Bathroom safety, is one of the more important aspects related to home and child safety.
I have never quite decided which I find to be the most dangerous, a bathroom or a kitchen. The danger in a kitchen is a great deal more obvious. Bathrooms however have a number of “hidden” dangers. By that I mean those things that we know are there, but which we conveniently forget may be dangerous to infants and young children.
I was guilty of not taking bathroom safety seriously. As a result, I left my razor lying on the side of the bath where my young daughter could easily get at it. In the first place, I should never have left her alone in the bath, but I did. Having watched me shave my legs on numerous occasions, she decided to shave hers. Naturally in her very inexperienced hands, she managed to remove a strip of skin from the whole length of her shin. On hearing her screams, I charged back to her, to discover what appeared to be heavily bloodstained bath-water. My heart nearly stopped!
There are so many potential dangers in your bathroom, don’t’ slip up and forget about bathtub safety, toilet safety or shower safety.
Tips on Bathroom Safety
- Keep the bathroom door closed at all times. Consider attaching a hook on the outside, well above your children’s reach. Do remember to remind visitors to practice bathroom safety and to ensure that the door is closed properly after use.
- Place guards at the window, and ensure that there are no curtain cords that a child can wrap around his or her neck.
- Make sure that any medicines, cosmetics, and cleaning supplies e.g. toilet bowl cleaners, are securely locked away. These items constitute a poison for your child. All such products should be in their original (and hopefully safety-proof) containers so that they cannot be mistaken for anything else.
- Remember, children are very adept at climbing. At 15 months, my grandchild has no problem dragging/pulling/pushing a dining room chair, as well as various othersmaller stools and tables into any part of my home, so that he can climb up and reach those things that he is not supposed to touch.
- Do not simply dispose of various items such as empty hairspray containers, razors and unused medications in the bathroom garbage can. Your child can reach these items easily.
- Make sure the garbage can has a securely fitted lid.
- Either leave hall and bathroom lights on or provide night-lights in those areas to enable children and older people to find their way easily
- If you use a gas burner, make sure that there is adequate air circulation. Many a person has died in a bathroom from gas inhalation.
- Hot water burns are a serious risk. If possible, set your hot water temperature to no more than 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit). A temperature of 55 degrees Celsius will scald a child within only a couple of seconds.
- Start the cold water running before starting the hot water and turn the taps off in reverse
- Always test bathwater with your elbow before putting your child into it, If possible obtain a safety device that changes color when the water is too hot.
- Never forget that drowning is a silent death. Small children can drown in less than 30 seconds.
- Infants and toddlers are top heavy and they love to play with and in water, so toilet safety must also be considered. They can and do fall head-first into toilet bowls and nappy buckets, as well as into the actual bath tub. Keep toilet lids down and locked. Ensure nappy buckets (or any other large container of liquid) is securely and tightly closed.
- Do not leave your child alone in the bath without adult supervision.
- Bath seats and rings do come loose – I have seen this happen! do not rely on them to protect your child.
- The bath tub is slippery when wet. Make use of non-skid mats or strips. Kiddies often stand and then have nasty falls when playing in the bath. Elderly folk slip and fall easily as well.
- Please remember water is the best conductor of electricity, thus making a bathroom an extremely dangerous place to have any electrical appliances.
- If you have any electrical outlets (which should not be too close to a water source) in your bathroom, make sure that they are switched off and the appliances such as hair dryers and razors are stored away. Remember that curling tongs can cause burns as well as being an electrical hazard if left switched on.
- Only especially designed electrical sockets should be in a bathroom, such as those used for electric shavers.
- If using a hairdryer, it should be the fixed type with a hot air hose.
- Bathroom heaters and heated towel rails should also have permanent fixed wiring.
- Never plug in items such as hair dryers and heaters outside the bathroom and then bring the item inside.
- All light fittings should be enclosed to keep any damp out.
- Light switches should be located on the wall outside.
- Any bathroom appliances must be unplugged if not in use.
- Proper grab bars should be securely installed in the shower and for the bath, especially for the elderly as they are not always very firm on their feet and need the support.
- Any spills and splashes should dried off immediately as this can cause the floor to be slippery and result in serious falls.
- Place rubber-backed mats in strategic positions, i.e. in front of the bath, the sink and the shower and the toilet.
Bathroom safety is really important, please don’t just shrug it off. Drownings, poisonings, electrocution and falls are very real dangers for your family
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