Childproof power outlets

How to protect children from electrical accidents

When having small children in your home, probably the first thing that comes to mind is to childproof power outlets. And from the baby’s crawling to taking the first steps, you should stay alert and prevent any electrical hazards from happening. In this week’s blog, take baby steps to electrical safety and start with childproofing your power outlets.

Curious by nature, children will try to stick their little fingers into anything that looks new and interesting for them. But when it’s a power outlet we’re talking about, safety measures need to be applied ASAP.

In fact, before talking to your child about electrical safety at home, you should take some preventative safety actions first. Certainly, one of them is to childproof power outlets as it’s so easy to get a shock from sticking your fingers into an active outlet.

Fortunately, there are many easy techniques today to protect children from electrical accidents, like using:

1. Safety plugs

Generally speaking, one of the most common ways to make your power outlets child safe is by using safety plugs to fill them in completely. While relatively accessible for an adult, your child will definitely find it difficult to stick them in or out. Moreover, when opting out for colour-matching safety plugs, the curious eyes may not even notice the outlets are even there. When it comes to the price, they are pretty cheap to buy and easy to install, so you can easily start your childproofing routine with them.

2. Sliding covers

Another useful yet smart way to childproof power outlets is by using sliding covers. You don’t have to remove or reinsert them before and after use, therefore they don’t pose any choking risk. Basically, the sliding cover returns every time in order to keep the access to the outlet concealed. In other words, sliding covers make your life easier and your child safer and are usually recommended by electrical experts.

 3. Faceplates

Nowadays, when buying a new home, you may find far more power outlets than a family needs. If you have such power outlets that you simply don’t use, we recommend you to replace the outlet plate with the solid faceplate. This way, you will cover them in an aesthetical way and, most importantly, successfully childproof power outlets. Not to mention you can always replace it with the original plug if you want to put it to good use (again).

4. Keep power outlets out of children’s sight

Last but definitely not least, it’s very important to be precautious as much as you can. If you can keep power outlets out of children’s reach, then you know they are safely playing around the house. For example, try to move your furniture, curtains or other objects in such a way that they ‘hide’ the outlets. Therefore, concealing the outlets will keep your kids away from some of your home’s biggest electrical dangers.

Talk to Jaric about electrical safety

If you need further advice on finding other ways to keep your children electrically safe, call Jaric Electrical at 1300 452 742 and our friendly team will assist you.

 

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