You can put your children’s safety first by remembering some simple and practical steps.
That’s the message from the West Sussex Safeguarding Children Board this Child Safety Week, which runs from Monday 1 June.
The Board is supporting Child Safety Week, an initiative which aims to raise awareness of accidents that may seriously injure or kill children as well as provide advice on how they may be prevented.
The theme for this year’s Child Safety Week, which is organised by the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT), is ‘Tea-Time Terrors’ and focuses on promoting and reinforcing the simple ways in which accidents commonly associated with teatime can be prevented.
Teatime can be a busy time of day for parents, trying to manage a number of tasks all while dealing with the demands for attention from children. This may include cooking dinner, tidying up, getting the washing in, settling disagreements, helping with the homework, bath and bed time.
Jimmy Doyle, Chairman of the West Sussex Safeguarding Children Board, said: “Making sure children remain as safe as possible is of the utmost importance and we would encourage busy parents and carers to take a few minutes to check out the practical advice designed to help them avoid accidents.
“Accidents do happen, but there are lots of things parents and carers can do to try to reduce the risk of children being injured – there is plenty of useful advice on the Child Safety Week website, as well as some helpful information about home safety on the County Council’s website at www.westsussex.gov.uk.”
CAPT has also produced an action pack for Child Safety Week, including information about how to keep accidents at bay. Some of the top tips include:
• Push kettles to the back of the worktop and try to use the back rings on the hob – out of reach of children.
• Hot drinks are the main cause of scalds for children under five. Try to keep your drink well out of reach of small hands.
• To help to avoid the risk of choking, cut up food into small pieces for young children and encourage them to sit when eating. Also don’t prop a baby’s bottle up and leave them to feed. • Keep laundry and cleaning products out of reach and sight of young children, preferably in locked cupboards.
There are lots more helpful hints in the action pack, which can be downloaded at www.childsafetyweek.org.uk
There is also information about home safety advice including home fire safety, smoking and kitchen safety, visit the West Sussex County Council website – www.westsussex.gov.uk – and search ‘home safety advice’.
To find out more about West Sussex Safeguarding Children Board, visit www.westsussexscb.org.uk