To warn acquaintance over dangers of socket covers?

[BedPig2013]

A friend of a friend that I went to school with has updated her Facebook status to say that her son is locating the socket covers and removing them, I'm undecided whether to comment on her status or private message her to tell her about the dangers of socket covers, I don't want to come across as interfering because I don't know her well at all but I think that if she's aware of the information it could stop her worrying. So wwyd?

I think if people put things on fb then they're inviting comment. As long as you're tactful I don't see why you shouldn't comment. Maybe something like "Probably best to take them out all together if he's able to remove them.. (insert link to an article explaining why they're not necessary/unsafe)"

I wouldn't say anything, its very patronising to assume she doesn't know about the dangers and simply made an informed choice. Maybe if it was a close friend you could have brought it up if you felt the need, but not with a friend of a friend.

I'm probably being the very ignorant but why are they dangerous/unnecessary?

Not all covers are the same. I find the flat ones difficult to remove and I'm an adult.

Just stick up one of the many links to articles about how in the UK socket covers are more dangerous than un'protected' sockets

eg Fatally Flawed
or
Campaign to raise awareness etc

and so on. Just Google for one.

What about in other countries? I have used them here in Japan.

only the British socket (also Hong Kong and Singapore to my knowledge) are to the standard where socket covers make them MORE dangerous. Other countries are different.

recent thread on here about it. Or send the above links to your friend. She needs to throw the covers away before the child inserts them upside down and exposes the live connections. Without the covers this can't be done.

ps they are sold as a safety aid so it is not unreasonable for her to believe the packaging. Even mothercare sell them as a safety improvement.

They make things MORE dangerous. A ban is long overdue.

Thank you for the info. Just off to remove our socket covers...

Interesting, but not very logical. A child can insert a normal plug in upside down. I think it really suggests that children playing with plugs is dangerous.

I'd never heard of a danger, so would welcome a private message alerting me to an article - esp if you put it in the sense of "I didn't know either!" - ie. "Interesting to see your comment about baby finding the socket covers, as I only just read this article yesterday and was shocked to hear that it turns out they do more harm than good!"

You could say something like "X is a clever little boy - according to latest research here , he's doing the right thing!" Would that make the point without being confrontational?

no, Doragora a child cannot insert a normal plug upside down in a standard UK wall socket - try it, it doesn't fit because the socket is too wide. Some narrow extension blocks are a risk for this.

socket covers are smaller and CAN be inserted upside down. They are a design disaster and should be banned.

I've just done it.

Sorry but am I correct in thinking that these socket protector things (that effectively block up unused plugs so kids can't get at them) are dangerous?

Really?

I have never heard anything about this!! We have socket covers.

Can you say, "oh god my son/daughter/nephew did this and then someone told me they are more dangerous that having them on - can you believe it?" with a link to one of the sites mentioned on this thread?

I had no idea they were dangerous - we have them all over the house!

TimeForAnother - I was going to say exactly the same

we have one of the socket covers in that Fatally Flawed piece, the one with the paper clip on it. Weirdly, we don't leave paperclips lying about and with fingers alone they are impossible to remove - I know, I have tried. Plus DH did manage to stick his fingers in a socket as a child, and got an electric shock that threw him across the room - a standard socket as mentioned in the article as being impossible for a child to put their fingers into.

So I would say the jury is out on the safety or otherwise, suffice to say that I and everyone I know has used these with no problems at all. It's one of those 'only on MN' things, as far as I'm concerned.

If you have concerns don't mention it on FB, just say something to your friend.

River i have the same socket covers and they are extremely difficult to remove, but I don't think that was really the point of the article as they said they were a fire risk and that frightens the life out of me.

Thanks for the advice, she's an acquaintance more because I haven't seen her in a couple of years since our friend in common moved to another country but we do exchange comments on Facebook when our dc have some something special or mischievous. I think I may send her a private message with some info but in a light hearted way

the jury is NOT out. A child cannot fit their finger into a modern non-faulty UK socket. Where and when did your husband do this?

the covers are possibly a fire risk, and definitely a safety risk.

OPs child is removing the covers, so that's not impossible either.