Electrician Association of San Diego Asks Households to Child Proof their Homes to Avoid Injuries

Children can suffer from electrical injuries at home when their houses have not been child proofed. It is easy for them to become victims of this type of injuries since they are naturally curious and they do not know what is safe and what is not.

For this reason, the Electrician Association of San Diego is calling on parents to ensure that they child proof their homes to ensure the safety of their toddlers and young children from electrical injuries which could also be fatal.

Health website WebMD.com published a web article on electric shock, and they mentioned how much at risk children are for these type of accidents. “Children are not often seriously injured by electricity. They are prone to shock by the low voltage (110-220 volts) found in typical household current. In children aged 12 years and younger, household appliance electrical cords and extension cords caused more than 63% of injuries in one study. Wall outlets were responsible for 15% of injuries.”

Read the full article here. 

The Electrical Safety Foundation has shared the results of the survey they made on childproofing homes. The survey mainly focused on the installation of Tamper Resistant Receptacles which was a requirement of the National Electrical Code.

“Nearly 1/3 of parents with young children do not have their outlets childproofed. 86% of parents who childproof their outlets use plastic outlet caps. 40% agree that plastic outlet caps could be removed by toddlers. Over 1/3 are unaware if their child’s daycare provider or school childproofs their electrical outlets. 44% of respondents are not familiar at all with TRRs. 61% of respondents who have TRRs have them due to previous installation before they moved.”

Read the full results of the survey here.

More tips on childproofing a home

Even though receptacles are tamper proof, some children cannot still resist the urge to unplug electrical cords that are plugged right through the outlet. The website Parent’s Guide came up with a suggestion to avoid this.

The Electrician Association of San Diego reminds parents that electrical outlets should be first on their list of electrical fixtures that, which can be very attractive to babies and toddlers. (Photo Credits) 

“The easiest way to stop your baby from unplugging power cords is to move furniture in front of the outlet. While it may make your room look a little less symmetrical, it will stop your baby from giving that cord a tug and best of all, it’s a free solution.”

Read the other solutions they suggested here.

The Electrician Association of San Diego says child proofing a home is very important to ensure the safety of children from electrical injury.