How many children are taken to an emergency/ casualty room daily because of an avoidable accident? The answer is thousands. Children are extremely accident prone because they are very active, very energetic and very vulnerable to all the traps that we have in our urban environment. How many doors do you have in your house that are liable to slam shut with the wind and injure a hand or a finger or two? How many children have you seen running down the stairs that are likely to have an unfortunate injury with the slightest of slips? How many times have we witnessed on the road, families of 4 or 5 mounted precariously on a motorcycle? How many times have we seen our young toddlers reach out for detergents and other kitchen chemicals that we absentmindedly store in cabinets that are easily accessible?

Here are some useful tips that we ought to keep in mind to prevent common accidents involving children:

FALLS
Babies and infants are sometimes left unattended for a short while, and they suddenly fall off the bed, the chair or even the table. To avoid mishaps of these sort:

1. Keep the stairways clean.

2. Make sure that there are no loose rugs to trip over.

3. Remove all the toys after the child is done playing with them so that children don’t trip on them.

4. To avoid slipping, make sure that the bathroom floors and bath tubs have a non-skid surface.

5. Either avoid buying furniture with sharp edges or cover them with soft pads as children are susceptible to cut themselves when they trip or fall.

6. When children spill water, food and other liquids, wipe them dry so that they can refrain from slipping and falling.

7. If you have a staircase guard fence, keep it closed as little children can easily venture down the stairs unattended.

8. Tree climbing and bicycle riding must be done under adult supervision.

9. Unsafe swings, trampolines and other playground equipment must be checked for safety before children can use them.

10. Never leave the child unattended in a high chair; they can easily tip it over.

11. Make sure the child is kept away from prickly plants in the gardens as falling into them can be immensely painful.

12. Besides falling, children can also easily make things fall on themselves. Make sure that the iron and other wired appliances are put away from the reach of the children. If not, they can easily pull the wire and burn or bruise themselves.

BURNS AND FIRES
Children are more prone to burns than adults, because their skin is much more sensitive. In addition, children have not learned the dangers of heat.

1. Don’t drink or carry hot beverages like tea, coffee or soup while holding a baby.

2. Don’t use a table cloth that hangs from the edge of the table, children can pull the table cloth and injure themselves with hot food and fluids.

3. Your hot water heater temperature setting should not be over 35 degrees, as children may easily burn themselves playing with hot water.

4. To keep children safe from fires and level degree burns keep matches, lighters, candles and incense sticks away from them.

5. Kitchen is a restricted area for children for it houses appliances which are not child friendly. Holding children while cooking is even more dangerous as it puts the mother at risk of burning herself.

6. When cooking on stoves, do not use pots and pans with handles, as children can effortlessly pull the handle, drenching themselves in burning liquid or food. If you have to, make sure the handle is towards the inner side of the stove.

7. Make sure there are smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in the house.

8. To make sure that your child does not get sun burnt put ample amount of sunscreen over him/her. Children are easily susceptible to such burns even if the sun does not appear to be so scorching.

POISONING
Poisoning is a common cause of accidents around the house. It is usually between the ages of 2 and 6 years that we see most cases of poisoning. Tips to prevent poisoning:

1. All pesticides and chemicals should be kept locked and out of reach of children. Locked, not merely with a latch as that can easily be opened but with a proper key that must also be kept in a secure place.

2. All medication should be kept tightly shut in child resistant bottles with secure caps.

3. Reference to medicine as sweet should be discouraged as it makes the substance seem more child friendly than it really is.

4. Find out about the toxic plants in your area. Poisonous plants and flowers should be kept away from children.

5. Never change the bottles of detergents and cleaning solutions by putting the remnants in milk, juice or cola bottles. Children can possibly drink it.

6. Kerosene, diesel, varnish, paint and other such substances should be kept safely in a shed or store room, locked. The key too, should be securely placed.

7. Keep mosquito repellent mats away from the reach of children. Infants tend to chew them.

8. Keep the telephone number of your poison control center handy next to your telephone.

CHOKING
Children discover the world by putting everything in their mouth. Since they have small airways, and their cough reflexes are not developed, children can choke easily. To avoid such accidents, some tips are given below:

1. Coins, food and certain toys with removable parts contain material that can choke should be kept away from children. Make sure you read the age label that accompanies the toys before giving it to your child.

2. To further avoid a hazard, children under the age of 4 years, should not be given nuts or seeds of fruits and flowers, like those of sunflowers, watermelons, grapes or even peas. Hard caramel candy should also be avoided.

3. Make sure the baby is in a sitting position whenever s/he is eating solid food.

4. Make sure the baby is not talking, laughing or running around with food in her/his mouth. A toffee or chewing gum is extremely dangerous. Similarly raw apples, pears and carrots can get stuck in a baby’s throat.

5. Safety pins, jewelry, buttons, marbles, beads etc. all can potentially choke a child. Keep them away.

6. Ropes, strings, shoe laces, loose wires and cords all are potential sources for strangulation.

7. Plastic bags on the head of a child can be fatal as the child’s air supply can easily be blocked.