With the Easter holidays well underway, your little monkeys will be spending more time at home than usual. Especially with the unpredictability of the English weather, days out are not always an option! Therefore, now is a good time to check your home is electrically safe for not only your little ones, but also their friends during play dates. During this blog post we will outline a few simple steps to help minimise the risk of electrical accidents.
Keeping Your Child Electrically Safe
- Make sure you have RCD protection in your house. A modern fuse box will have an RCD built within it. RCDS turn off electricity in the fraction of a second to reduce the risk of death or serious injury.
- Turn off electrical appliances when not in use. Especially hot items such as irons, hair straighteners and curlers. Not only could these overheat and potentially cause a fire, they could also burn your child if they touch the item.
- Keep drinks away from electrical items. Also make sure your child is completely dry after a shower or bath before they touch an electrical item.
- Extension leads and sockets should not be overloaded! This is to avoid a build-up of heat which could potentially cause a fire. Electrical Safety First have a socket calculator which you can use to check your sockets HERE.
- Don’t leave any electrical cables trailing on the floor, or appliance cords in arms reach of a small child. A young child may be tempted to put the end of the cord in their mouth, or could trip over any untidy cables.
- If your child has an electrical gadget, make sure they turn it off when not in use. Furthermore, make sure they are using a branded charger to charge the item on a hard surface. Using fake chargers and charging the item on a unsuitable surface e.g. under a pillow, can be a major fire risk.
- For younger children you can use socket blanking plugs. Modern day sockets are generally not a serious risk, however socket blanking plugs can be used for extra peace of mind.
Its important to educate older children on electrical safety, especially when they are old enough to be left home alone. For younger children its important to take extra measures to keep them safe from electricity. Carry out visual checks on the sockets and cables in your house. If something doesn’t look right or if there is exposed wiring/burn marks present then contact your local, registered electrician.
We hope everyone enjoys their Easter! Please do not hesitate to contact us HERE.