Safety Tips for Family Homes

When it comes to maintaining a comfortable, practical family home, safety is crucial. The home poses many hazards that should be addressed and eliminated before serious incidents occur, particularly if you have young children. While we would all like to wrap our kids in cotton wool, allowing them to explore freely and interact with their surroundings contributes towards wholesome childhood development; hence, the safety of your home is paramount. The home is the most common location for accidents, so here is how you can reduce risks for a happy, healthy household. 

Keep Doors Locked

Home safety involves more than reducing the risk of injury; protecting your household from intruders is equally essential. Keeping your doors and windows locked is vital for two primary reasons - it keeps adventurous little ones in and intruders out. Locking the front door is all too easy to forget, particularly when you’re running late in the morning. If you’re away from home and suspect you may have left any doors or windows unlocked, never hesitate to have a trusted friend or relative check for you.

Kitchen Appliances

Nearly half of all UK house fires are caused by cooking appliances, many of which are left unattended. Kitchen appliances should be checked regularly by a fully qualified engineer to ensure there are no faults that may result in a fire or a carbon monoxide leak. While you should always supervise children around kitchen appliances, you can purchase stove guards and switch covers to prevent curious hands from exploring. Furthermore, kitchen safety should be an ongoing conversation between you and your children so they are made aware of the potential hazards. 

Keep Walkways Clear

Keeping your home tidy has many benefits, safety being one of them. Cluttered rooms and walkways may result in trips and falls. Obstructions also make it difficult to exit a property in the event of an emergency such as a fire. While getting your kids to pick up after themselves often seems like a losing battle, maintaining a tidy house goes far beyond aesthetics. It may also be worth rearranging your furniture to improve traffic flow and maintain safety standards. 

Fire And Carbon Monoxide Alarms

We all understand the devastating consequences of house fires. However, not everybody is privy to the importance of protecting their families from carbon monoxide poisoning, which can be fatal. Although it is not a legal requirement for homeowners to have a smoke detector, if you live in a rental property, your landlord has a legal duty to provide one working smoke alarm per storey. Additionally, as of 2015, all landlords must provide one carbon monoxide detector per room with a solid fuel heating appliance, such as a stove or boiler.

Baby Gates

Watching your baby take their first steps is a joyful experience. However, fearless babies and toddlers are keen to explore and can be challenging to keep up with - it seems all it takes is a momentary lapse of concentration, and they’ve made a run for it. Baby gates are excellent additions to your home for keeping younger family members away from hazardous areas, such as the kitchen or staircase. Depending on your staircase design, you may be able to buy a pressure-mounted baby gate to prevent your little one from attempting to negotiate the stairs. Alternatively, you could opt for a hardware-mounted baby gate; although stronger, these models are generally unsuitable for rental properties. 

Storing Cleaning Supplies And Medicine

Substances such as cleaning supplies and medicine should always be locked away and out of reach of children. Some cleaning supplies and medications appear enticing to children as they are naturally inquisitive. Fortunately, many household cleaning products such as dishwasher tablets come in child-proof storage containers; however, always store them out of reach for extra security. If you suspect your child may have ingested a harmful substance, seek immediate medical attention.

Kitchen Appliances

Nearly half of all UK house fires are caused by cooking appliances, many of which are left unattended. Kitchen appliances should be checked regularly by a fully qualified engineer to ensure there are no faults that may result in a fire or a carbon monoxide leak. While you should always supervise children around kitchen appliances, you can purchase stove guards and switch covers to prevent curious hands from exploring. Furthermore, kitchen safety should be an ongoing conversation between you and your children so they are made aware of the potential hazards.

Tie Up Blind Cords

Blind and curtain cords should be fastened securely to prevent devastating accidents. Toddlers and young children love to climb, and stopping them is often futile. Sadly, dangling blind cords have taken the lives of multiple children due to them becoming entangled. You can eliminate this risk by tying your blind cords up with wall-mounted cleats - this should be done until your children are at least six years old.

We Also Like