It is easy to assume that you and your family are safe when you don’t see any visible signs of danger. However, many of the incidents that cause safety concerns for your family are often overlooked, with falls, overdoses, and drowning being the common causes of unintentional death in the home.
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It would help if you identified the easiest ways to protect your family since nothing matters more than keeping your loved ones safe. Family safety considerations may seem overwhelming, but they are always worth it. You can follow these simple steps to achieve this.
Avoid poisoning
Poisoning is another common cause of death in the home, with kids being at risk. The primary substances that cause accidental deaths include medicines, cleaning products, pesticides, and toxic houseplants. You must keep medications away from the reach of children and tighten child-resistant caps effectively. Consider moving your cleaning supplies to cabinets with safety latches, and keep emergency phone numbers for poison control handy in case anything goes wrong. You may want to post emergency numbers on the fridge or family message centre so that all members know where to find them when required.
Prevent falls
Over 50% of falls happen in the home, with research revealing that 20,000 people aged over 65 die annually due to falls. Both kids and adults can be prone to injuries from a fall. Fortunately, you can take steps to keep every family member safe. For example, clear tripping hazards like electrical cords, throw rugs, and toys on the floor. Ensure the stairs are clutter-free and install handrails on both sides. Spindles on staircases should be four inches wide or less to prevent an infant’s head from passing through them. Also, ensure proper illumination around the stairways, and use non-slip mats in the bathtub and shower. Lastly, avoid leaving a baby alone on the bed and use safety straps on high strollers.
Protect the family from water bodies
Thousands of people drown annually, and kids are common victims. Therefore, it would be best if you never leave kids close to the poolside, beach, or bathtub unattended. Many die each year at the beach due to rip currents that are tough to swim against. If your family often visits beaches, seek advice from lifeguards regarding the safest areas to swim and the no-go areas. Also, one simple way to protect your family from water bodies at home is to fence them and install self-closing doors leading to the gate. For additional protection, build a cover that prevents access to the water.
Prevent kids from choking
Suffocation may cause death in the home for young children. Therefore, it’s best to place babies to sleep on their backs on a firm mattress instead of a soft cushion. Again, keep toys with long cables and window-shade pull cords safe from small children. Kids under four may choke on firm and round foods such as popcorn, grapes, and hard candy, making it vital to introduce new foods with great care. Small objects that a child can swallow should be out of reach.
Keep first aid kits handy
Responsible homeowners should be ready to administer first aid at any time, as first aid kits are essential for safety at home. Therefore, make sure to stock up with bandages, antiseptics, tweezers, pain relievers, and other important medication, which you can get from a local late night chemist. As a tip, store your family’s first aid box in a central location and check it out regularly to ensure it’s not lacking essentials and that nothing is expired.
Other emergencies to prepare for include fires and natural disasters. Your family has a better chance of staying safe if you have an escape plan in advance. You must practice safety measures to help everyone know what to do when an emergency arises.
Stay safe online
Your home safety protocols should also include addressing cybersecurity threats. Boost online safety by securing the home WiFi network, as it’s the gateway to every device that relies on an internet connection in your home. Secure the network with strong passwords and activate firewalls and encryption. Furthermore, run the updates and avoid postponing them. Updates are crucial for protecting your family’s devices from viruses, malware, and hackers. If you have security cameras, make sure you protect them from hackers. And when it comes to children online, make sure you have parental controls to keep younger ones safe.
Monitor the weather
Keeping an eye on the weather is another proven idea to protect your family and in some parts of the world, it is essential to install a storm shelter. The sun is a potential source of danger. It’s more dangerous during thunderstorms when lightning becomes an existing threat. Apart from threatening lives and property, lightning can be dangerous for animals, too. Therefore, make sure you do all you can to keep your loved ones safe from inclement weather, especially if a storm is approaching.
Avoid leaving kids in a parked car
Unfortunately, kids die each year due to being left in hot cars, especially as temperatures in vehicles may rise faster than usual. In fact, it takes less than one hour for the interior of a car to heat up by 30 degrees. A child’s body can heat three times faster than an adult. Heatstroke is real, yet preventable with a simple habit like not leaving children and pets in hot cars.
Ventilate your home well
Good ventilation also helps keep your family safe, so ensure that you properly ventilate the doors and windows. It would be best to have a fan or AC running, as poor home ventilation can increase the risks of harmful gas buildup in the property. Increased carbon dioxide (C02) can happen due to respiration and metabolism. However, when the levels of this gas go up in your home, it can promote the activity of specific bugs and the risk of disease transmission, such as the West Nile virus.
Always buckle up
Drivers must always buckle up and encourage passengers to do so when possible. Wearing a seat belt can reduce crash-related mortality and severe injuries by half. Buckling up is the single most practical way to reduce the risk of death in a crash. Not wearing a seat belt can result in passengers getting thrown out like projectiles during a crash. Unfortunately, such a situation can result in severe injuries like fractures and even death.