Baby and Toddler Safety in the Home part 2
Having looked into the dangers of trips and falls in the home we can now look into the second danger in our 5 part series of baby and toddler safety. The statistics from the accident and emergency in the UK show that children rushed to hospital due to an accident in the home number over two million per year and in this respect we highlight safety measures that can be taken as regards fire dangers.
Obviously fire danger in the home is not only restricted to babies and toddlers but the immediate attention for any parent should always be given to keeping matches and lighters away from children. Children need to learn from the dangers of fire from an early age and the best way to teach them is by example. A parent should be seen to be sensible regarding cooking, lighting candles and fires. Also it is advised that children should be taught the following regarding these issues:
• to tell a grown-up if they see matches or lighters lying around
• never to play with matches, lighters or lighted candles
• never to play, or leave toys, close to a fire or heater
• not to put things on top of heaters or lights
• not to pull on electric cables or fiddle with electrical appliances or sockets
• never to switch on the cooker or put anything on top of it
• never to touch any saucepans on the cooker
If a fire in the home does occur do your children know what action to take? Don't feel that explaining this to them would frighten them in any way. Some basic instructions if they were to see smoke or flames would be to:
• tell someone straight away - a grown-up if possible
• get out of the building as soon as possible
• never go back into the building for anything
• never hide in a cupboard or under a bed - get out of the house and call for help straight away
• find a phone and call 999, and ask for the Fire and Rescue Service - give the address of the fire slowly and calmly (they may need to go to the neighbours to find a phone)
• make sure they know their address so they can raise the alarm.
On a final note teaching toddlers about fire safety in the home can be made fun. The Government website http://kids.direct.gov.uk/main.aspx?firstObject=fire_station has an interactive tutorial especially designed for teaching the dangers of fire to children in mind.
