Child safety at home: seeing the house through a toddler's eyes

Young children explore everything with their hands and mouths. Most serious home accidents are preventable with a few simple checks that any older sibling can help with.

Take a child's-eye view

• RoSPA (the UK Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) suggests getting down to a child's height to spot hazards: sharp edges, dangling cords, cleaning products, button batteries and small ornaments within reach.
• RoSPA notes that children under five are more likely to be injured at home than anywhere else.
• The WHO falls fact sheet identifies children as a high-risk group for falls, alongside older adults.
• Do a five-minute sweep of the living room and kitchen at toddler height and move anything risky up high or into a cupboard.

Medicines, cleaning products and button batteries

• RoSPA advises keeping cleaning products, dishwasher tablets, laundry capsules and medicines out of sight and reach, ideally in a locked cupboard.
• Button batteries are found in remote controls, car keys, toys, scales and greeting cards. The Child Accident Prevention Trust warns that a powerful button battery can cause devastating internal injuries within a couple of hours.
• Check that battery compartments are screwed shut, and store spare and used batteries out of reach.
• If you think a child has swallowed a button battery, treat it as an emergency: Alder Hey Children's Hospital says go to an emergency department as soon as possible. In the UAE, call 998 for an ambulance.
• Alder Hey also says not to make the child vomit and not to give them anything else to eat or drink unless a doctor tells you to.

Windows, balconies, stairs and cords

• RoSPA advises that windows on the first floor or higher should open no more than 10 cm, using window restrictors, and that adults should know how to open them fully in an emergency.
• Many UAE homes are in tower blocks with balconies. Keep balcony doors locked and never leave chairs, boxes or furniture near a balcony rail or window that a child could climb.
• Fit safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs that will not shift if a child leans on them (RoSPA).
• Secure looped blind cords out of reach with a cleat or cord tidy (RoSPA).

Furniture and TV tip-overs

• The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported that unstable TVs and furniture kill a child about every two weeks in the US, and that 84 per cent of reported tip-over deaths from 2000 to 2013 involved children under 10.
• Anchor dressers, bookcases and TVs to the wall with inexpensive anti-tip straps or brackets (CPSC).
• Keep remotes, toys and sweets off high surfaces so children are not tempted to climb (CPSC).
• Put heavier items on lower shelves and in lower drawers (CPSC).
• If a TV cannot be anchored, place it on a sturdy, low base, pushed as far back as possible (CPSC).

Hot water and car seats

• RoSPA notes that UK law requires new homes to limit bath water to 48°C with a thermostatic mixing valve. Whatever your home has, test bath water before a child gets in.
• In the UAE, Ministry of Interior traffic authorities quoted by Khaleej Times said children under 4 should be in appropriate child seats, and children under 10 must sit in the back.
• If you are a new driver giving a sibling a lift, check the car seat is fitted and the child is buckled in before you start the engine. Never let a younger child sit in the front 'just this once'.