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Pindara Private Hospital Magazine - Issue Three

Children ’s Health Facts: In Australia each year, 280 children die as a result of injury, and many thousands more suffer serious injury (Kids Safe, 2011) For every one child who dies, 160 are admitted to hospital and 5,000 need medical attention all as the result of injury (Kids Safe, 2011) Half the children who are injured are under the age of five (Kids Safe, 2011) A child is treated in emergency every four seconds in Australia (AIFS, 2012) the home as danger-free as possible with these easy steps. 1. Locate the hazards Dedicate the morning or afternoon, or even the whole day (you might need to!) to searching around the house for any hidden risks. Remember that you are a couple of feet higher than the little ones, so try and view the room from their perspective. Start at one end of the house and act like a fine-tooth comb sweeping all areas of danger. 2. Deal with it Great, we’ve found all the risks, now it is time to act! Some risks are easily removable, like badly placed shelving or sewing kits, or fixable, like cupboard doors under the sink or toilet seats. General high-risk zones, such as the kitchen, have to be dealt with carefully and occasionally inviting the cooperation of the kids can pay dividends. Educating them about not running, touching or playing in the kitchen, say, is pivotal in developing their self-awareness from a young age. Reward good behaviour during the learning period, and faults in safe behaviour should be highlighted immediately. One suggestion is creating time constructs for different rooms of the house. For example, between 5.00pm and 6.00pm, the little ones are not to enter the kitchen when Mum or Dad are cooking, and are to spend that hour in the playroom or garden with the careful supervision of a parent or guardian. 3. Be fast There is no point to all the identification and education if rules, boundaries and lessons are not established immediately. The quicker each hazard is isolated or removed, the quicker Mum and Dad can be assured that play time won’t end in injury. Some common hazards and their prevention Kitchen • All kitchen appliances must be out of reach of children. • Hot liquids and foods should be put out of reach and cooled long prior to the children consuming them. • If you are making a coffee or tea (wellearned!), don’t leave the total amount of hot liquid sitting. Just boil enough water that is necessary for one or two cups. • Install fire extinguisher and blankets, and educate children about fire safety. • Use the back heat elements on the stove when possible. Bathroom • Lay towels and sticky mats down on tiles. • Install the water temperature at maximum 50 degrees Celsius. • Always supervise children during bath time. • Check the ingredients on soaps and bubble baths for children with sensitive skin or allergies. • Warn kids about running when they’re wet - dry them all over first. Bedroom • Dress the kids in materials with low flammability and as tight fitting as possible - dangly details and loose sleeves are at greater risk of catching onto flame or on other objects. • Ensure all lamps and light sources are certified and in good condition. • Install bedding away from windows where possible during the adventurous ages. Garden and Pool • Fence the pools at a height of around four feet minimum. • Educate children on water safety, and sign them up for swimming classes early. • Supervise at all times, and ensure those watching are fit to do so (in terms of age and swimming ability). • Fence all garden and patio areas, and if the driveway or public pathways lead into the garden, fix a child-proof gate at the entrance. • Try to keep the surface areas clean of moss and debris to avoid trips and falls. • Fence off steps and steep slopes. • Remove any pet faeces and waste as soon as possible, as these can contain parasites that are seriously dangerous to young immune systems. Additionally, toxoplasmosis, a toxic parasite carried through cat faeces, pindaramagazine.com.au Pindara Magazine 55


Pindara Private Hospital Magazine - Issue Three
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