Electrical Safety for Your Children

4/8/2020 (Permalink)

Homeowners often think of fire and electrical safety in regards to protecting their family and their property, but considering these practices from a child’s perspective is imperative to truly keeping your loved ones and home safe from harm. When discussing these issues with kids, it is best to break things into two categories in order for them to be easily understood and readily followed. Far too many parents sit their children down and offer guidelines given to them, which are difficult for kids to understand and put into practice. As such, today we offer some easy tips for explaining electrical safety to your children.

Below, we will break down how to help your children with identifying safe practices versus unsafe practices. Be sure to talk through these items with your kids slowly and carefully.

The following practices and ideas are positioned in the “safe” category:

• Help your parents by reminding them to test your smoke alarm monthly and change the smoke alarm batteries yearly
• Be sure to turn off the lights when leaving a room and before going to sleep
• If you see smoke or a fire, leave your home right away and call 911 from a safe location
• Make sure space heaters have a space, do not place anything that can burn anywhere near them

The following practice and ideas are positioned in the “unsafe” category:

• Never use or touch electrical cords that are broken or frayed
• Always keep electronics far away from any liquids
• Do not overcrowd electrical outlets with cords, if there are too many in one location ask an adult to remove some
• Do not put anything that can burn near lightbulbs or lampshades

Electrical safety and fire safety are important subject matters that must be addressed by parents on a regular basis. Make it a habit to ask your children questions to ensure that they are well-versed on the above safety tips at all times.