do they may have other roles, so may not be as attentive as they are required to be in the UK.
● Check the environment when you are away on holiday – look out for unfenced ponds or swimming pools, and rivers or canals.
● Spend some time explaining to older children the dangers of swimming in canals, lakes or rivers – things like strong currents, deep water and objects in the water that they can’t see or may not realise are really dangerous.
● Nothing beats fun at the beach, but remember that wind blowing off the land can make the sea look flat, calm and safe but it can easily sweep inflatable toys, airbeds or small dinghies quickly out to sea. On UK beaches look out for an orange windsock – if it’s flying, it means the wind is especially dangerous.
● Teach children that they must swim between the two-coloured red and yellow flags when they are at the beach and make sure someone is looking out for your child whenever they are in the water. For more information on beach safety see
www.rnli.org.uk
Water safety at home ● Keep a close eye on children playing near or in water, especially two and three year olds who are more likely to drown at home or in your neigh- bour’s garden[2]
.
● Fill in, fence off or cover your pond if you have one and make sure your young child can’t get out of your garden and near your neighbour’s pond or water feature.
● Babies can drown in as little as 5cm (2 inches) of water, so even rainwater collecting in a bucket can be dangerous. Be sure to empty the paddling pool as soon as you’re finished rather than leave it for the next day.
Safety in the garden
If you can, enclose your garden so younger children can’t wander out into the road or into neighbours gardens. And while many accidents in the garden are simply active children falling over, more serious accidents can and do occur.
Keeping safe in your garden ● Remember to lock garden tools away in a shed or other secure area. Never leave electrical equip- ment plugged in when you are not using it.
● Keep all chemicals – such as weed killer or fertiliser – locked away and out of reach of young children, and keep them in their original contain- ers. Never be tempted to transfer them to food jars or bottles which a child could easily open.
● Keep the washing line well above children’s heads and away from play equipment.
● Teach children to never eat anything growing in your garden unless you tell them it’s safe to do so. In particular, small children may be attracted to plants with berries which can be poisonous. Try to avoid plants with berries until children are old enough to understand that they may be danger- ous. For information on poisonous plants to avoid around children, go to
www.rhs.org.uk
BBQ Safety Keep young children away from lit barbeques or bonfires and remember that barbeques will stay hot long after you have finished cooking.
Trampoline safety Trampolines are hard to resist and it is tempting for children to pile on at once. However, unsafe use of trampolines can result in broken bones as well as more serious head and neck injuries. As a rule, only allow one person on at any one time. Most accidents happen when two or more people are on a trampo- line, and generally, it is the lighter person (such as a child) who will be injured as a result.
Camping safety ● Carbon monoxide is a highly poisonous gas. If it escapes from flame-burning appliances or open fires it can kill you. You need to be particularly careful with appliances and barbeques used when camping. Find out how to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning when camping by going to
www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/helpand advice/camping-safety/carbon-monoxide-poisoning
● Make sure your child is either in the car or with an adult when manoeuvring your car and look out for other children.
● Remember other cars or motorhomes manoeu- vring may not be able to spot children who are be-
low the level visible from the rear or side windows, so hold your child’s hand when walking in areas where vehicles are moving around.
● When you arrive at the campsite, explore the surrounding areas to spot any hazards for young children such as unfenced ponds or other stretches of water and any buildings they may be able to get into.
Safety home and away
Remember to apply the safety rules you have at home to your holiday surroundings: ● Keep medicines and cleaning things out of children’s reach.
● Put hair straighteners away and out of reach immediately after use.
● Children love to climb so keep low furniture away from windows so that they can’t climb up and fall out. Watch out for balconies and check for window catches.
● Remember children under six shouldn’t sleep on the top bunk of a bunk bed.
● Make sure all looped blind cords are tied back well out of reach of young children who can get strangled in them. Tie them out of reach of climbing children.
● Check the smoke alarms are working when you arrive. In a strange building it’s worth practising an escape route in case a fire breaks out in the night. There have been cases of carbon monoxide poisoning in hotel rooms. Travel carbon monoxide detectors are available.
References
[1] RoSPA Child Holiday Swimming Pool Safety
www.rospa.com/leisuresafety/adviceandinformation/ watersafety/
child-holiday-swimming-pool-safety.aspx
[2] RoSPA Pond and Garden Water Safety
www.rospa.com/leisuresafety/adviceandinformation/ watersafety/
pond-garden-watersafety.aspx
CHILD SAFETY WEEK
Child Safety Week provides an excellent platform at the start of the summer holidays to talk with parents, carers or children about preventing serious accidents. The Child Accident Prevention Trust has developed free downloadable resources alongside a wealth of paid for resources to help community health professionals engage with the families and children you work with in a fun and engaging way. To join the CAPT mailing list and download all our free resources go to
www.childrensafetyweek.org.uk Or visit the on-line shop at
www.capt.org.uk/shop
WWW.MUMSMAG.NET 51
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64