Hacks to child-proof your home

Every day, hazards in and around the home injure children. The good news is that the risk of injury can be reduced with a few simple house-proofing hacks.

When it comes to keeping your children safe, they say prevention is better than cure.

Accidents are the leading cause of death in children under the age of five. Child-proofing your home can avoid many accidents and tragedies.

Read on to find out how to keep your home and garden safe.

Kitchen safety 

• Kitchen knives and other sharp utensils should be kept out of reach of children, preferably behind a child-proof locking device.
• Check that all appliances, such as washing machines, dryers, and dishwashers, have their safety locks turned on.
• Keep an eye out for dangling cords and open plug sockets, both of which can electrocute your child.
• If you collect plastic shopping bags, keep them in the same cupboard to avoid games that could result in your child suffocating.
• When the oven or stove is on, never leave your child alone. Curiosity kills, and curious kids will pull on a pan to see what’s cooking and suffer the consequences. Cook on the back plates, creating a safe zone up to a metre in front of the oven.

Bathroom safety

• Toilets, buckets, and baths are all potential drowning hazards in the home. Children can drown in just a few centimetres of water, so buckets, baths, and toilets can be dangerous. Kids peer into the toilet to see what’s going on, tip forward, and can’t get out, resulting in an alarming number of toilet drownings. Teach your children that bathrooms are not places to play.
• You can purchase toilet seat locks or make a habit of locking your bathroom doors from the outside until your children are old enough to use the toilet on their own.
• Never leave a small child alone in a bathtub for more than a second, and never leave a bucket with even a small amount of liquid unattended. When you’re done with a bucket, always empty it right away.
• Remember to keep all bathroom cleaners and other potentially hazardous items in a high cupboard. This is especially true for razors, which must be appropriately disposed of.
• Top tip: Never store dangerous liquids in empty drinking bottles such as shower or bath cleaning agents.

Staircase safety

Did you know that a child under the age of five is rushed to the emergency room every six minutes with a stair-related injury?

Stairs should be clean and in good repair, with a railing on each side. Parents are encouraged to install gates at the top and bottom of any internal staircases and teach toddlers how to descend stairs backwards to reduce the risk of a child falling headfirst.

Fireplace safety

Protect fireplaces with a guard and keep firelighters and matches locked away. Teach your child not to play near fireplaces, braais, or fire pits.

Gardening safety

Keep all toxic garden chemicals and fertilisers locked away. It is also critical to keep all garden tools out of reach of children. You don’t want to keep poisonous plants in your garden, so talk to a nursery or an expert about which plants are safe for children.

Water safety

Young children are irresistibly drawn to water, and each year, approximately 350 children under the age of five drown in swimming pools and spas. Your pool is unsafe if your child can get into the water on their own (by climbing over the gate or under a cover/net). Net or gate all open water, including ponds and water features. Never leave your child in the care of someone unable to swim.

It’s important to understand that, while child-proofing reduces the risk in your home, it’s not a guarantee of safety. You should continue to educate your children about potential hazards in the home.