Child Safety is Parent's Responsibility
All parents want to keep their children safe from harm. At one
time, this simply consisted of telling the child not to talk to
strangers and having household furnishing placed so that the
child would be hurt. Standard methods of child safety were
concentrated on the home such as keeping lids of pots facing
inward so that children would not reach for them and be scalded
by hot liquids, warning them not to touch the hot surface of the
stove, keeping medicines safely out of their reach and keeping
electrical outlets plugged so that they were unable to poke
object in there. These child safety measures are still practiced
but other dangers have arisen in society that requires parents
to be more diligent than ever.
Child Safety in Vehicles
When travelling in a vehicle, regulations are now in place that
require children under the age of 8 to sit in a car seat. The
size of the car seat required changes as the child grows.
Mothers are not allowed to take newborn babies home from the
hospital unless there is a car seat installed in the vehicle.
The carrying seat for infants and children less than 1 year old
should never be placed in a front seat where the air bag is
operational. When they are in the back seat they should be
facing the rear rather than the back of the front seat and an
adult should be in the back seat with the child. The child
should be tightly installed in the seat with the harness straps
secured snugly. From ages 1 to 4, the car seat can be placed so
that the child is facing toward the front. Toddlers and young
children sometimes need to have a booster seat so that they use
the vehicle seat belts. The shoulder belt must rest across the
chest and on the shoulder, but must never be placed under the
child's arm.
Child Safety on the Internet
Parents must be cognizant of a child's usage of the internet
because of the unsavoury characters they can come in contact
with. There are some child safety methods parents can use to
ensure that their children do not have access to pornographic
sites or become email pals with someone who may intend to
exploit them. Warning children never to give out information
such as address, telephone number and the name of their school
is sometimes not enough to protect them. Parents need to know
the sites their children use and have a blocker on the computer
that limits the access the children have to certain sites.
Children should never be allowed to meet someone they talk to
over the Internet, at least not without one of the parents being
present. Advise them never to respond to messages from people
they don't know.
Child Safety and Medicine
Medicines should always be stored in a cool dry place out of the
reach of children. Brightly colored pills are very attractive
and children may think they are candy. Parents should advise
their children not to accept any food or candy from someone they
don't know. This could contain harmful substances that could
lead to an overdose or death.