Babies and Home Electrical Hazards

September has been designated Baby Safety Month. Throughout the years the focus on safety has resulted in improvements in toy safety, care seat safety, and more to keep infants safe at home and while away. In honor of Baby Safety Month, we wanted to share with you some electrical safety tips that should be utilized in every home that has a little one.

It doesn’t matter where you live; an apartment, townhome, single, or duplex every home has electrical outlets. Here is a list of some safety tips to help keep little ones safe around electrical outlets.

1. You should use outlet plugs on all unused outlets so that your baby will not get shocked if they crawl over and stick their fingers in them. Electrical outlets are easy targets for curious babies due to their proximity to the ground.
2. Make sure that electrical cords in use have outlet covers to prevent babies from pulling them out.
3. Tuck away or shorten all charger cords for phones, laptops, and other devices to prevent a baby from pulling them and putting them in their mouths or chewing on them, which could cause severe electric shock.

TIP: Make sure you protect your baby when traveling to a new place where outlet covers may not be used. You should take the same precautions wherever your baby spends time, such as at a daycare, their grandparents’ house, or another home where they are in another person’s care.

Electrical Dangers and Toys

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2020 there were an estimated 198,000 toy related injuries. Just under half of those injuries involved children under the age of four. Electric shocks or burns did not make the list of top ten injuries, but they are legitimate concerns for parents when purchasing toys for their young children.

In order to prevent burns on young children, experts advise against giving them electric toys.

Please read our list of precautions for battery operated toys:

• Injuries can occur if different battery types are mixed, which may cause leaks or overheat.
• Thermal burns can occur when battery chargers and adapters are used.
• Taking batteries-operated toys to bed or putting them in a crib can result in burns or other injuries if the batteries leak.
• You should not allow remote controls, keyless entry fobs, video game controllers, and cell phones to become baby toys.

There is no child-proof compartment in the battery compartment of these devices since they are not intended for babies. There is a possibility that a lithium battery can be swallowed accidentally and cause an internal burn.

In the event a person big or small swallows a battery call 911 immediately.

Always be cautious of toys that have a heating element, such as toy oven. These types of toys are generally recommended for children over the age of eight. Injuries could occur if the heating element were to catch fire.

As a recommended DFW licensed electrician we care about children safety. When it comes to electrical hazards and little ones an ounce of protection can be lifesaving.