CHILD SAFETY

PROMOTING CHILD SAFETY

Garden Safety Tips

• Make sure children can't get out through gaps in fences and ensure gates are self locking.
• Fill in ponds if young children use the garden.
• Empty buckets and turn them upside down immediately after use.
• Use shatterproof glass or plastic on the greenhouse and keep the door shut.
• Clear up pet droppings.
• Avoid plants that may be poisonous or spiky (ask at your garden centre).
• Supervise children at all times - particularly if paddling pools are being used.
• Be watchful when visiting others' houses - they may not be as careful as you.
• Always store chemicals in their original container.
• Buy products which are made to taste bitter to deter children from swallowing them. (Bitrex additive or similar)

Travel Safety Tips

• When using pushchairs, net bags which hang from the handles are a hazard, only use universal stroller bags which fit to the base of the buggy to avoid tipping.
• Harnesses are supplied with walking reins for safety whilst walking. RoSPA recommend the use of reins as opposed to wrist links, because of possibility of wrist links being too long and could cause a hazard.
• Keep children out of the sun between 11am and 3pm.
• Keep children in the sun covered in loose, long-sleeved clothes and make them wear a hat.
• Use a sunscreen with a high Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 15 or more and keep re-applying it especially after swimming.
• Keep babies under 6 months out of the sun altogether.

Nappy Sacks

Hazard associated with ‘Nappy Sacks’: Small plastic bags, often aromatic, designed for parents to place a soiled disposable nappy.

RoSPA have passed the following information to us (child safety) , the link takes you to a resource page with a poster, leaflet and you can view a video which looks at how young babies have reflex actions which grab these bags and put them to their mouths. They cannot however remove them when they are restricting their breathing as they do not have the cognitive ability to understand the danger:  http//bit.ly/NHSCIS_nappysacks

At least 11 babies in the UK have died so far from suffocation after pulling nappy sacks stored in their cots, or near to where they had been put to sleep, to their faces. The thinness of the plastic makes it "cling" to the face when breathed in and young babies are unable to pull it away.

Katrina Phillips, Chief Executive at CAPT, said:

"Because nappy sacks are seen as an essential piece of parenting kit, parents don't realise that they are as dangerous to babies as plastic bags are to small children. They are often kept nearby, within easy reach, for nappy changing. "

"This campaign will remind parents that nappy sacks need to be kept out of reach of babies, particularly in the bedroom. Young babies are most at risk because they naturally grasp things and pull them to their mouths, but then find it difficult to let go. Nappy sacks are small and flimsy, and cling to babies' faces so they can't breathe."

Preventing further baby deaths - how you can help

Please help to make parents and carers of young children aware of the dangers posed by nappy sacks and encourage them to take the same safety precautions as they would with common plastic bags.

To avoid danger of suffocation and choking:

§  Always keep nappy sacks and other plastic bags and wrapping away from babies and young children

§  Never place nappy sacks in a baby's cot or pram.

Blind Cords:

Blind Cord Deaths – there were three in January alone this year. The majority of these fatalities happen in a child’s bedroom where they are likely to be in their own and gain access to the cords. The one piece of advice which is easy to relay is that:

Keep Blinds with cords, including Roman Blinds out of a child’s bedroom altogether. Roman blinds have the cords at the back of the blind rather than at the side, but they still pose the same strangulation risk.

Usually, a retrospectively fitted blind cord cleat or shortener lifts the cord out of a baby’s reach, however:

1. Firstly, this is dependent on the parent regularly using the safety device
2. Secondly, if a child climbs, they could still gain access to the cord.

Fit safety devices to all blinds in the home, but the bedroom is the one area of the house that we know a child will be unsupervised, as this is where they sleep. Parent’s often do not know when a child has the ability to climb out of their cot and play at climbing up onto the window sill, so be safe, keep all corded blinds out of children’s bedrooms completely.

See more on www.makeitsafe.org.uk and http://www.rospa.com/about/currentcampaigns/blindcords/default.aspx and http://www.capt.org.uk/who-we-are/news/blind-cords-fix-cleat-protect-your-child

Remember, cutting the loop helps but it isn’t a solution as children can still wrap a long piece of single cord around their neck.

Do not have children’s cots next to the window or radiator in their bedroom if possible. If you have no choice due to restrictive space, fit a window restrictor which allows air flow but limits opening of the window, and or radiator pad or guard to keep the baby safely away from the heat of the radiator.

Safe Sleeping for Babies and Young Children

Children die every year when they are in a sleep environment, either when products are placed in or near their own sleep environment that are a hazard to them, or they are taken into an adult sleeping environment where the dangers of entrapment and overlaying are pronounced.

Often, the assumption by parents is that ‘soft is safe’ as a child can’t hurt themselves by falling against or onto a hard surface, however soft can and does suffocate babies and awareness raising on this issue can only be helpful in parents understanding risk in the home to sleeping babies.

The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths has an excellent social media website called www.bubbalicious.co.uk and their own website www.fsid.org.uk is a wealth of information on current recommendation for safe sleeping. There are leaflets and resources which can be requested.

I have read of a death in hospital where a new parent has taken a newly born baby into bed with her and the baby died due to suffocation. This was highlighted in a Ministry of Justice Rule 43 report. Summary of Reports and Responses under Rule 43 of the Coroners Rules

Many Child Death Overview Panels report deaths where babies have been sleeping with their parent and or parents, often in an environment other than their own home, for example, staying with friends, where the likelihood of the parents having had a drink is greater.

Children can and do get stuck between adult mattresses and the wall/or radiators near beds.

It is also useful for parents to think about what their child may have access to when they are on their own in their bedroom:

1. Hazardous loops on blinds – remove if possible as children and can do climb to get accidental access to this hazard
2. Furniture and or book cases – tether with straps to ensure that they cannot fall on top of a child when they climb
3. Window restrictor – to ensure a child cannot accidentally open and fall out of a window
4. Access to cords, lamps, baby monitors etc..Children can wrap or place string and cords around their necks this includes dressing gown cords, drawstring bags, etc.. what is in their room? Do you need it there?
5. Small toys if smaller children share their bedroom with an older sibling – Lego, marbles etc...
6. Toy boxes with lids – heavy lids can fall on top of young children’s heads and cause skull fractures, there is no need to have a lid on a box of toys.
7. Plastic bags – have you left nappy sacks or any other plastic bags or sheets in their bedroom?
8. Are you storing anything in the room that could fall on a child? – for example I have read of a death where a spare mattress was stood up against the wall and fell on a child as he climbed out of his cot and he suffocated under it.
9. Cot bumpers and sleep positioners are not recommended. Statistics do not show children hurting themselves on cot bars, they are spaced for safety and the cot standard is one of the few standards which is written with the assumption that a child will be unsupervised. Adding products to that environment can therefore add risk to this. Children have managed to get wedged in sleep positioners incorrectly and suffocate.

A parent will not know when a child is able to climb out of their cot, and the following recommendation, taken from the European Child Safety Alliance website document is helpful to try to ascertain when a child is ready to move out of his cot for safety.

Once the baby is able to sit up by him/herself, move the baby mattress to a lower position. When the baby can stand, be sure to lower the mattress to its lowest position; then when she/he is 90 cm or higher or when the side rail is up to the level of the nipples, move the child to a child bed.