by Shannon England-Rice
Child Advocacy Specialist

In our first part of summer safety in the home, we talked about window falls, internet safety, and supervision. Today we are going to talk about a few more safety topics that are very important to consider at home. Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, burns, and medications.

Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors:

Maintain a smoke detector in every room and ensure that each detector has a working battery. Smoke detectors are useless if the battery is not working properly. Hold periodic fire drills in your home so your children know what to do in case of a fire.

Each year there are more and more incidents with carbon monoxide poisoning, otherwise known as the silent killer. A simple fix is a CO detector. They are both inexpensive and simple to use. The CO detectors cost as little as $15 and plug into any wall outlet. A single carbon monoxide (CO) Detector can be adequate for 1200 to 1500 square feet of living space. Another recommendation is that they be placed in sleeping areas on each level of your home.

Burns:

My kids, like many, like to bake and cook. This is true of both young and old children. One benefit of this activity is quality family time; however, cooking with young ones also presents risks for burns. Burns can result from simple cooking like boiling water, cooking eggs or making grilled cheese sandwiches on the stove.

We need to take precautions to guard against such accidents. You may also consider teaching your kids first aid in response to minor burns. I have also found it necessary to remind babysitters to keep young children away from the stove while we are away. Three simple steps to manage minor burns are:

1. Treat the burn with cool, not cold, water for 10-15 minutes. This will cool the burn and take away some of the sting.
2. Cover burns with sterile gauze bandage. This will reduce pain that air can cause and protect burns.
3. An over the counter pain medication can help reduce the pain. This includes acetaminophen, aspirin or ibuprofen.

Medications:

When taken correctly, modern medicines are a great benefit in improving our health, relieving symptoms, and fighting infection. At the same time, accessibility of medication to young children can lead to great harm.

An obvious response is to keep medicine out of the reach of children. Child proof lids are also a good line of defense, and you should request them from your pharmacist. A periodic cleaning of your medicine cabinet can also help. You should properly dispose of any expired medications or medications that are no longer needed.

When it comes to safety in the home, the bottom line is that you are your family’s best safety advocate! Let’s work hard this summer to do all we can to keep our children safe and happy in our homes.

Shannon England-Rice has a degree in Public Heath, and has been working in Primary Children’s child advocacy department for 9 years. She’s dedicated to keeping kids safe through car seats, helmets, and parental supervision. She works with the Hold Onto To Dear Life campaign and other outreach programs. Shannon has 6 children and loves to exercise, read, shop, and travel.