Keep your children safe around electricity

If you have children, then you will be acutely aware of the dangers posed to their health and safety by the electrical appliances, outlets, and wiring in your home. However, by following a few simple steps, you can make your children a lot safer from the risk of electrocution, fire, burns, and electric shocks:

Cover up any exposed sockets with face plates, and if there are any that are frequently used, attach sliding plates rather than fixed ones so that you do not have to keep plugging and unplugging the safety plate.

Educate your children about the dangers posed by electricity. Discourage them from putting objects such as their fingers or crayons into outlets, and from touching anything that has a cable attached. If they are very young, then you might want to put signs near any objects or outlets that could be dangerous that give a clear visual signal to them not to touch it.

Keep things like fuse boxes, tools, and spare parts locked away in cupboards that only you can access the key for.

Keep your children away from power lines and service towers wherever possible, especially if they are climbing trees or flying kites.

When your kids are old enough, show them how to plug in and unplug cables safely. In particular, you should stress the need to pull out cables by the plug rather than the cable itself.

Keep cables tied up and out of the way so that they cannot be tripped up on or pulled.

Damaged plugs and frayed cables can be dangerous, so make sure and throw them out as soon as you notice them.

You should wait until your children are in their teens before you teach them how to change a lightbulb, making sure to tell them to make sure that the power is off and that the light has cooled down before they even consider changing it.

Place space heaters against the wall, and keep the cables out of the way so that they cannot be tripped on or pulled out.

Keep any lights in the bedrooms of your children as far from any material, such as curtains, clothes, and bed sheets, as possible.

Teach your children never to use electrical devices with wet hands, and never use electrical devices such as hair dryers and curling irons in the bathroom.

When appliances are not being used, unplug them and put them away wherever possible.

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