Medicines
The hazard
Medicines and cleaning products
present a health hazard to little ones
if swallowed or in some cases if they
come in contact with skin or eyes. Many
of them, though toxic, come in alluring
shiny packets and to young children with
a sweet tooth may resemble sweets.
Keeping pills and potions out of the
reach of our little ones’ hands should
be a no-brainer but unfortunately in the
busy and sometimes exhausting days of
parenthood these very obvious dangers
can be overlooked.
What’s on the market?
Thankfully there are plenty of items
you can buy to protect your child from
sharp corners. Corner guards, corner
cushions, corner protectors, table-
edge protectors; they all basically do
the same thing. You attach them to
the offending furniture to provide a
soft barrier between sharp edges and
corners, and your baby’s soft head and
eyes. They may not always be pretty
but they will give you peace of mind as
your mini-explorer rolls around the floor,
under chairs and in-between cabinets
and tables.
On the move
The hazard
When babies first come home from the
hospital, they spend most of their time
nestled up in a cocoon of blankets,
snoozing the day away (if not the night!)
What harm can come of them, you may
well ask? But these little bundles soon
become more alert, start to roll around,
pull themselves up and are on the
move, and then it’s a whole different
story. Babies and toddlers are small
and adventurous. They can get just
about anywhere.
The solution
As much as we like to encourage our
babies and children to reach the next
developmental stage, once they are
crawling it is very hard to turn your
back on them for even a minute. So,
depending what your home set-up is
like, you may want to consider fitting
gates in front of stairs or setting up a
play pen so that you can run to the
bathroom, safe in the knowledge that
your baby can play for a minute without
getting into any trouble. Alternatively,
you can set up a door-knob lock to
keep your baby out of a room that is
particularly unfriendly for babies.
Solving the problem
Keep potential harmful medicines and
pills off-limits in a lockable first aid box
or cabinet. Cleaning products (including
laundry and dishwasher pods) and
medication should also always be stored
out of sight and out of reach in securely
locked cabinets.
The whole point of considering all of
these possible dangers is not to worry
you senseless, but rather the opposite; to
remove some worry. By being aware of
some of the common potential problems,
you can deal with them, relax, and enjoy
your children, safe in the knowledge that
you have done your best to remove as
many hazards as you can.
RESOURCES
Fire recommendations in HK
www.hkfsd.gov.hk Babies R Us
www.toysrus.com.hk
UK Electrical Safety Coucil
www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk John Lewis
www.johnlewis.com
Bumps to Babes
www.bumpstobabes.com IKEA
www.ikea.com/hk/en/
Eugene Baby
www.eugenegroup.com.hk Bubba Safety
wwwBubbasafety.com
June 2017
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