kiddi
It’s happening – your bub is becoming a toddler. You will have noticed many changes as they’ve grown over the past year, and there are many more exciting milestones to come!
At the toddler stage, your little one will become increasingly mobile and start to walk. They’ll also become very curious, trying to open cupboards, turn switches on and off and seek out items they know exist even if they are hidden from view. This means it’s the perfect time to do another audit of your home to try and make sure it is ‘toddler proof’. But we all know that it is almost impossible so Kidsafe aims to help you by suggesting ways to reduce the risk!
You may be thinking ‘but I did all this already before bub was born’, however, making your home kid safe is a continuous process.
When assessing the safety of your home it is a good idea to manage the hazards your toddler has access to now, but also to predict (if you can!!) what hazards they may have access to in the near future. Parents and carers certainly need a crystal ball and Kidsafe is here to help!
What are some of the major injury hazards in the home?
It may be surprising to some, but the home is the most common location where childhood injuries occur. Common injury hazards include:
- Falls – things like stairs, furniture,nursery products (e.g. change tables, high chairs, baby walkers, cots and prams) as well as windows and balconies
- Poisons – items such as medication (prescription and over the counter), household cleaning products (bleach, dishwashing powder/tablets, toilet bowl discs etc.) and backyard items (g fertilizers, swimming pool chemicals and some plants)
- Furniture tipovers – large items of furniture such as TV’s, bookcases and drawers can tip over if children climb or pull on them
- Choking – anything smaller than a 20 cent coin can pose a choking hazard, including items such as coins, buttons, parts off of toys and food
- Burns and scalds – hot drinks and food are the most common cause of burn injuries, but other hazards include heaters, open fires, and items such as irons, hair straighteners and heat bags / hot water bottles, as well as treadmills and vehicle exhausts
- Water – toddlers can drown in as little as a few centimetres of water so along with pools and spas, smaller bodies of water like baths, buckets, eskys with melted ice and even pets drinking bowls can pose a drowning hazard
- Driveway runovers – all vehicles have blind spots which can make it difficult to see children when reversing
- Button batteries – if ingested, button batteries can become stuck in a child’s throat and burn through the oesophagus in less than 2 hours
To reduce the risk of an incident, there are three main steps to consider:
1.Spot the hazards
The first step in reducing the risk of injury is to spot any potential injury hazards that may exist in your home. It may sound like a funny idea, but Kidsafe suggests that you get down on your hands and knees and crawl around your house – this will allow you to view possible hazards from your child’s level.
Kidsafe’s ‘Parent’s Guide to Kidsafe Homes’ resource contains a handy home safety checklist to assist you in identifying potential hazards.
2.Decide how to deal with the hazard
This step depends on the type of hazard you are dealing with. Options may include removing the hazard you have identified (e.g. removing a poisonous plant from the garden), or guarding against the hazard (e.g. placing a stair gate at the top and bottom of the stairs or placing locks on cupboards that contain poisonous items).
It is important that safety products (e.g. cupboard locks) aren’t relied upon on their own – these should always be used in conjunction with active adult supervision to help keep children safe.
3. Make the changes
It is important that you deal with the hazards you identify immediately – your toddler won’t be protected until safety measures have been put in place.
By following these simple steps you can help make your home a happy and safe environment for the whole family. For more information and advice on home safety and a wide range of child injury topics, please visit www.kidsafe.com.au
