WHEN a baby is born, the experience is unique and special to the family. Babies are protected and cared for exclusively as they can do very little for themselves. As they grow they will be alerted to the perils around them, but they still need to be monitored and protected.
For instance, a mother washing clothes with a tub of water on the floor for rinsing cannot take her eyes off her toddler, who is playing nearby for more than a moment. He may appear to be engaged or absorbed in his activity, but children can flit between one activity and another in the blink of an eye. It only takes a distracting phone call or a pot boiling over on the stove to divert his mother’s full attention and thereby put him in danger.
Children should not frequent vicinities where an accident is possible, for example, in the kitchen where food is cooking, in the yard where rubbish is burning or in the garage where cars are reversing in or out. The safeguarding of children should be paramount in the mind of a parent. There are far too many avoidable accidents that maim or kill children; when all that is required is a little forethought and better judgement from their parents, guardians and carers.

When it comes to the well-being and care of children, parents should not take risks. They should, however, evaluate and avoid even the slightest chance of endangerment. When accidents do occur, you hear things like, ‘this child has never run out in the road like that before. Or ‘you know how many times I’ve sent them to the shop, and nothing happened?’. As the adage goes, ‘what doesn’t happen in a year does happen in a day.
Children find enough perilous things to occupy themselves, such as climbing on bedframes or pushing beads or small coins up their noses, without adults adding to the mix by not being attentive or showing little regard for their safety. Anticipating potential dangers and avoiding them should come naturally to parents. If children are playing with pointed sticks, there is a potential that careless play could hurt or damage an eye. A beautiful girl child aged eight, lived the rest of her life with a glass eye. Her eye was damaged beyond repair, due to an innocent game of stick ‘swords’ with her sister.
Younger children such as three and four-year-olds and toddlers can misjudge their balance while leaning out of windows and topple out if not properly supervised. Small children also have a habit of trying to do things on their own when unsupervised. Therefore, windows should have working locks or latches that are childproof.
Having an armchair under an open, ungrilled window in a living room can be dangerous for climbing children. You may tell yourself, ‘it could never happen, my child can never fall out, I watch my toddler like a hawk’. But there are always unguarded moments; no one can watch a child 24/7.

It would be a better idea not to set up furniture precariously in the first place. Aim for a child-friendly, child-safe environment where your child can feel free to explore securely – a setting where a carer or parent can turn his/her back for a moment, confident in the knowledge that attention was given to potential hazards.
It’s the same result for one who shows a disregard for child safety, regardless of one’s social standing, background, or whether one is affluent or poverty-stricken, avoidable accidents will happen. Two-year-old twin brothers drowned in a back-yard pool, and the first thing the public thought and said was, ‘where were the parents?’ But it did not occur to the parents (or the nanny) that the twin boys could firstly sneak off and, secondly, manage to open the gate to the pool by themselves.
Making allowances for the unexpected might be asking too much from parents. But when allowances for possibilities are considered, action can be taken before harm occurs. Parents need to be one step ahead of children in all respects, preventing burns, severe cuts and bruises, serious injury or death. Parents should be vigilant and take extra care to protect children and prevent mishaps.

Parents should not leave detergents, disinfectants, poisons, and corrosive liquids in cupboards where children have easy access. Neither should they be stored in non-transparent or recycled drink bottles.
Children might take a swig of the contents based upon the label and become severely ill or even worse if immediate attention is not forthcoming. An innocent chest of drawers in a child’s bedroom caused a toddler’s demise because he liked to climb. It wasn’t until the mother could not open the bedroom door as the chest had fallen behind it, did she realise the danger it posed for her child. The ever-curious three-year-old wanted to retrieve his aeroplane from the top of the chest. He pulled out the bottom drawer to stand on the side, which resulted in the entire chest of drawers toppling on top of him.
There are freak accidents, foreseeable accidents, avoidable accidents and unexpected accidents, but the bottom-line is – are you doing all you can to safeguard your children?
If you are concerned about the welfare of a child, call the CPA hotline on 227 0979 or write to us at childcaregy@gmail.com

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHILDCARE AND PROTECTION AGENCY,
MINISTRY OF HUMAN SERVICES AND SOCIAL SECURITY