Door Edge Pretectors And More: Making Buildings Safer For The Young

By U Learn It | December 22, 2009

As babies grow and start to be able to move independently, they like to travel around the house. For babies and young children, the home can be a dangerous place as they might face corners, hot surfaces and bad chemicals on a number of occasions throughout the day. The Child Accident Prevention Trust estimated that approximately one million children are injured at home every year with burns, cuts and poisoning being the most common ailments. It is a parent’s responsibility to make the home as safe as possible, reducing the chance of accidents happening. The advice below is intended to make any house safer for a crawling, waddling or walking child.

Exploring is natural in every child and they are eager to discover the different rooms in their home. This means that young children use doorways several times a day. Door edge protectors will not only protect the door from everyday damage, but will also eliminate the possibility for your child to be grazed or cut by splinters and sharp corners. Door stoppers will prevent any fingers and toes getting caught in closing doors.

We have already seen that many children suffer from burns caused around the house. The bedroom and kitchen are the most common places that burns occur. Using the back rings on the hob will lower the chances of your child getting burnt. Hot hair dryers and curling tongs should be kept high enough so that children cannot reach them or pull them over them by tugging on the cord. Don’t light candles around children and if you have a fire on, shield it with a fire guard.

The mouth is what children use most to explore new things. This can be dangerous around the home as there are harmful substances in nearly every room in most houses. Bottles, medicines and small objects should be kept out of reach and stored away in cupboards with child proof locks. Poisoning can be fatal to children, with even small amounts of relatively mild substances affecting them more than you might think.