#UPDATED# IT'S BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY (Health and Safety in General)

Member Name: Parsley

Product:	Health and Safety in General
Date:	12/01/01 (169 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: CHILD SAFETY IS ESSENTIAL

Disadvantages: NONE

BUT I NEVER THOUGHT HE WOULD DO THAT!
How many times do parents say this?
It’s one of the commonest things said when a child is presented at an A & E department (and I’ve been there myself.) Children do the most silly and most unimaginable things. Things that you wouldn’t even consider, they might do - such as drinking loo cleaner or leaning out an upstairs window.
Being a parent can be hard, but keeping your child safe can be even harder. You always have to stay at least one step ahead of your child and anticipate what they MIGHT do. You know what they can do, but it’s what they think up next that will always keep you on your toes and even when you think you have got everything under control they will still manage to do something unexpected. You have been warned!

However, despite this, you can still do a great deal to protect your child. This is a rough guide on how to help keep your child safe.

SAFETY IN THE HOME
In the very early days your baby won’t move much and shouldn’t get into any trouble - so make the most of these days, because they don’t last long! However, be on the look out but for the first roll! The first roll will always come when you don’t expect it, so never leave your child unattended on a changing table, bed, sofa or any other high surface. A fall from a high place can cause serious damage to a tiny infant. I was taken by surprise by my son, I put him on the sofa surrounded by cushions, comfortable and nicely wedged in. I turned my back for two seconds and heard a sickening crash. My son had rolled up and over the cushions and off the sofa. I was horrified, how could it have happened? I still don’t know quite how he managed to get up and over all the cushions, he wasn’t even 4 months old! Fortunately he was fine, but a fall from a changing table could be fatal or give a child serious head injuries.

Another important DON’T is not to put a
baby in a baby bouncer or baby chair on top of a table or any other high surface as the baby can bounce the bouncer to the edge of the table and then fall off.

MOBILE BABY!
As soon as your baby starts to get mobile you really have to be aware of the all the possible dangers to your child. Your child will be curious and trying to find out about everything and that unfortunately includes dangerous objects.
Babies put everything in their mouths and they don’t know that anything is bad for them, it’s just their way of exploring - unfortunately it can be a very dangerous habit. You must keep your floor vacuumed or swept regularly as babies have the ability to find the smallest bit of rubbish and eat it. Make sure that there are no dangerous objects such as paperclips, marbles, small items of Lego etc. that your child could pick up and swallow or choke on.

Get some home safety products, put covers over plug sockets - a baby may think that sticking something down the plug socket is a great idea!
A VCR cover is essential - my son poked his fingers into the VCR flap and trapped his finger 4 times in a row! Babies don’t really learn from their mistakes as adults do unfortunately, so you have to protect them and prevent them from repeating their mistakes.

FURNITURE
Check your furniture for sharp edges and stability. Babies like to pull themselves up on the furniture, so make sure that you don’t have furniture in the room that a baby could pull over on himself. It may be a good idea to secure free-standing bookcases into the wall to prevent them toppling over on top of your child. For the sharp edges, you can buy edge protectors or cut some out of foam yourself. Ensure that your furniture will not injure your child. Put everything dangerous or valuable out of your child’s reach, move lamps, trailing wires, ornaments, vases, pens etc. Remember if your child can pull himself up, he can probably reach objects
off tables so ensure that anything such as scissors or staplers are out of reach. Be careful when you put down a cup of tea as if your child can reach it, a cup of tea can cause severe burns if hot. Never hold your child while drinking a hot drink not matter how careful you are, a baby is prone to making sudden movements and could knock it out of your hand. It really isn’t worth the risk.
Another thing to watch out for is climbing, my son adores climbing and is getting better at it all the time (help!) The other day he climbed on his activity table and then got on top of the coffee table and he’s only just 9 months old! It’s really important to watch your child at all times to keep them safe! Prevent your child from climbing as they could easily fall and have a bad accident. If you catch you child climbing, don’t shout or raise your voice at your child as that could startle them and cause them to fall. Go over to your child quietly and get them down safely. A playpen can be very useful if you have to leave the room, but make sure that there is nothing that your child can climb on inside the playpen.

WINDOWS / DOORS
Keep all lower windows locked and only open them with safety catches. (Keep the keys near the window so that they can be opened in the event of an emergency such as a fire). Lock patio doors and put safety film on the glass. All glass should be fitted with safety film to prevent horrific cuts should the glass break. Even if you have safety glass in your patio doors, frosted safety film can prevent a child running straight into the glass and injuring himself.
Doors can injure your child’s fingers badly, so ensure that you either put a protector on the door to stop the door closing completely (available in home safety packs) or you can pin the door open with a door stop (or close it!). This prevents a door slamming on your child’s hands.
WIRES / CURTAIN TIES
Tuck all dangling wires out of sig
ht where your child can’t see or reach them. If you can’t put them behind something consider using special tacks to tack the wire onto the wall. If the wires are loose and hanging down a baby may play with them and even pull the item on his head or damage the item. Also if I child gets tangled in a wire, it could trip them up or if high enough even choke or strangle them. Beware of dangling curtain or blind pulls and many children have accidentally strangled themselves on these. It’s best to remove them for your child’s sake.

RADIATORS, FIRES & HEATERS
I only recently realised how hot radiators can get - my son put his hand on the radiator in the hall and started to cry. A child’s skin is very thin and delicate and burns easily. So it’s worth checking your radiators and turning them down. You could consider putting a fireguard in front of one if it is where your child is playing. You can also get radiator wooden radiator covers, which look attractive as well as being good for safety.
Keep your child away from any heater or fire - use fireguards or put your child in a playpen for their own safety. Small children have no sense of danger and can get very seriously injured.

PLANTS
Babies may eat your plants! It’s worth checking that you have only non-poisonous plants and put them well out of reach. I’ve thrown out loads of plants recently just to be on the safe side. I’ve been told that cacti aren’t generally poisonous and M & S plants are usually are safe unless they have warnings. (I found this out after a frantic phone call to the hospital when my son sampled the cactus - can you believe it? - I couldn’t!)

STAIRS / STAIR GATES
Stairs are not something that I have to worry about in my flat! But ensure that you have a safety gate fitted at both the top and the bottom of your stairs and ensure that your child cannot fall from the landing to the bottom. I had to
be careful in my mothers house at Christmas as right opposite our bedroom door were the stairs and the landing had only open slats (gate style) to prevent a fall from top to bottom. My son could have easily crawled right over the edge. If you have this style of banister, you should board it up for your child’s protection as a fall from top to bottom could be fatal.
Stair gates can also be brilliant to keep your child out of the kitchen or any other room that they could endanger themselves in. If you get a “pressure fit” type gate then you can move it around the house with you to keep your child safe.

CUPBOARD / PILLS & SOLVENTS
Going into cupboards can fascinate young children, this is dangerous on several counts. They may be able to trap their hands while messing around with the door or worse still they could find something harmful in the cupboard.
Children will eat anything (as I have found out!), so fit cupboard locks to any cupboard that contains chemicals such as cleaning fluids, washing powders etc. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Never leave any solvents or cleaning fluids around. I saw a programme recently on Channel 4 where a 2 year old boy had picked up a tray that his mum was soaking some painting brushes in white spirit. The boy drank the contents of the tray - now you wouldn’t have thought that possible - would you? The boy was very ill and had to be put on artificial ventilation because his lungs collapsed. It looked like he might not survive. Fortunately he did, but it was a very close thing. Poisoning is very common in children and unfortunately not all make it. As well as locking cupboards, don’t forget to put the loo cleaner off the floor and up high where your child can’t get at it.

Keep all tablets and medicines in childproof bottles away from children. Be careful what you carry in your handbag as many children poison themselves on Grannies heart pills because they had acc
ess to her handbag. Always be very alert for other people’s houses and property as it may not be as safe as yours.

WATER
Never leave a child unattended in the bath as children can drown in only a few centimetres of water. Use a child safety bath seat when your child can sit up, but do not leave the room or turn your back even for a moment!
If you have a pond, ensure that it is childproofed by fitting a strong frame over it or better still turn it into a sandpit. Each year several children drown in ponds or swimming pools, so ensure you child is safe in the garden or other people’s gardens. Beware of the actions of other children too, when I was 2 I was pushed in the vicar’s pond by an older kid who took a dislike to me! So if there’s any water around be very vigilant! As soon as you can, take your child swimming and teach them to swim as the earlier a child feels comfortable and competent in water, the better.


OUT OF THE HOME

TRAVELLING IN CARS, TAXIS & BUSES
Obviously you will need to have a suitable car seat for travelling if you have a car or use one regularly. It’s against the law for a child to travel unrestrained in a private car, so a suitable car seat is absolutely essential.

THE FOLLOWING IS ONLY FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE CARS AND TRAVEL IN A TAXI - IT IS A WAY OF MINIMISING THE RISKS, BUT IS NOT IDEAL
When I spoke to the Police they said that Taxis were exempt from having to have a car seat for children. Obviously ask your local minicab firm if they provide car seats. If they do not the following are ways of protecting your child in non-ideal circumstances.
Try to use black cab style taxis if available as these can take a buggy without collapsing it. If possible face your child towards the rear of the cab and make sure your child is harnessed in with the brakes on. This offers the most protection should the cab have to break sharply. A way of carrying your child in
a mini-cab style taxi without a car seat is to put your baby in a carrier sling facing towards you and secure the seat belt around yourself but avoiding the baby’s body and legs. Cradle your child’s head with your hand especially when braking. This way the child has more protection than being carried loose on your lap.
If you have your own car get a car seat! It is even worth considering buying a travel system, some of the Graco travel systems can be used either with the car seat or without even for a new-born. In hindsight , my first buggy would have been a travel system like this if I’d realised that I’d needed it. I don’t own a car, but I use taxis on a regular basis.

TRAVELLING ON BUSES
When on low floor buses that take prams without collapsing, if at all possible face your child towards the rear of the bus and put the brakes on. By facing the rear the child’s neck is more protected from whiplash should the bus brake violently. Bus drivers in London are notoriously bad drivers too!
Always have the child secured by the harness every time you have your child in a buggy whether on a bus or not as it’s much safer.

ROADS
I would advise a set of reins when you are out with a small child to prevent them running off into the road. As soon as your child can understand, teach them road sense and the green cross code and lead by example - only cross as you have taught them - otherwise they may learn to take risks too!
Don’t let your child play in or near a road or let your child out unaccompanied unless clearly old enough to be responsible and has good road sense. It really worries me when I see tiny children out on the estate near roads when they may be as young as 3 or 4 and they not fully aware of the dangers. Even on a quiet road, they are not safe.

ESSENTIAL SAFETY EQUIPMENT - SUGGESTIONS
Stair gates - essential if you have stairs
Home safety pack (check that the siz
es will fit before purchase) - these tend to contain, door jams, VCR protectors, cupboard and fridge locks, socket blocks etc.
Playpen - if you need to leave the room for a few minutes- these are great - but don’t leave your child unattended for long.

GO ON A SAFETY / RESUSCITATION COURSE
Your local hospital may run these (mine does), ask your health visitor - you may never need it (hopefully), but it is best to be on the safe side and know what to do if there’s an emergency.


Anyway, never be lulled into complacency - a baby or child will always do what you didn’t expect it to. Wherever you are run a quick check over the place - get down on your hands and knees and think what could your child get hold of or do? Childproofing your home could save your child’s life and it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

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