Share your top safety tips for your family – carbon monoxide alarms and £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[JustineBMumsnet]

Whether you’re preparing for a new arrival or you’re just trying to keep up with your family’s needs, it may seem as though you’re constantly making lists of the things you’ll need to buy to keep your family safe – from the latest car or booster seats to bath thermometers or drawer locks. Co-Be Alarmed! would like to hear about the top safety tips you have for your home and family - whether they’re things you’ve bought or things that you do.

Here’s what they have to say: “Research from the national CO-Be Alarmed! campaign showed that while UK parents spend an average of £222 on safety features for their kids, a third of mums and dads do not have a carbon monoxide alarm in their home. Those with children under twelve months were found to be the least likely to have one.

Carbon monoxide is also known as ‘the silent killer’ because you can’t see, taste or smell it, which is why the only way to protect yourself and your family is to buy a CO alarm. Make sure you add one to your list: it’s one less thing to worry about and it could save your family’s life.”

So, share your top safety tips for your home and family to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher for the store of their choice.

Additionally, if you also add your details here, you’ll be entered into a prize draw for one of 100 carbon monoxide alarms from Co-Be Alarmed!

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

To Never talk to strangers or go off without permission . I always had reigns for my DC when out in town or a wrist strap.
Caps over electric sockets to stop pencils being poked in them.
Kettle out of reach
Always supervised when eating or drinking in case of choking

I have a list of people to call in an emergency and how to dial 999, also never to answer the door unless there is an adult at home with them and not to take anything electrical near water and what to do if our smoke alarms go off.

Remember to test fire alarms regularly.

I've fitted stair gates at the top and bottom of our stairs, and always double check to make sure they are closed properly.

A friends toddler fell downstairs at his grandparents and badly fractured his leg. Surgery and physiotherapy was needed and it took months for him to start walking properly.

Needless to say, the grandparents were mortified and the parents very upset.

Know how to dial 999 and when you should.

(And keep iphones etc well away from the edge of the table! Two boys.....!)

Probably a bit over the top but we have had regular fire drills with our DS (he has ASD & ADHD and is 13 now). He now knows to get himself out of the house first, then ring 999 and then tell Fire Service about humans/pets inside. As he's obsessed with animals it has been very difficult to get him to understand this but have explained the best thing for everyone is to get himself outside of the house, call for help and get the help to save everyone else.

Always keep kettles and hot drinks well out of reach of children and climbing children.
Be extra vigilant when visiting friends and relatives as quite often safety measures aren't in place as they would be at home.

We are pretty safety conscious - we have two smoke alarms and a carbon monoxide alarm in our house. When my daughter was toddling, the best thing we bought was the two stair gates - it really kept her safe and away from the stairs.

We only have safety gates and door jams as we prefer to make sure our son understands that no means no so that when we visit friends or family without any safety features he still stays safe as he knows something is dangerous

Explain why things are dangerous, teach children to use things properly ie scissors.
Make sure nothing is left in silly places for people to fall over.
Warn everyone when there are hot things to avoid accidents.

We always use safety gates, have smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, baby monitors, bedguards, socket covers... etc etc everything possible to keep our little people as safe as possible.

We have taught the kids about stranger danger from a young age, not to be scared of everyone, but to be polite and stay safe. I have told my DD1 who is 4 to always stay with adults she knows and if someone tries to offer her something to politely say no and walk away. I have said if they try to take her to scream, shout, kick and punch- she thought that was very funny :/

I try to install in them that they need to inform us if something doesn't feel our sound right

My biggest fear has always been not being able to open front or back doors to escape in emergency so I always make sure the keys are either in the back of the door or on the hook next to the door. I have a real paranoia of not being able to get out because you don't know where the keys are, so if my DH comes in and puts the keys anywhere other than in the right place, I have to immediately return them. Also, the kids were taught how to use the keys to unlock the door from a young age, having also been taught why they shouldn't use them if they just fancied a walk!

I would recommend watching Lee and Kim's E Safety video with your child so that they can be aware of internet dangers from a young age. . It is great to have a discussion afterwards on the key points such as not giving your personal details and telling an adult if you are not sure.

Keep all cleaning products (or all things) that can be harmful to both your children and your pets out of reach... or is lacking space fit locks to all cupboard doors.

Always have safety latches on all cupboards that you keep cleaning products, glasses, valuables, etc , and have your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors checked every year and your electricals if you can , don't leave candles on and don't leave electrics plugged in when your out and at night

Do Not use "safety caps" on plug sockets. UK plug sockets are manufactured to BS1363 which includes a built in safety feature that means children cannot put things into the socket. Plug socket covers are not made to any standard and can be too tight or too loose in the socket. Plug socket covers are more likely to cause a fire.

Keep door keys in the same place every night and keep a key in my handbag (which sits by my bed at night) if a quick escape is needed at night. Also keep a set of window keys in a specific place in each room for the same reason.

Keep the kettle at the back of the surface and pans at the back of the hob.

Not using plug socket covers when the kids were younger for the same reasons as previous posters have outlined above.

Checking smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

At the very least a cover for a pond.

Don't let your child play with sticks! Whenever I see a child waving around a stick I am terrified that someone will get their eye poked out, I'm amazed that so many parents don't seem to care about their children playing with sticks.

Lock doors even when inside the house and having a house alarm/CCTV in place. Also having good hiding spots for valuables.

We have a fabulous fire guard round our wood burning stove which is essential with a toddler around the place (although as someone else has said, it's clearly not a replacement for teaching about what's dangerous). Teaching my husband to keep the matches out of reach is another story...

I would say the biggest safety tip is to teach your children how to be safe themselves, and not to rely on gadgets or others to keep them safe. My biggest concern at the moment is Internet safety; having had a brother who used to work for CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) I want my son to be aware of adults posing as children, grooming, propositioning....whilst not wanting to terrify him, I need to know he understands the implications of being on the web.

We discovered that those foam pipe insulation tubes are EXCELLENT to prevent kids banging their heads on sharp corners - far more effective than those ruber corner things that keep falling off.

Just cut to the right length for the sharp edge and then cut a slit along the length of the pipe insulation and wedge it on.

Saved so many bumps and cuts when my kids were babies and toddlers.

check your alarms on a monthly basis