Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Putting safety measures at home for kids

By Ijeoma Thomas-Odia
04 August 2018   |   4:19 am
Safety at home refers to the awareness and education of risks and potential dangers in and around a home that may cause bodily harm, injury, or even death...

Safety at home refers to the awareness and education of risks and potential dangers in and around a home that may cause bodily harm, injury, or even death, to those residing in and around the physical structure of a home. When children, especially toddlers are involved, extra care is necessary to ensure that accidents in the home are almost eliminated.

Parenting blogger and Founder @firsttimemumdotcom, Temi Randle, in her opinion, said toddlers are curious and need to explore their surroundings as part of their growth. They really have no idea what danger is, so parents need to be cautious about the environment.

Parents can’t assume that because they are at home with the kids or even watching them, accidents can’t happen. We need to learn about all the ways to baby proof our homes and not wait till something tragic happens before taking it seriously.

Randle noted that there is really no area in the home that is 100 per cent safe enough to leave a toddler unsupervised. “There are safety measures needed even in a cot. It is more important to be aware of the baby proofing options in every area of the home.

“The kitchen should be an obvious no-go area for children, but speaking from my experience as a mother with no help, I sometimes have to keep him on me to have my hands free. Even then, there are some safety measures to consider: Don’t carry hot food or drink and your baby at the same time; don’t hold your baby while frying at the stove; turn pot handles away from the edge of the hob; install Stove guards that prevents pans being pulled over; move cleaning agents, medicines, vitamins, toiletries and other potentially toxic items out of reach or lock them up; check batteries and smoke detectors regularly and plan a fire escape route.”

On how best parents can relate with their children to reduce or eliminate accidents in the home, Randle said, “Chances are your toddler doesn’t understand consequences yet, so even if you shout at them for putting their finger in the socket plug, it would not prevent them from doing it again. It is up to the parents to install plug socket protectors. You can, of course, show disapproval in your tone when they cross boundaries but we can’t expect that alone to be a deterrent for toddlers. 

“Keeping your eyes on your toddlers 100 per cent is not realistic, but you can make sure that before you leave them to explore a space freely, you have pre-empted all the dangers and made the place as secure as possible. Keep your eyes on a toddler as much as possible and if they are sleeping in their own room, it is advisable to use a baby monitor, especially for younger babies.”

Randle added: “We shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves as parents when accidents happen. Even the most cautious of parents and the ‘safest’ of homes are susceptible to accidents. What is important is that we are intentional about the safety measures in the home. We don’t have to buy fancy tech gadgets to baby-proof our homes; you can easily Do-It-Yourself (DIY) many of these. Tragedies can be avoided simply by being aware of baby proofing your home and making those simple changes.

In this article

0 Comments