Top Tips to Prevent Injury in children v3
Top Tips to Prevent Injury in Children
Parent and Carer Information
0 - 19 Universal Services
- Author ID: AB
- Leaflet ref: CM 041
- Version: 3
- Leaflet title: Top tips to prevent Injury in children
- Last review: June 2023
- Expiry Date: June 2025
Advice to help prevent injury to your child
There are six main causes of harm/injury in children in the UK: Drowning, Burns and Scalds, Poisoning, Falls, Fire and Choking. The following advice is aimed at preventing injury to your child.
Drowning
Never leave your baby or child alone in the bath. Babies or children can drown in only two centimetres of water. If you have a garden pond, you must always supervise your baby or child, better still fill in the pond.
Burns and scalds
- Always place your drink on a high surface out of reach.
- Never hold your child whilst drinking a hot drink.
- Put fireguards in front of fires and heaters in your home, even if they are switched off.
- When filling a bath, run the cold water first and then add hot water afterwards. Mix the water well to make sure there aren't any hot spots which could scald your child.
- Test the water with your elbow or a bath thermometer before putting your baby in the bath; children’s skin will burn very quickly.
- Never leave your child with any electrical device e.g., hair straighteners or curling tongs.
- Keep all matches and lighters in a metal tin out of sight and out of reach of children.
- To avoid sunburn, please ensure appropriate sun cream is applied regularly and children are kept in a shaded area wearing a hat and suitable clothing.
Poisoning
- Always keep hazardous substances in a locked cupboard in the kitchen (e.g., bleach, cleaning products, and medicines).
- Don’t forget about perfumes and aftershaves, they are also poisonous too.
- Button batteries are extremely dangerous if swallowed by children. The Toy Safety Regulations require toys that use button batteries to have lockable battery compartments. Check that these are secure and undamaged and do not use toys that don’t have lockable compartments. Ensure that spare batteries are locked away, and used batteries are disposed of correctly as they can still cause injury.
- Keep all products containing high strength magnets out of reach of young children. High-strength magnets can be found in toys, puzzles and some craft and fashion items and can cause horrific damage to the body if swallowed.
- There is a risk of poisoning from e cigarettes and refills. Always keep e-cigarettes and their refills out of the reach of young children.
Falls
- Babies can climb as soon as they can roll or crawl. Always change your baby on the floor. Never leave your baby unsupervised on a bed, sofa or other surface.
- Always supervise your baby or child when he/she is in a highchair or pushchair, even when using a five-strap harness.
- Use stair gates at the top and bottom of the stairs to prevent fall injuries.
Fire
- Store all smoking materials in a metal tin and keep out of reach even when not in use. Ensure you stub your cigarettes out if you feel sleepy.
- Fit a smoke alarm to upstairs and downstairs ceilings in your home. Check your smoke alarms weekly and replace batteries when needed.
- Do not leave Electronic Cigarettes (E Cig) charging unattended as they can catch fire.
- Never leave pans unattended.
- Do not charge mobile phones or other devices on a fabric surface as this can cause the device to overheat.
Choking
- Babies will place anything they find in their mouths, for example button batteries.
- Never leave your baby or child alone whilst they are eating. Babies unable to sit unaided should not be left to feed themselves.
- Keep playing areas tidy and free from anything your child may choke on.
- Keep small objects out of reach.
- Please ensure Blind Cords are kept short and out of reach of children. Do not place a child’s cot/bed/playpen/highchair near a window.
- Do not hang toys/objects/draw string bags that could be a hazard on a cot or bed.
Pets
Never leave babies or children unattended with family pets.
Car Seats
Children must be carried in an appropriate child seat from birth until either they are at least 135cm (4’5”) tall or 12 years old, whichever comes first. They must then use a seat belt if one is fitted.
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