Keeping Children Safe From Electrical Accidents

Being a parent is a full time job and ensuring the safety of the little ones at home is certainly an important task. Even though schools are reopened with the COVID-19 measures, parents cannot relent on going the extra mile to keep the kids safe.

Now the school session is almost out for most schools across the country, it is important to have safety measures in place while the children will be home enjoying the summer break after the academic year.

Here are some tips to help you keep the children safe from electrical accidents.

• Ensure that children are supervised in situations where they deal with electrical appliances. Such as turning on the television, or plugging in their consoles.

• Keep appliance chords out of the reach of children.

Gadgets chords and particularly chords connected to hot items such as kettles or irons.

• All cables should be properly organized and covered to avoid tripping over them or getting electricuted. You can use cable staples to suspend cables and keep them out of the reach of children.

• Meal times should be observed away from electrical appliances to avoid spilling food or drinks on them. Water and electricity do not mix well. One must be vigilant to ensure that children do not touch electrical appliances with wet hands. This could lead to severe injuries or death.

• Do not leave any power outlet (sockets) open. Keep conductible/sharp objects away from the reach of children.

• Avoid damaged chords or worn out electrical cables. To avoid electrical accidents, damaged or worn out cables should be replaced as soon as possible. Faulty or damaged can cause injury or electrocution.

It is also of great importance to ensure that your children are well educated on the dangers of an electric accident and how best to avoid them from early ages. Teaching them these tips by demonstrating them or showing them videos and pictures. It will help them better understand the risks as well as the appropriate behavior around electricity. It is also important to get electrical work done by a professional as opposed to doing it yourself. This is to avoid damages or electric sparks which may be injurious.

First Aid

In an unfortunate case of an electric accident, it is import to locate the power outlet and switch off from the source. Do not approach the patient and you might get electrocuted as well. Electrical burns can be quite serious so they ought to be assessed by health personnel.

Do not touch any blisters. Or apply anything on them. In the case of a serious burn, check to see if the victim is still breathing. Perform a CPR or mouth to mouth resuscitation. Then cover them with a blanket.

Electrical accidents can be grave, it is important to have safety measures in place and know what steps to take in the case of an unfortunate event. However, electrical accidents can be avoided by following these tips and educating your children and their guardians (if any) on the dangers.