Keeping babies and toddlers safe this summer

Kya deLongchamps looks at the planning needed to keep those uncoordinated, but fearless, babies and toddlers safe wherever they might be this summer

LOOKING after a baby or a young child is nerve-wracking. Children under four are most likely to have an accident at home and boys more so than girls (HSE).

Child specialist and author, Niamh O’Reilly ( www.thenursery.ie ), says it’s natural.

“Happy, healthy children are completely focused on escape. You can tell a household with toddlers: everything is set well over knee-level,” she says.

However, there is no need to be overly cautious. “We’re not constructing a prison. Cover the big bases — bumpers, bed rails, stair gates, and so on.

Children see differently than we do. For example, they are mesmerised by bright colours. Granny’s handbag (anyone’s handbag) can contain sweeties or her equally fascinating blood pressure pills,” says O’Reilly.

Of accidents in the home, Dr Bernadette Carr, medical director at Vhi Healthcare, is unequivocal: “The kitchen is definitely one of the most hazardous adult rooms in a house — it is not designed around children, yet is full of things that attract their attention.”

Last year, Vhi Healthcare paid out €2m for domestic accidents. The hands-and-knees tour, to gain a baby’s perspective on the domestic jungle-gym, is crucial. Climbing on higher, unstable furniture, a rambunctious toddler can get into trouble. And play terrains change as children grow.

“A regular review is vital,” says Dr Carr, “as what was once out-of-reach for a one-year-old becomes so much more accessible to a three-year-old.”

In the kitchen:

Children have no inherent reflex to pull back from a burn. As a theatre of hot, scalding activities, the kitchen should have a stove guard.

There are designs to tame the most eclectic range. Use the back rings of your stove and turn pot handles away from the edges.

Place electrical cords at the back of counters. Install latches or locks on lower-level cabinet and cupboard doors in the kitchen. Bleaches and cleaning products should be inaccessible (including washing liquids and powders in candy colours).

According to a recent study by Temple Street Children’s Hospital and the Royal College of Surgeons, two thirds of scald injuries to under-fives were from drinks.

Keep that tea or coffee out of reach and don’t use an open cup when holding a baby.

In the bedroom:

Forty four percent of accidents involving the under-fives are the result of a fall. Use safety gates and door gates on stairs, top and bottom. Keep furniture, and other spontaneous climbing structures, away from windows, shelving and gates.

Corridors encourage speed. Make sure rugs, mats, and runners are set over non-slip mats.

Put finger-guards on doors. Choose up-to-date, safe cots, and toddler beds with bars that are no more than 45-65mm apart. Low windows shouldn’t open more than 10cm. Install limiters (these rarely cost more than €7 a pair at good DIY stores).

It takes as little as 20 seconds for a child to strangle on a blind or curtain cord. Fit a safety cleat to tie-back blind cords and chains, and ensure the cord is at least 1.6m off the ground — there should be no ‘loop’.

Living room/dining room:

Put safety plugs in all unused sockets.

Attach cushioned, corner-and-edge bumpers to the sharp corners of furniture. These can also be used on the fireplace kerb to soften falls.

Keep pens, scissors, letter-openers, staplers, paper clips, and other sharp instruments in drawers that have safety latches or locks. Make sure your child’s toys are age-appropriate.

Small children and babies explore the world with their mouths. Balloons, buttons or toys with small parts could increase the risk of a choking. Hide lamp and appliance cords behind heavy furniture.

In the bathroom:

Lock down the toilet seat with a dedicated clip. Install thermostatic controls and/or anti-scald locks on taps. Poison-proof this, and other areas of the house.

An inaccessible cabinet on the wall works well. Electrical objects, like hair-straighteners, can remain hot for 20 minutes after being unplugged (use a dedicated heatproof bag). Button batteries are caustic, if swallowed.

In the garden:

There is no such thing as water safety for the under-sixes. If you have a pond, gate it off, install a surface grill or fill it in.

Steer children away from the barbecue and never leave the area unattended when cooking. Don’t leave power tools, gardening implements or chemicals lying around.

Ensure outdoor play equipment is age-and-height appropriate and use a soft landing zone of 2m all round. Leave the grass longer, if you don’t have a wood chip or rubber surface.

Gravel and decorative, small stones can be choking hazards for a baby or toddler. Always ensure you or another trusted adult are around to watch your toddler — a 10-year-old child is easily distracted from babysitting by a juicy text or by sheer boredom.

St John’s Ambulance host an infant-and-toddler first aid course at their Dublin headquarters every second Saturday, for €55, [e-mail]. The Red Cross also have practical first-aid courses nationwide: 1890-502502.

Niamh O’Reilly’s book, No Fuss Baby & Toddler Sleep, published by Mercier Press, is €14.99

SAFETY TOP TIPS

1. Children under six should never be allowed on a trampoline.

2. TVs, and other heavy electronics, should be on topple-proof stands, or bolted directly to the wall.

3. Where the kitchen or dining area opens through glazed doors, use super-sized, colourful stickers to make them highly visible to charging tots.

4. Chests of drawers are ‘infant stairs’ that can be determinedly pulled open. Bolt top-heavy dressers and drawer-units directly to the wall.

5. Ease back on alcoholic drinks, when having a summer gathering with young children — it will dull your senses to danger.

6. Check garden areas for plants that have bright, shiny berries. Many common plants can cause dermatitis or poisoning.

7. If a room is a tangle of trouble, lock the door or gate the area off in an open-plan situation.

Extenders for most voids are available.

8. Don’t leave babies or toddlers alone with a dog (in a cot or out), be it yours or anyone else’s.

9. Don’t get lost in the hypnosis of your mobile phone or PC, while the children play quietly out of view.

That blessed quiet is often the first sign that something is wrong.

10. Every single ornament and object, especially the small, breakable and unsteady, should be examined as if it’s a toy. Clear out the offenders. Be meticulous.