroom/Toilet
  • Kitchen
  • Bedroom
  • Cribs/Cots
  • Living rooms
  • Curtains/Door & Window blinds
  • Garden/Flower Pots
  • Drugs/Medicines
  • Chairs and Sofas
  • Staircases
  • Stores/Warehouse
  • Electrical Equipment
  • Tiles & Floors
  • Outdoor environment
I will be giving some safety tips and suggestions within this scope in subsequent articles on Home Child Safety. Watch out for more details!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Thanks for this piece. We hope to see more of these articles in the space periodically.