So its week 5 of lockdown and how are you doing? Are you like me having to manage the constant juggle of working from home and trying to wrestle your energic soon to be 3 year old, whilst also suddenly having to home school your eldest in something called phonics and times tables? Oh and I forgot to mention our two elderly dogs who are clearly wondering why the hell everyone is at home when they want their quiet afternoon nap. Well if you are, the last thing on your mind will be how to prevent any potential accidents happening around your home. However this is something we all should be aware of as shockingly the NHS report that over 40,000 children each year are admitted to hospital because of accidents at home, with 90% of the most preventable serious accidents happening to under 5’s. This figure is expected to increase now our kids have no choice but to stay at home!
Here are the top 5 accidents according to the Child Accident Protection Trust (CAPT):
- Threats to breathing – this includes choking on food or button batteries, getting strangled by blind cords and suffocation from nappy bags or babies not sleeping in the correct position in slings.
- Falls – this happens regularly to my two kids (and also Mr W.) so it is easy to forget that a fall can have significant damage to a little one’s head which might not always be noticeable straight away. The worst injuries can be caused when kids fall from two different heights like falling out of a pram onto a hard surface or down the stairs.
- Poisoning – Little bodies process poison differently and there are many unexpected dangers around the home which can have a serious impact. Lots of people automatically think of the obvious things like keeping bottles of bleach locked away or out of reach from little hands. Other everyday items we tend to forget are poisonous to little ones are laundry washing pods and dishwasher tabs which are highly concentrated detergent and medicines which can look like sweets to little ones, can be found in handbags and bedside tables.
- Burns and Scalds – A cup of tea can be the most dangerous thing in your lounge, as a hot drink can scald a child even 15 minutes after it has been made, so it important to keep cups out of reach. It’s also not just things inside our home like hair straighteners, pans on the hob and hot drinks that can cause burns, as the warm weather approaches it’s bbq’s in the garden left unattended and exposure to the sun which can cause serious skin damage.
- Drowning – It takes very little water for a baby or young child to drown. Less than 5cm in fact. Drowning is silent. They don’t make a splash or a noise, so it is important to never leave little ones unattended in or around water like a bath or garden pond.
Nic Welsh
Daisy First Aid Leeds
www.daisyfirstaid.com/daisy-first-aid-leeds