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

Get the kids to help check that smoke alarms work - they could be in charge of remembering to check monthly (with supervision) and talk to them about the dangers of carbon monoxide so they understand what the alarm is for.

Be sure to close all of the interior doors before you go to bed at night, If a fire breaks out each door will give up to 20 minutes of protection from fire and limit smoke spread giving you lots of time to get out or raise the alarm!

Keep hot cups of coffee or tea out of reach of toddlers.

Comments sense is essential i.e. do not encourage child to sit on kitchen work tops. Keep electrical things right back . Back ring/hob for cooking. All cleaning products in a high cupboard . Children have to be watched !

keep junk of the stairs so easy to fall over things on the stairs, and watch out for rugs that roll up making tripping more likely

Teach children WHY they need to avoid certain things. If they understand they are more likely to stay safe. That being said accidents happen so use the necessary safety aids too- stair gates, fire guards, cupboard locks etc.

Remember that you will have visitors and need to keep them just as safe as your own so whilst your own child may know the risks don't assume others will.

Repeating because too many not listening - plug in socket covers are dangerous. Yes, they are still on sale.

Want to increase the risk of electrocuted kids or house fire? In the UK? Plug in that socket cover.

make sure tablets, medicine is out of the way, socket covers, window latches, blind cords are took off

If he feels uncomfortable with his friends and maybe in a situation he shouldn't be in then he just texts H to one of us and we will then ring his phone with a scripted "Gran is poorly and we need to go to see her now - I will pick you up in 5 mins"
He then is not put in a situation were he is going to do something that he doesn't want to do.

We've had run throughs of emergency situations - how and when to call 999, what to do if there is a fire, what to do if we ever get separated somewhere busy

Definitely fixing any wardrobes, chest of drawers or book cases to the walls and not leaving them just free standing. The amount of times I've got my daughter pulling on them has made me glad we did this!

The best thing you can do is think about 'prevention' - I just make sure that sharp items are stored safely, as well as medicines. None can be reached even if DDs stood on a chair! I know how 'clever' I was when I was little, and could reach even the highest shelves if I had a counter to climb on. Knowing what I did means that I make absolutely sure my DDs don't get the same opportunity! [wink!]

Fit smoke alarms and test them regularly.

Use cupboard locks

Test smoke (and co2) alarms at the same time each week so it becomes routine, and change batteries when you change the clocks.
You can set your water so it can't get dangerously hot (I keep meaning to do this in our new house and forgetting)

Talk. Dont frighten children but explain the consequences of things. Also , prepare them for ridiculous situations, we used to work put what we would do if the house was suddenly under water or invaded by unicorns. that way they would create their own safe solutions

Have working Fire alarms and carbon monoxide alarm, always check batteries, and keep cleaning fluids etc up high out of childs reach

Carbon monoxide alarms on every floor.

Teach your children what to do in case a fire or something happens.
Tell them the phone number of the police and get the fire alarms check regularly

I make sure the smoke alarms are checked regularly, along with the boiler and any other electrical appliances. I also only use the back rings of the cooker when small children (mine is a bit older now) are around and when he was younger, any dangerous liquids/cleaning agents were in locked cupboards... as he has grown up I have made sure he understands the risks associated with certain items so he doesn't go near them without my say so.

I have one child who uses a buggy and an elder one who doesn't. I am always scared one will get left behind when getting on or off a train: there is always a brief moment when one is on the train and one on the platform. So after much thought, I always put the eldest one on the train first and take her off last. That way if disaster ever did strike and the doors closed, she'd be on a train where someone would be bound to look after her and she'd end up at a station, rather than alone on a platform with the potential to end up anywhere. Yes I have over-thought this

Encourage them to focus on only one task at a time. Trying to do too many things at once puts you and the tasks at a significant risk.

Have a plan if you get separated on public transport. I used to go into London with my mum very regularly and from about age 6 she taught me that if we ever got split up on the Tube, I was to stay put if I wasn't on the train and she was, and she'd come back to me. If it was the other way round I was to get off at the next station and she'd come to me.

Worth teaching as soon as they're old enough.

We had a dilemma in our house - should we keep the keys in the door to reduce risk in case of fire or leave them far away from the door to reduce risk of burglary? We decided to hang them on dedicated hooks out of sight and reach of the door but still in the hall - at a point we'd need to pass to escape in case of fire. Helps stop us losing keys too!

child locks on all the doors downstairs

all the windows locked upstairs and the key out of reach

i keep straighteners/irons etc out of reach

long life smoke alarm and 10 year carbon monoxide alarm so i don't need to think about it as often

teaching kids about risks all the time - letting small children do things like flip the pancakes, using 'big' scissors, but explaining about the pan being too hot etc - i don't want them to be afraid to do things, but to grow up independent and aware of risks.

Always keeping children in the back seat of the car

Making sure the bike/ scooter is going very slow beside roads - they can go fast plenty of places but not beside roads