Top Tips for Technology and Electrical Safety around and for Children

You’ll probably look at the below list and think “that’s all common sense” however all too often people overlook the obvious in their busy lives with 1,000 other things to remember in a day. The following are our top tips for making sure all those wonderful technological and electrical items our children use and see everyday are done so safely:

1. Recently London Fire Brigade shared the below photo on Twitter, it received 323 retweets and 187 likes. It showed a mobile phone which had caught alight as a child had been charging the phone under their pillow. Don’t allow your children to charge their mobiles, iPads, laptops or any other equipment under their pillow, on their bed or near anything that could get hot.

2. Hair straighteners are responsible for a large number of scalds happening to children. As much as 30 minutes after being unplugged, hair straighteners can still severely burn and permanently scar a child’s delicate skin.  After use, switch off and unplug the straighteners, then put them away to cool down out of reach and sight. Don’t forgot that some hairdryers can also become extremely hot after use too.

3. Browsing social channels, texting and using /WhatsApp on your phone has become the norm, and can be a dangerous distraction. Be aware of anything your child(ren) may be near that could cause them harm, e.g. a hot cup of tea on the coffee table, a boiling saucepan on the cooker. Accidents often happen when we’re distracted and can happen extremely quickly.

4. Make sure the chargers you and your children use aren’t frayed or damaged anywhere or are becoming too hot when charging equipment.

5. Ensure that plug sockets aren’t overloaded. With children often using multiple devices it’s easy to overlook how many pieces of equipment are being charged all at the same time. For a really useful ‘Socket Calculator’ from Electrical Safety First click here.

6. It is best practice to turn off sockets at night, as a fire can spread more quickly when people are asleep. So, try and encourage your children to charge their iPads etc. in the day….this may be a good way of getting them to put down their game for a while!

7. It is recommended that all devices use the appropriate charger and batteries originally supplied with the device, or those made by the same brand. For example, those that Apple has advised to use and sell in their stores.

Take a look at our Learning Zone which includes loads of helpful resources to help educate children, parents and carers on burn and scald prevention, along with valuable advice on the right First Aid should a burn occur.

For more information on the Children’s Burn Trust and our prevention campaigns please contact us.