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Protect Your Child
From Dangerous Home Electrical Hazards
Bringing a baby home from the hospital is the
perfect time to think about childproofing your
house. Don’t wait; before you know it, your child
will be crawling around, exploring your home,
investigating everything with insatiable curiosity.
The sooner you move harmful household chemicals and
other potential dangers out of the way, the better.
Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death
for children, claiming more lives even than disease,
according to Safe Kids Worldwide, a global
organization whose mission is to prevent accidental
childhood injury.
When childproofing your home, don’t forget about
electricity. We take it for granted because it is so
much a part of our daily lives, but it can be deadly
when mishandled, even in small amounts. The
electricity in one 7.5 watt Christmas tree light
bulb, if passed through the chest, is enough to kill
an adult in less than one second. That’s why it’s
essential that you childproof your home against
electrical shock, and educate your children to be
aware of its dangers. The Leviton Institute
recommends you take the following precautions to
insure the safety of your children:
• Tamper-Proof Outlets:
Install tamper-proof outlets. Designed to keep
young fingers out of unused outlets, they
feature an internal barrier that only allows
insertion of a properly rated plug, while
keeping out fingers and foreign objects.
• Child-Resistant Wallplates:
Add a child-resistant wallplate to unprotected
outlets. These fit over a standard receptacle,
and protect unused outlets with a spring-loaded
wallplate that is easy for adults to open, but
difficult for children to access.
• Outlets Caps:
Insert plastic outlet caps into empty
receptacles. A snap to install, they greatly
reduce the risk of electrical shock by blocking
toddlers’ fingers from contact with unused
outlets.
• Switch Locks:
Install switch locks. These fit over most
standard wall switches, and use handy locking
snaps to prevent children from turning lights or
appliances on or off.
• Extender Wallplates:
Create access to switches kids need to reach but
can’t with extender wallplates, which fit over
standard toggle switches.
• Nightlights:
Use a night light to provide a reassuring guide
in the dark for your child. Perfect for the
nursery, bathroom, or bedroom, they come in a
wide variety of kid-friendly styles featuring
teddy bears, dinosaurs, and angels. Some models
offer a convenient automatic On/Off feature that
turns on at dusk, off at dawn. Another practical
design fits over both outlets of a standard
duplex receptacle, blocking the unused outlet
from prying fingers while casting a warm glow at
night. And they are economical, running on just
pennies a day.
• GFCIs:
Install Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs)
in any room with a water source within six feet
of an outlet, such as bathrooms, kitchens, etc.
They protect you and your children against shock
or electrocution by shutting off the power at
the receptacle when they detect current leaking
from the circuit to ground. Always be sure your
children understand that water and electricity
don’t mix; appliances like radios and hairdryers
should never be used near a sink or bath.
• Light Bulbs:
Make sure that every light socket within a
child’s reach has a bulb in it.
• Extension Cords:
Avoid using extension cords in a child’s room
whenever possible. Kids are liable to chew on
them, particularly when nothing is plugged into
them or pull on them, knocking over a lamp or
appliance.
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