We think of our homes as a safe place to enjoy, but in reality, almost 20,000 Americans die in their homes every year, due to accidents, unfortunately. The biggest culprits are falling, poisoning, suffocating and drowning. Most of the causes of injury in and around the home are preventable, however, with a little planning and thought.
Common summer safety hazards/accidents and how to avoid them
The key to avoiding many accidents is awareness. Being aware of potential hazards and taking action by making changes to either your property or your routines is how you can avoid preventable accidents.
Some common hazards and accidents that tend to crop up in the summer include:
- Injuries involving gardening equipment, like lawn mowers or sharp shears and shovels—the number of children who are seriously injured every year from being run over by someone using a riding lawn mower is far too high. In fact, the most prevalent cause of amputation in children are lawn mower accidents. Sharp shears and heavy shovels can also be dangerous. You can avoid this by having hard and fast rules about where the kids need to be when someone is mowing the lawn. Ideally, they are in a different yard, or inside the house, for the duration. Riding on your lap on the mower might seem like fun but it only takes a second for them to slip! Mowers, as well as sharp and heavy garden tools need to be kept in a locked shed, away from prying hands, and never leave garden tools lying around when the kids are out playing! If your kids like playing with a garden hose on a hot day, get into the habit of running it for a few minutes before they have access. If your hose has water in it from your last use and it’s been sitting in direct sun, the water can be hot enough—up to 120 degrees—to burn skin. Also, don’t let them drink directly from the hose: there are plenty of toxins that build up inside a rubber hose that you don’t want them to ingest.
- Injuries resulting from the improper use of fireworks—sure, it’s fun to let off a few fireworks or play with sparklers on the 4th of July, but handling the materials incorrectly, or not watching children as they play, can result in some serious injuries. Make sure that kids aren’t handling the fireworks and have sand and water at the ready, to douse any firework that goes off where it shouldn’t. Better yet, go to a professionally run public display at the park!
- Injuries during storms, including lightning strikes—it’s never fun to be caught out at the park, or even the backyard, in a storm but it can happen so at the beginning of the summer, remind everyone about what to do in the event of a storm. Don’t stand under trees, get out of the pool and take cover inside!
- Bugs and plants that can be poisonous for kids and pets—with the warmer weather comes a huge array of interesting creepy crawlies and plenty of plants to check out. Some can be toxic to kids and pets, so take inventory of what plants you’ve got in your garden to see if some need to be replaced. And when it comes to bugs and insects, remind the kids that it’s much better to look than touch! Another outdoor hazard is wild animal feces. Raccoons in particular carry all manner of diseases, including roundworm, that can be transferred to a person through the handling of their feces. If you have a lot of wild animals visiting your yard, do an inspection in the morning to remove anything that could be harmful to child or pet.
- Trampolines can be fun but most doctors hate them—that’s because a huge number of hospital visits every summer are accidents that occurred on a trampoline. Check it carefully every season to make sure it’s still in good working order. Make sure it has a net, to prevent jumpers from falling over the edge. Limit the number of jumpers at one time. Ideally, only one, as a common injury is one kid falling on another and hurting them.
- Wounds from worn out decks—a puncture wound or splinters from an old deck, a broken railing that causes a person to fall off the deck, nails that are popping up or not flush… these are all ways that your deck could become a hazard, particularly when a lot of us are wearing flip flops or no shoes at all! Take the time in the spring / early summer to check your deck over for hazards, weak spots, nails and splintering sections.
Safety tips when using a BBQ or fire pit BBQs and fire pits are the best in the summer but there are some specific hazards to watch for with these:
- Keep BBQs and fire pits away from your home and other structures. Charcoal grills and fire pits can push up a lot of sparks, that will be happy to feed on a dry deck or wooden railings!
- Check your BBQ regularly to make sure all the parts are working correctly and that it isn’t leaking propane or gas (if hooked directly to your home.) You can put soap and water on the connecting hoses to see if there are bubbles when you open up the tank. If so, turn it off immediately and have your BBQ serviced.
- Avoid using wire brushes to clean your grill. The wires can become detached, end up in the steak and ultimately, piercing someone’s throat! Pick a brush with natural bristles instead.
- Be careful with prongs or sticks for roasting marshmallows. They’re harder to spot in the dark but are sharp and dangerous to wave about! Place a bucket of sand near the fire pit for putting the prongs into, point up, so you can keep track of them. This has the added bonus of ensuring you’ve got sand handy if your fire gets out of hand, or to help douse it.
Safety tips around the pool
- Many areas require fencing around a pool, to keep children safe. Beyond it being a requirement, however, installing a good quality fence around the perimeter of your pool makes good sense. An accidental drowning is not the summer memory anyone ever wants to carry with them for the rest of their lives. A gate or even a perimeter alarm will help warn you if someone is entering the pool area without your knowledge. After all, a fence can be climbed but an alarm is hard to avoid!
- Check your pool cover regularly to make sure it is in good condition, without rips or tears and make sure that you invest in a safety pool cover, rather than just a standard winter cover. Another great option for safety is to install a pool safety net. The net must have squares that are small enough that a child couldn’t slip through them but large enough that they couldn’t stand or walk on the net. You should also check railings and safety drain covers to make sure they’re all solid and in working order, throughout the season.
- Know the signs of secondary drowning. If a child inhaled a lot of water in the pool, some of it could have gotten into their lungs and they can experience secondary drowning, even 24 hours after the incident. Signs include: fatigue, difficulty breathing, unable to take a deep breath, coughing and chest pain. If your child took in a lot of water, keep a close eye on them!
Safety tips for your home, when you’re away traveling Everyone wants to come home from a trip, their home intact. There are a couple of ways you can help to ensure that everything is a-ok while you’re gone.
- Make sure you mow the lawn and clean up generally before leaving, so it looks kept up.
- Ask someone to come and collect flyers and newspaper when you’re gone. Leaving a key with a friend or neighbor is also a good idea, so they can actually go in and check if they suspect something is amiss.
- Install a motion sensor camera at your door. This will record anyone who comes to your door and many models allow you to check them remotely. There are easy to install systems that you can buy and put in place yourself. Also motion sensor lighting set up outdoors will keep back doors and other more hidden access points bright and light!
- Wire your house so that you can manage your door locks and lights from away. You can use a scheduled system to have the lights go on and off at specific times, ensuring that it appears as if someone is home.
- Install a locking mechanism on your garage door. Most garages have access to the house through them and are a weak point in terms of security.
- Don’t let the world know via social media, that you’re out of the state or country, and your home is unoccupied! A lot of people will ‘check in’ on Facebook at their resorts, or post pictures of their fabulous vacation on Instagram, not thinking about the fact that they’re in effect advertising their absence from home! Wait until you get home to share any pictures online!
Information and photo courtesy of https://www.neighborwho.com/.