When your baby first starts to crawl around the house, you begin to realise just how many hazards there are for them.
Many parents baby-proof their home to prevent their little one from injuring themselves on things like sharp corners, getting fingers caught indoors, or fingers in powerpoints. But some common household items can lead to drowning, that seem to go under the radar.
Paramedic and mum-of-two Nikki, who runs Tiny Hearts Education, shared a clip to Instagram, outlining these four dangers.
Did you need another reason to make sure the toilet seat gets put down? | Image source: Instagram / tinyheartseducation
Childhood drowning can happen in seconds.
The clip shows Nikki putting down the toilet seat, tipping water out of a bowl, taking the plug out of the bath, tipping water out of a bucket and then a small jug.
“Babies can drown in less than 5cm of water,” reads the caption on the screen. “And it can be silent.”
The clip ends with a capitalised “PREVENTION IS SO IMPORTANT.”
“The drowning jobs I attended as a paramedic still haunt me to this day,” Nikki wrote in the caption when she shared it to Instagram.
“It happens with only a small amount of water, in just 20 seconds and is silent.
“Drowning is the world’s leading cause of unintentional death for children aged 1 to 3. This is particularly devastating, as most of these can be prevented.”
Nikki urges parents to always supervise their little ones around water, eliminate all hazards by tipping out any items containing water, and restrict access between children and any bodies of water. She also highlights the importance of teaching children how to swim and exercise caution around drains, and for parents to learn CPR.
“Share this with someone you love and let’s all enjoy summer with our bubs the safest way possible,” Nikki said.
It can happen fast and silently. | Image source: Instagram / tinyheartseducation
Toilets and water bowls can lead to drowning.
Parents on Instagram tagged their partners and hailed Nikki for her important reminder.
“Good work bringing attn to this. So many ‘civvy’s’ have no idea of the little water it takes. Horrendous jobs to attend,” commented one person.
Another added, “love the way you bring awareness to these hard but important topics.”
“Great reminder, my daughter is almost crawling,” chimed in another who admitted, “I need to get my house in order!”
A few stories of near misses with toilets and plenty of people admitting that this is one area they hadn’t even thought about.
“I will never forget walking into the toilet by chance to find my only just walking baby dangling down into the toilet bowl,” wrote one woman, “and I only just caught him from going headfirst into the water. Had I have been 15 seconds later…”
“I never even considered the toilet,” added another. “And now I’m never gonna stop worrying about it. My anxiety just peaked.”
There were plenty of people asking about how to address the issue of a pet’s water bowl with some helpful suggestions of using child safety gates that cats can climb over, or heavy items to take up space in the water.
One person suggested, “A brick in the water bowl so it can’t be moved, but doggies can still drink from it.”
You can also purchase products online that can elevate your pet’s water bowl or bowls that dispense liquid on demand rather than having it sit as a drowning hazard.
Is there a water hazard in your home you haven’t considered?
View this post on Instagram
This article was first published in KidSpot and republished on theAsianparent with permission.
ALSO READ:
7 Common Mistakes Parents Make That Increase the Risk of Child Drowning
Dry Drowning: How To Save Your Child From This Silent Killer
How To Prevent Drowning Accidents At Home If You Have Toddlers
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