Play it safe

Preventing accidents is a priority. By staying vigilant and knowing how to keep your family as safe as possible, you’re more likely to avoid finding yourself or your children in an emergency situation

SAFETY IN AND AROUND THE HOME

• Keep a list of emergency numbers at all your phone extensions, and save these numbers on your cellphone. Using the acronym ICE (In Case of Emergency) at the beginning of each of these contacts makes these numbers easy to find in an emergency. • Keep all your heaters in good condition, out of a child’s reach and placed at least 1m away from curtains, any paper and furniture when in use. Ensure they have protective covers.

• Make sure that electric cords are not frayed or overloaded and are placed out of reach, and fit all unused electric plug points with safety covers.

• Install toddler gates at the top and bottom of all stairways and make sure that the strength of stairs, railings, porches and balconies have been checked.

• Install safety latches or locks on all cabinets, fridges, drawers and toilets.

• Loop all blind cords out of reach.

• Make sure that all medicines, vitamins, cleaning products and household poisons, razor blades and scissors are stored well out of reach and in childproof containers.

• Place high chairs and stools away from the stove, and place pots at the back of the stove with the handles facing inward.

• Make sure all playground equipment in the garden is assembled correctly over a level, cushioned surface such as sand or wood chips.

• Remove thorny or poisonous plants from the garden.

• Fit your garage doors and electric gates with safety mechanisms that stop the door/gate if it encounters an obstacle, as well as a safety mechanism that stops door from coming off the hinges and falling down.

• Never leave your child alone in the bathroom or in the bath, or near a water source, not even for a second.

• If you have firearms, make sure they are locked in a safe where they are completely inaccessible to children, and keep them stored unloaded with the ammunition stored separately.

GATE SAFETY

Too many children have died due to lack of legislation around the installation of electric gates. Automatic gates can be deadly, especially if they are not installed correctly, or if safety devices are not installed as part of the system. At its most fundamental level, an automatic gate is roughly 227kg of metal being moved with a respectable amount of force and speed by a mostly mindless machine. If care is not taken to ensure that the system is safe, it is unnervingly easy for someone to be seriously injured or killed by a driveway gate. Don’t let it happen to your children. • Gates should be set to backpedal if they happen to hit someone or something. A professional gate installer will be able to guide you through a selection of the proper safety devices for your system.

• The gates should have sensors that can stop them if something has been detected in their path. This could be light beams (photoelectric devices) that stop the gates before they reach an obstacle.

• If there are parts of the gates where someone could become trapped or get crushed while it is moving, these need to be protected. People could get injured as the bars of the gates pass the gatepost.

• All electric gates must have an emergency release mechanism in case someone gets trapped.

• All the safety devices and features should be checked on a regular basis and in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure that they continue to function as designed to ensure that safety is maintained.

• Prevent unauthorised access by ensuring that only adults have access to the controls. Operator covers should at all times be locked in place and the keys kept in a safe location.

• Keep the area of travel clear by first ensuring that no children or pets are in the vicinity before opening an automated gate. There are also a few simple checks you can do to ensure that your family is safe around your automatic gate:

SWING GATES

Use a bin as a dummy to make sure the safety precautions you’ve installed are working properly.

• Place a dustbin in the middle of the gate pathway where the gates close shut to check that the gate does not close when operated.

• Place a dustbin where the gates will move to open out to make sure they don’t move when operated.

• Push a dustbin towards the gate when it is opening to make sure the gate stops and goes back slightly. Do the same check with a closing gate.

• When the gate is opening, try to hold the gate at the leading edge. The gate should stop when using light force.

• If the gate opens against a wall, place the bin against the wall and check that you’re able to remove the bin when the gate is opened.

SLIDING GATES

In the same way as the tips for swing gates, a bin acts as a dummy when checking the safety precautions you have installed.

• Place a dustbin in the middle of the gate pathway to make sure it does not close when operated.

• Place a dustbin behind the gates and press to open. The gates should not move.

• Do the same with a closing gate. It should stop and go back slightly.

• When the gate is opening, try to hold the gate at the leading edge. The gate should stop when using a light force.

FIRE SAFETY

• Do not leave matches, lighters, candles or other flammable materials where your children can find them.

• Always build your fire a safe distance away from people, tents, bedding, wood, vegetation or other flammable materials. • Never start a fire when there are strong winds blowing around. • Don’t use petrol, oil or other flammable liquids to fuel the fire. • Don’t leave your fire unattended and be sure to put the fire out well before you leave or go to sleep. Even a small breeze and a spark can quickly cause a fire to spread uncontrollably. • Never leave young children alone with a fire, and make sure your child knows not to go anywhere near an open fire or a braai for any reason. • Always keep a bucket of water or sand nearby to put the fire out if it starts to burn out of control.

WATER SAFETY

• Many children who drown every year can, in fact, swim. Never leave your child alone near a pool or a body of water, even if he knows how to swim and even if he is wearing armbands or other flotation devices. • Swimming pools should always be fenced and locked using a childproof mechanism.

• Don’t ever prop a pool gate open, and make sure it has closed behind you when you walk through it. • Always use a properly instal

led safety cover on your pool. • Consider installing home door alarms that ring when a door is open, and fit this onto the pool gate. • Don’t consider flotation devices as lifesavers – they are only training tools. • Even if your child can swim well, there is always a risk that he may drown. Do not assume he is safe. • Ponds, baths, toilets and buckets are also drowning hazards. • Toys should not be left in and around the pool. They will attract children, who may reach for them and fall into the water. • Fish ponds, water features and all bodies of water should be covered with nets.

TOY SAFETY

• Toy chests must have lightweight lids, no lids, or safe closing hinges. • Always ensure that the toys your child plays with are age-appropriate and meet her skill level and interest. A toy with many small parts, for instance, is not suitable for even a young toddler. • Balloons are always dange- rous and pose a serious risk of suffocation. Children should never be allowed to play with deflated balloons, and never leave your child alone to play with inflated balloons. • Strings, straps and cords on any toy should be trimmed to less than 50cm to prevent strangulation. • Check your child’s toys regularly for damage and other hazards. An easy way to do this is to be involved with your child’s play. • Always throw the packaging materials from new toys away immediately. Plastic bags, bubble wrap, staples, nails and wire ties are all serious safety hazards. • If your child uses a walking ring, they should never be left unsupervised. The danger stems from an increase in baby’s mobility of up to 1 metre per second. This uncontrollable movement puts them at risk of falling down stairs, tipping over on an uneven floor or colliding violently with objects. This means your baby could get a nasty bash to the head, resulting in a trip to the hospital. The raised height of the walking ring also means it is more likely that your baby can reach and pull down objects, such as electrical

appliances or hot drinks. • Beware of laser toys and pointers. Lasers aimed at cars, buses, boats and airplanes can cause serious accidents. Lasers can damage eyes. Teach your child never to point at anyone’s face and also never to look into a laser. If the eye was exposed and spots are still visible after five to 10 minutes, you may have retinal damage. It is strongly recommended that you consult an ophthalmologist.

PLAYGROUND SAFETY

The causes of playground injuries and very sad fatalities are a result of one or more of the following factors: • inadequate or no supervi

sion of children • no soft fall, impact or safety surface being provided or installed around the equipment • inadequate maintenance • protrusions from bolts, nails,

screws and wood splinters • crush and pinch zones on

play equipment • strangulation from head, neck, body and limb entrapment areas on equipment, especially cargo nets or climbing nets • incorrectly installed equip

ment • playground not being age

appropriate

• broken equipment • wet playground equipment as a result of rain or dew, or very hot equipment from direct sunlight PLAYGROUND DESIGN • Fall surfaces should be made of wood chips, sand, shredded tyres or rubber mats and should be at least 30cm deep. • The area under and around play equipment (the protection zone) where a child may fall should be a minimum of 1.8m in all directions. • Beware of hardware that is capable of impaling or cutting a child ( bolts or hooks), or catching strings or items of clothing. Children should not wear drawstring hoodies at the playground. • Swings should be set far away from other equipment so that children won’t be hit by a moving swing. • Trip hazards like rocks or tree

stumps should be removed. • Children under age four shouldn’t play on climbing equipment. • Metal or wooden swing seats should be replaced with soft seats, and equipment should not be split or splintered. • Beware of sharp edges on equipment and platforms without guardrails. PLAYGROUND BEHAVIOUR Teach your children to: • Never push others while on jungle gyms, slides, seesaws, swings and other equipment. • Use equipment properly – slide feet first, don’t climb outside guardrails, no standing on swings. • Always check to make sure no other children are in the way if they’re going to jump off equipment or slide, and land on both feet with their knees slightly bent. • Leave bikes, backpacks and bags far away from the play area. • Never use playground equipment that’s wet because surfaces will be slippery. SWING SAFETY • Swings should be made of soft material such as rubber or plastic, not wood or metal. • Children should always sit in the swing, not stand or kneel. They should hold on tightly with both hands, and stop the swing completely before getting off. • Children should stay a safe distance from others on the swings. SEESAW SAFETY Seesaws are generally not recommended for pre-school children as it requires cooperation between two children. • Seesaw seats are like swings: one child per seat. • Children should always sit

facing each other. • Teach children to hold on tightly with both hands while on a seesaw, and to keep feet to the sides, out from underneath the seesaw. • Kids should stand back from a seesaw when it’s in use. Never stand beneath a raised seesaw. SLIDE SAFETY • Children should take one step at a time and hold onto the handrail when climbing the ladder to the top. They should never climb up the slide itself to get to the top. • Always slide down feet first

and sitting up. TRAMPOLINES Bad landings can lead to bruises, ankle sprains and fractures, as well as head, neck and spine injuries. Children can get hurt when they: • land wrong while jumping • land wrong while flipping or trying stunts and somersaults • collide with another jumper • fall off or land on the springs

or frame Adequate protective padding is essential. Have constant adult supervision and stick to one jumper at a time. Avoid flips and somersaults, especially at busy trampoline parks.