Preventing Electrical Accidents with Children

Electricity can be defined as a form of energy that flows through wires to provide heat and light, and power to machines and, whilst it is the backbone of many economies around the world, it is certainly a hazard around the home to babies, children and even adults.

The main problem with electricity is that it cannot be seen, heard or smelt. It can however be felt when touched and there lies the problem!

If your home is modern then it will almost certainly be fitted with a special device which will prevent your child from suffering an electric shock by detecting if they have touched a live wire and then tripping the current. These are fantastic devices and have saved many thousands of lives.

These devices are typically called RCDs or Earth Leakage Circuit Breakers. You can have them fitted to you house by a qualified electrician. You can also buy them for the garden as a device that you plug into a socket and then plug your lawnmower or hedge trimmers etc into. If you cut the cable and your toddler touches the cable then the device trips.

All this said, electrical accidents do happen and inquisitive children are at risk through touching wall outlets, biting on electrical cords and such likes. What can you do to prevent accidents of this type? Below are a few tips:

• Cover all electrical outlets with plug sockets guards. They are cheap and easily obtainable.
• Place lamps and appliance cords out of the kids reach, perhaps behind heavy furniture.
• Where an appliance has a plug that pushed into the rear of it which is frequently the case with portable stereos etc, make sure that the child cannot pull the plug out. If they do and put it into their mouth it could be very serious.
• Always check appliances and cables for damage.
• If you're not qualified then don't mess with electricity. As stated earlier it is not visible so you don't know if it's there without special equipment. If in doubt, call for a qualified electrician.

If you suspect that your child has had a shock then check for burns, a blackened mark or blisters at the point of contact or the point of exit. If the shock is more serious, say from biting through an electrical cable, your child may be knocked unconscious and maybe even their heart has stopped beating. If this is the case then you should immediately turn off the power, call for an ambulance and administer CPR.

You should contact your doctor or hospital to have your child checked over if they have had any type of electrical shock - even the smallest of shocks could cause internal injury.