It’s national Child Safety Week from 2 – 8 June and Warwickshire County Council is supporting the annual awareness campaign from the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT).
The charity strives to secure a safer environment for children of all ages to minimise risk of accidents which could lead to serious injury or death. Child Safety Week provides an opportunity to focus on promoting safety messages to families in an engaging way.
This year, Child Safety Week has a theme of ‘Safety is Sharing” highlighting the importance of sharing reliable safety information.
Warwickshire County Council wants all children to lead safe, healthy and independent lives, so raising awareness around child accident prevention is crucial. Most accidents can be prevented by just taking a few simple steps.
Unintentional injuries, particularly those occurring within the home environment, are a leading cause of preventable death among children under five years old. Such incidents also result in severe health issues and disabilities. CAPT identifies five primary areas where 90% of the most serious preventable accidents involving young children arise:
- Threats to breathing – choking, strangulation or suffocation
- Falls
- Poisoning
- Burns and scalds
- Drowning
By understanding the risks at each stage of a child’s development, and implementing necessary safety measures, parents and caregivers can create an environment that helps to avoid or prevent serious accidents and injuries.
With the summer fast approaching and the weather getting warmer, it is common for households to open windows to enjoy fresh air. People are urged to take extra care when opening windows and not to leave small children unattended near them. If possible, for extra peace of mind, window catches, locks or restrictors are recommended. Blind cords should also be secured or tucked out of reach to avoid risk of small children getting caught in them.
When visiting new environments such as holiday homes or friends and family sleeping with baby may feel like the safest thing to do, but this can be dangerous. Babies who cannot roll away from family members are at risk of suffocation. The best way to keep babies safe when they are sleeping is to make sure they are sleeping in a cot of their own. If you don’t have a travel cot, ask the place where you are staying to provide one.
Child Safety Week is also the perfect opportunity to teach families about fire and water safety. Teaching children about staying safe from fire at an early stage in a fun and interactive way will help them to gain the skills needed to keep themselves safe.
To avoid common household harm from burns, cuts and poisoning, people are advised to keep household chemicals, medication, knives, kitchen appliances, pots and pans out of reach or locked away as it only takes a second for an accident to happen.
John Coleman, Director for Children and Families at WCC said: “We want all children to lead safe, healthy, and independent lives. Raising awareness around child accident prevention is crucial to this, as we know most accidents can be prevented by taking a few simple precautions.
“Along with our partner agencies, we work together every day to make Warwickshire child-friendly and help children and families to be safe. Child Safety Week allows us to put a spotlight on some of the support available to help people keep their children out of harm’s way in and outside the home.”
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