More than two-thirds of child accidents are in home

PARENTS must ensure their homes and those of child minders are safe as more than two-thirds of accidents involving young children happen in the home.

Many children starting school for the first time this week may be picked up by relatives and neighbours after school before being collected by their parents on the way home from work.

According to Dr Alf Nicholson, 70% of visits to accident and emergency departments among children up to the age of five are caused by accidents in the home.

Dr Nicholson, head of the European Confederation of Paediatric Specialists and consultant at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, said parents should check their children’s safety in their own homes and gardens, as well as those of the people providing after-school or full-time care to their children. Irish Red Cross secretary general Carmel Dunne said evidence suggested more people needed support with after-school care. People rely on friends, family and neighbours to help out with collecting and minding children.

“We wholeheartedly believe this kind of minding can be very beneficial to all involved. The key thing for parents to bear in mind is that the house and the garden where the child is being cared for should be just as child-resistant as their own,” she said.

Doctors at Crumlin Children’s Hospital in Dublin warned last month that tall toddlers were more likely to suffer burns and scalds in the home by pulling kettles and hot drinks from table tops. They reported more than 30 children between nine months and two years had been referred to the hospital’s burns unit over a five-month period after such accidents and advised that they could be avoided if more care was taken in the home.

A Central Statistics Office report two years ago revealed the number of children being minded by unpaid relatives increased by more than a third once they began going to school.

The Irish Red Cross and Domestos has produced a handbook offering simple guidelines on how to ensure minding children is enjoyable and safe. The handbook is available free by contacting 1850 650 651.