During this festive season, parents must create a safe environment at home and in public places and take all necessary precautions to guarantee their children’s safety.

Parents should make sure that Christmas decorations are safe to avoid accidents and constantly watch out for potentially dangerous objects like candles, electrical wires, and hot liquids.

“If children are entirely alone at home parents must cover all possible scenarios and have some form of all-day security monitoring to make sure they stay safe,” said Fidelity ADT spokesperson Charnel Hattingh.

‘Security gates must be locked at home at all times’

“Apart from a criminal element, there are other dangers that lurk around the home, like a fire breaking out or a medical emergency.”

One of the most important things to reiterate to children and their caregivers is not to open the gate to strangers, no matter who they say they are, she said.

Fidelity ADT has safety tips to communicate to children: 

• Security gates must be locked at home at all times and the key removed.
• Have emergency numbers saved on speed dial.
• Don’t walk in the street or mall with your phone out especially not with headphones on.
• Don’t engage with strangers.
• Go out in groups and always make secure arrangements for pick-ups.

Water safety tips sent out by the police. Photo supplied

As the temperature rises across South Africa so does the danger of drowning as children seek relief from the heat in dams, rivers, and pools.

Adult supervision is always advised when children are near any bodies of water. World Health Organisation statistics show worldwide more than 300,000 people drowned in 2021, making such deaths a major public health problem globally. 

“Another big factor regarding children’s safety at home is swimming pools. Drowning is a leading cause of accidental death in young children,” said Hattingh.

Netcare 911 has shared these water safety tips to keep children safe around a pool: 

• Never leave children unsupervised around swimming pools, garden ponds, water features, and buckets of water.
• Restrict access to swimming pools by installing a pool fence with a self-latching mechanism, or a safety net.
• Teach children how to swim from as early as twelve months.
• Empty all water from a wading pool when not in use.
• Children should be trained in survival skills such as floating and treading water.

OFM News/Zenande Mpame cg