Safety at Home Week, August 23-27, 2010

This week has been designated by the Safe at Home organization as Safety at Home Week.  This organization is a member-driven group whose focus is safety in and around your home.  They’ve chosen to select a week out of the year to:

… promote and emphasize safety in and around the home to eliminate senseless home-related injuries.

As a Case Manager and someone who often has the opportunity to be in the homes of patients/clients, I thought I would share the following three safety issues we have seen when overseeing the care of children at home.

1. Injuries or SIDS as a result of sleeping with a baby or not having the baby properly positioned in his or her bed
2. Accidental burns from pots and pans, coffee  makers or bathtub water
3. Falls

Obviously, there are risks involved when having an infant sleep in the parents’ bed.  The most obvious is a parent turning over onto the infant and injuring them in some way or possibly suffocating him or her.

Where SIDS is concerned, there is a lot of research that has been done into the causes and prevention.  One of the most important steps to take to prevent SIDS is putting the child to sleep on his or her back.  The highest risk time frame is between the ages of two and four months.  For more information, follow the links in this section.

In regards to the kitchen, it is extremely important to be sure youngsters are supervised when they’re in the room.  The skin of children is thinner than an adult’s, so the severity of their burns is worse with less exposure.  Here are some tips from Safe Kids Kansas that could help prevent a child in your care from being hurt:

• Never leave a hot stove unattended. (Unattended food on the stove is the number-one cause of home fires.)
• Never hold a child while cooking or carrying hot items.
• Cook on back burners whenever possible, and turn all handles toward the back of the stove.
• Don’t allow loose-fitting clothing in the kitchen.
• Keep hot foods and liquids away from the edges of counters and tables. Be especially careful around tablecloths — children can pull hot dishes down onto themselves.
• Tie up the electrical cords of small appliances. A toddler playing with a dangling cord can pull a toaster or microwave down from a countertop.

As far as bathtub water, just keep in mind that a child’s skin burns easier, so don’t use your own skin as a measurement of how hot the water should be for the bath.

According to an article at Safe Kids Oregon, for children under the age of 4, 80% of injuries related to falls occur in the home.  Between the ages of 5 and 14, the risk decreases, but is still 45%.  The risks are all around a child in the home from the stairs to the changing table to baby walkers and even windows!  Be sure to take extra precautions with securing windows, by not leaving babies unattended on furniture that is high off the ground, and keeping a very close eye on a child in a walker.

These three areas of safety in the home are those that I have seen most commonly, however, that does not mean there aren’t other causes, as well.  There is a wealth of information available on how to keep a child safe at home.  I hope these three tips will motivate parents and caregivers to learn more.

We would also welcome any comments you might have related to children and safety at home.