So, its time for me to indulge myself and write this blog post about a bit of my personal life.
A while ago I attend my friend’s baby’s christening- Lily Maxwell, who was getting her head dunked in holy water and we were all there to celebrate. ( There being St Georges Church)
After a few drinks, (which are necessary to wet the baby’s head),and exchanging of gifts, I went home and started thinking about the responsibilities Sarah faces as a mother.
I mean don’t get me wrong I see myself as a fairly responsible adult (apart from that time I had a couple of babycham’s) but the responsibility Sarah faces is huge. To constantly monitor and look out for these vulnerable creatures keeping them safe and then being supportive, guiding them and at times having discipline them to help them on their journey through life. Gosh now that’s pressure!!
So being the slightest of geeks since working for Fire Protection Online, I started thinking about home and fire safety in relation to children, and the steps parents take or should take to ensure their child is safe at all times in the home.
So after a few hours spent searching on the internet I was shocked to find a vast amount of wealth on this subject, and yet people still seem ignorant to.
I found it particularly shocking that 46% of fatal accidents that happen in the home effecting children is purely down to house fire. Can you imagine just under half of fatalities in the home for children are fire based?
I just never thought that could happen in the UK and not to such a frequency, I found via ROSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention Of Accidents) a really interesting page about child safety in the home covering all things from child gates to burning hazards and the statistics of the accidents in relation to the age and sex of the child. There was so much to think about – I struggle to make it through the day remembering what I need from the local supermarket let alone how to make my home safe against little ones!
I found that even the government provide pages on child safety – especially in relation to fires, they provide a page on the importance of smoke alarms, (despite it not being a legal requirement for all houses in the UK to have alarms fitted it is strongly recommend that they are).
I don’t think I ever really took on board how much of a risk fire in the home can be, I know that sounds daft but when you talk about the products all day long, you kind of forget that these tragedies do occur and that’s what the products are designed to hep prevent.
The effects fire and fire related accidents can have on a home is heart rendering, let alone seeing charities such as the child’s fire and burn trust, who are dedicated to helping child victims of fire, especially those to young to know or comprehend why they have been burnt.
Coming across all of this information really made me think twice about some things I take for granted.
And in case you were wondering Sarah thankfully had thought of all the possibilities and had been out and bought a number of bits for the home including a carbon monoxide and smoke alarms and a fire blanket.
You never know for Christmas she maybe getting a fire extinguisher and burns kit from yours truly as a secret Santa, now wont that just make her year!
