Household Safety Essay Sample

Injuries around the home area are the leading causes of death and serious harm in both young and the old. These accidents if eliminated and prevented can help save the lives of people within the home area. Some of the possible injuries around the house include fires, poisoning, glass related injuries and falls. This essay will explore the possible hazards, the affected, the protective measures and ways of eliminating the injury causes.

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Fires

Fires pose a risk to all members of the family from children to adults. The young children are more likely to start the fires as they play around with match boxes. Leaving candles burning and unattended iron boxes can be other cause of fires in the house. The possible hazards of fires are the poisonous gases that fire emits (Jackson, 1991). To protect fires from starting, there are some safety precautions that can be followed. They include installation of fire alarms, testing smoke alarms regularly and working out an escape plan for the family in case of any fire. Also, to eliminate this hazard, matches and lighters should be put away from children; electrical items should be switched off after use and the condition of electrical appliances should be checked to make sure that they are not frayed.

Poisoning

Poisoning around the home area is likely to affect the children more than anyone else. The pets around the house are also likely to be affected. There possible poisoning hazards are cleaning products, beauty products, paint, medicines, plants, vitamins, weed killers, lead and carbon monoxide. To protect children from poisoning, anything that is poisonous should be kept away in locked cupboards. Containers used to store liquids should have child-resistant tops; tops that children are not able to open (Jackson, 1991). Chemicals should also be stored in their original containers and not in other containers like the soda bottles which children can mistake for other drinks. Also, carbon monoxide alarms should be fitted in so as to detect any carbon burning in the house. Finally, all unwanted chemicals in the house should be disposed of. To eliminate these hazards, children should always be attended to and all chemicals labelled in cases of poisoning for the adults.

Falls

Anyone around the house is likely to be affected by this hazard. People, who fall can lose their lives, have broken bones, get paralysed and have brain damage. Some of the possible hazards are slippery floors, falls on the stairs, falls out of the window and falls from baby walkers. To protect people around the house from this hazard, floors should always be kept dry (Jackson, 1991). Climbing objects and chairs should be put away from the windows so as to prevent children from climbing. Balcony doors should also be kept closed. Besides, non-slip mats can be used in the shower and installation of bars and rails that a person can grab in case of a fall. Lastly, safety gates can be used at the bottom and top of the stairs.

Conclusion

In summary, safety around the home is very important especially for children who are developing. There are minor injuries like bruises that cannot be avoided, but the children need to be protected from more serious and life-threatening hazards (Larpnel, 2014). Above all the safety measures, children should be supervised and the supervisors should also be aware of any potential hazards that can occur in the house.

References

Jackson, E. (1991). Household safety. Bountiful, UT: Horison Publishers.

Larpnel, A. L. (2014). Martin and me: [my life on hold]. Victoria, BC Canada : FriesenPress