Child Safety Week - Stay Safe from Burns - Lewisham Children & Family Centre

A small child’s skin burns really easily as it’s so thin. But you can Download the Safe from Burns Factsheet to help.

Here’s how to prevent serious burns:

Hot drinks – stay hot enough to scald a small child even after 15 minutes. 8 to 18 month-olds are most vulnerable as they love to grab.
• Look for safe zones in your house where you know your child can’t reach your hot drink
• Try to get into the habit of putting your child down before you pick up your drink.

Hair straighteners – can get as hot as your iron and can still burn 15 minutes after they are switched off.
• Keep straighteners and wands out of reach when you’re using them
• Put them in a heat-proof pouch or on a high shelf to cool.

Button batteries – if a child swallows a lithium coin cell battery (the round silver battery like a 5p coin) and it gets stuck in their food pipe, it can burn a hole and cause internal bleeding and even death.
• Keep any loose batteries out of reach and dispose of ‘flat’ batteries quickly and safely
• Keep objects out of reach if they have button batteries your child can get to.

Magnetic toys – high-strength magnets in toys can burn through the gut if your child swallows them.
• Buy from a reputable retailer or a brand name you know online or in-store, and avoid online marketplaces.

Cooking – young children don’t automatically pull away from something that’s burning them. They may forget the rules about not touching hot things.
• Push kettles to the back of the worktop and use the back rings of the cooker first
• If you’re able to keep children out of the kitchen when you’re cooking, great. Or try to
keep them in a highchair or away from the cooker if not.

Bath water – these scalds are really nasty and can happen in seconds.
• Put cold water in first then top up with hot. Then you don’t need to worry about there being a scalding bath your child could fall or climb into
• Test the temperature of the water with your elbow before putting your child into the bath
• Stay with your child in the bathroom in case they fiddle with the hot tap.

Fires and heaters – a risk to small children.
• Move cots away from radiators. Then your baby can’t get their arm or leg trapped against the heat
• Fit fireguards around fires and heaters.

Download the Safe from Burns Factsheet

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Child Safety Week – Stay Safe from Burns