By Ma. Yvette Heart Calimlim
Many parents fail to notice that one of the biggest threats to their children’s safety – their own home. Little children ages 1-4 years old are more likely to be killed by drowning in the tub, choking, burns, poisoning than by an any violence outside the house.
It is also important to supervise your young children at all times possible because this is the key to prevent them from any serious harm that they can encounter.
Here are some helpful household safety tips that can help us parents be worry-free:
1. Keep away the chairs from the stove.
2. Store properly all the forks, knives, scissors and any other sharp objects that your child can not reach.
3. Keep all appliances unplugged when not in use.
4. Close tight your gas range.
5. Make sure your kitchen cabinet is free from bug sprays, detergent, and cleaning supplies or out of reach.
6. Keep all medicines or vitamins tightly closed at all times.
7. Do let any family member about the fire extinguisher at home and how to use it.
8. Make sure bookshelves, cabinets, tables and chairs are child proof by securing a wall brackets.
9. Make sure no bed and cribs are near the window.
10. If you have sliding doors, ensure to have childproof locks.
11. Keep an eye for any choking hazard that your child can put on his mouth like clips, coins, beads, and any other else.
12. Always be mindful of people coming in your house.
13. Teach your child how to react on every situation he may face.
14. If you can avail, burglar you may do so. This is to give alert to anyone inside this house.
15. Prepare all possible emergency number to be call when something bad came up like your local barangay’s number, police station and family member. If your child can read numbers and names already, teach them how to dial in promptly or set it on speed dial.
16. Tell your child not to cook or open any electrical appliances without any adult around.
17. Teach your child on how to carefully answering any phone calls.
18. Make sure your child knows when to go and not to go outside the house.
19. Never allow other people know that your child is home alone.
20. Be aware of the prank callers and don’t entertain calls if your child doesn’t recognize them.
21. In the bathroom, put rubber on the floor to prevent falls.
22. If you can afford fire alarm system, you may do so by installing fire detector.
23. Keep away all those plastics like nappy bags and garbage bags to avoid suffocation.
There are a lot of things parents have in mind when it comes to children’s safety may it be in the kitchen, bathroom, backyard, and even in the bedroom. Preparedness and awareness are the key for them to be safe even at home. No one can tell what’s gonna happen each day, with or without parents, accident can happen. But as much as possible, we should never leave our kids alone, find someone who can look after them. With careful and clear planning, you’ll all be prepared before bad things strikes.
Source: www.BabyCentre.com
