With the pressures on the NHS, many parents are worried about a trip to A&E with their child.
The fact that our homes are accident hotspots for younger children is scary prospect at the best of times. And sadly, less traffic doesn't mean we can completely switch off about road safety.
Child Accident Prevention Trust are reaching out to families feeling the pressure in lockdown to highlight easy wins that can keep children safe. Here are some simple tips to help you massively reduce risks to your child:
Out of harm's way
Whether you have shufflers, crawlers, toddlers or pre-schoolers, if you do a quick room-by-room check for these things, then you're doing a great job of keeping your child out of harm's way:
Hot drinks to hair straighteners – doctors are already seeing an increase in burns during lockdown. A small child's skin burns really easily as it's so thin and delicate.
Decide now where the safe spot in the kitchen and living room is for hot drinks – well out of reach of little hands. Do the same in the bedroom for hair straighteners and curling wands – even when they are cooling down, somewhere high up is best.
Pills to pods – from the painkillers in the drawer to the cleaner by the loo, the disinfectant spray under the sink or the washing pods by the machine, they can seriously harm children if swallowed.
Gather them up and put them high up out of harm's way. And remember to put them away again after you've used them.
Button batteries – big lithium coin cell batteries the size of a 5p piece can be deadly if your child swallows one.
Look round your home for them – in products as well as spare and 'flat' batteries – and put them out of reach of inquisitive little fingers. You'll be surprised where young children can find them – in light-up toys, remotes, gaming headsets and key finders.
Out and about
As we all try to keep our distance but still try to burn off children's excess energy, it's crucial to stay mindful of road safety. Cars may take advantage of empty roads to speed up.
So remember to check for traffic before you and your family step out into the road.
And if you're driving, remember there may be people stepping off pavements, younger cyclists avoiding walkers or simply people paying less attention because there's less traffic on the roads.
So keep an eye on your speed while you're making that essential trip.
More safety tips
Keeping your child safe from burns click here
Preventing poisining click here
Keeping your child safe around roads click here
Keep in touch for more safety tips here
