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Every 6 Minutes at least one child suffers a preventable scald or burn...
.... a Range Safety Guard installed on every range-top would eliminate the majority of those burns!
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Safety
While cooking, never leave your
range unattended
Children are curious and they can
move fast. They see you touching things on the range-top
and naturally want to imitate you or at least find out about
what you are doing. This curiosity is what motivates your
child to learn, but it can also lead to serious injury.
This curiosity also drives your child to move faster, reach
higher and accomplish surprising physical feats.
Safety Statistics
Every year over 5000 children are burned at the stove
seriously enough to require emergency room medical treatment
according to the American Burn Association.
Scalds caused 82% of all burns to children under five.
60% of the people burned by hot beverages were under two.
It takes only two seconds for water at 150ºF to cause
a third degree burn.
46% of the tap water scald patients were under three years
old.
Almost one-fifth of the people burned by hot cooking liquids
were under five. Almost one-fifth of the cooking grease
scalds were to preschoolers.
Safety Tips
From the Office of the State Fire
Marshal (Commonwealth of Massachusetts)
Hot Beverages
Put the coffee down when you hold the baby. A wiggling baby
can jiggle your arm and spill the drink all over both of
you.
It's a well known fact that babies like to grab things.
Put hot foods and beverages toward the center of the table
and away from inquisitive hands.
Consider replacing tablecloths with place mats to prevent
your child from pulling everything on the table onto herself.
Hot beverages caused two-thirds of the burns to children
under five.
Tap Water
Set your hot water heater to temperatures of 125ºF
or less. (Massachusetts law states that
the temperatures must be between 110ºF and 130ºF)
Test the bath water before you put the baby in it. Water
temperature increases as the water runs. The water may be
hotter by the time you turn it off, than when you turned
it on.
Always supervise young children in the bath. Babies and
toddlers like playing with knobs and levers. They may turn
on the hot water when you turn your back.
Cooking
Establish and enforce a NO zone around the range. Do not
let children play near the range or barbecue. This protects
children from cooking liquids, grease and the hot metal.
Keep handles of pots and pans turned in towards the back
of your range so that little ones can't reach them.
Put a lid on a grease fire to smother it then turn off the
heat. Baking soda will also work. NEVER throw water on a
grease fire. Water will only spread the fire around.
Never move a burning pan. You can too easily ignite your
clothes or spill the fire onto someone or something else.
Stand by your pan! Never leave cooking unattended.
Listing Measures For Baby Proofing
Bringing an infant into this world is ecstatic for parents, along comes the duty to take uotmost care.
Assess every inch of your house ahead of bringing your bundle of joy home for any potential dangers as
this can lessen your worries. Take time to explore and get to the bottom, the floor, if required. Look
at your house as if a baby would. Zero in on any risks and rectify them. Here are possible risks to
look out for:
Tie Loose Ends
Do not leave any loose wires, electric sockets or plugs, screens or window cords dangling freely. These should be dealt with
accordingly and kept out of reach of the baby to avoid dangers of dragging something on top of themselves, choking on wires,
or getting electrocuted from sockets.
Keep The Toxins Away
Often children tend to put things in their mouth. You may want to keep pills, cleaning materials, solutions, etc out of
reach of the baby. This is because curious babies try to taste things they get hold of and these could be toxic in nature.
You also need to rearrange all the plants inside the house as these could be toxic too.
The Standard Nursery
The baby's room is the most important place as the baby will be spending a lot of time in it. Make sure that the Crib
has been fixed well and placed in away from windows and curtains hanging on them. Ensure that the mattress is just right
for the crib and try not to leave any soft toys inside the crib. The distance between the rails of the crib ought to be
2-3/8 inches apart.
Keep Clean
The house should be clutter-free and make enough space for the baby because sooner than you realize the baby will start
crawling. Get rid of small things lying on the ground as babies may pop them into their mouth and choke. Remove all
dilapidated furniture and repair those that are shaky but usable.
A Few Things To Remember
Here are a few more things to ensure safety when your baby is home. Avoid holding hot drinks or smoking while carrying
your baby to avoid any fire mishaps.
Take special care not to feed the baby while lying on their back. Also a strict no no to
popcorns, nuts, candy pieces, or any small items which can choke them until they are old enough for these.
All In The Game
Some parents can feel overwhelmed by the whole baby proofing episode. Help is available in many forms.
Talk to parents who have kids already and your baby proofing troubles will just go away. You can also seek help on
the web by joining groups and chat rooms.
Start listing baby proofing measures and things needed for it even when your baby is in your
arms so that you are done with this by the time the baby starts to crawl and move about the house exploring every nook
and corner.
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