It may be the smallest room in your home, but the bathroom contains major safety hazards for your child. Bathroom accidents are responsible for some of the most serious injuries amongst kids. To prevent the worst from happening, you’ll need to make your bathroom a safer place for your child. Listed below are some essential things to bear in mind when it comes to bathroom safety.
Never leave your child alone in the bathroom unsupervised, especially while bathing.
This should be the number one rule, even if you just need a second to grab a towel or answer the phone. You can get distracted and that second can turn into a minute or longer. Sadly, there have been cases of children drowning in less than an inch of water in just one minute. If you have to leave the bathroom for any reason, take your child with you. Also, keep the doors closed and if necessary locked to prevent your child from entering the bathroom without your supervision.
Install toilet locks
For a young child the toilet is just another fun place to explore and the water in it an irresistible thing to play with. Besides the obvious health (and hygiene!) reasons you want to prevent your child from playing with the toilet, young children are also at risk of falling into the toilet heads-first. So, be sure to install toilet locks and keep it as clean as possible in case you do forget to lock it.
Keep medicines, cosmetics and the likes out of reach
This should also include soap, shampoo, hair dye, toothpaste, mouth wash, perfume, etc. While your child is somehow able to resist broccoli, he or she probably won’t hesitate to taste the intriguing things in our bathroom cabinets. Since eating medicines, cosmetics and the likes can lead to tummy ache, diarrhoea, vomiting or worse, be sure to keep them out of reach and, ideally, out of sight.
Remove objects that can be used for climbing
Your child will use anything that gives him or her the opportunity to climb up and reach something that has caught their eye. Examples include step stools, laundry bins, etc. Aside from enabling them to reach potentially dangerous items, such “ladders” also pose a serious risk of injury because they may give in to the weight of your child or tip over with your child on it.
Other
You are also highly recommended to install safety locks on your sliding shower doors, use non-slip mats on the floor and bathtub, set hot water heaters to a maximum of 48 degrees Celsius and make sure there is no mould or mildew as it can pose a serious health risk.
This is a collaborative post, written by a guest author
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