Childhood is a very innocent and nascent stage of consciousness for the child and the child’s immediate family. A child knows nothing except basic instincts essential for survival, like eating, sleeping, etc.
This is such an impressionable age that the child wants to touch everything, listen to everything, speak, gather more information, and learn newer things every day. Innocence makes the child prone to many errors and mistakes. Though these errors are naturally a learning curve for the child, it is also essential to prevent incidents that can endanger the child’s safety, such as electrical or fire accidents.
Did you know that research indicates about 69% of the fatality rate through electrocution? In such a situation, understanding the importance of electrical safety may prove handy when it comes to keeping your child and home safe. To better approach electrical safety and childproof your household, follow the tips enlisted here –
1. Tie Up All Cords
Cords are dangerous in any one of two ways. Either they cause a risk of tripping and falling or threatening in terms of possible electrical accidents for your child.
So, the next time you see a 100-foot extension cord, be sure to bundle it up and keep it away from the child’s reach. One essential way to tie cords and bundle them is by purchasing clips for cords. Clips can ensure that cords are easily folded and kept in their places. Thus, providing a proper level of safety at home.
2. Keep Electrical Equipment Out Of Reach
One of the first and foremost things you must do is keep your electrical appliances, gadgets, wires, and electricals away from children’s reach. This is extremely crucial considering how curious children tend to be and how soon it can create a major catastrophic accident.
The best way to do this is to keep appliances and gadgets in overhead spaces or at a certain height away from a child’s reach. You must take special care of appliances like refrigerators and television by ensuring that they are firmly secured to their space.
3. Cover all Switchboards
Electric outlets can be one of the most challenging electrical safety and childproofing solutions for your home. Electrical outlets are everywhere, and there is no telling which one could be potentially dangerous. Thus, you should keep two things in mind for safety purposes, the first one being height. All electrical switchboards and other outlets must be at a certain height outside the children’s reach. Second, it is necessary to cover all switchboards and electrical outlets with baby-safe latches.
4. Do Not Leave Appliances plugged-in and idle
Many switches and plugs come in colorful and vivid surfaces that can easily attract a child’s attention.
An idle and plugged-in device can prove a disaster when not used or supervised by an adult for a child. For this, you must ensure that electrical appliances are always supervised and placed under an adult’s watchful eye. In any case, you should also refrain from leaving your devices plugged-in and idle.
5. Leave No Appliances in Wet Areas
Wet areas such as the kitchen sink or the bathroom can be hazardous for a child. Devices, appliances, or extension cords left around such spaces can be a significant risk for all. That is because the interest of a child heightens when they see plugged-in and idle devices. These areas are vital and prone to safety issues due to the presence of water.
Therefore, it is essential to ensure that devices are not plugged in around such wet areas and use faceplates to cover the switchboards. This will prevent a child from reaching such areas, and even if they do, getting electrocuted reduces to a great extent.
Teaching children of a certain age about the significance of domestic and outside or external electrical safety is mandatory. It would be best to teach your children to refrain from touching or being near loose or exposed wires and other hazardous areas such as electrical poles and similar regions. This is in the larger interest of children who feel the need to continually pursue such situations and eventually get in trouble for not following the proper safety guidelines.
Wrapping Up
Finally, you need to understand that as much as childproofing solutions are handy for your household, so is vigilance and alertness at all times. You must also supervise the child’s movements and monitor the possible affliction to dangerous elements. In either case, restrict the children’s activities to a specific zone earmarked for adherence to proper safety guidelines, such as designated playpens or play areas.
