child safety – Nannyjob blog

Child Safety Week

Child Safety Week: Protecting Our Most Precious

Child Safety Week is an annual campaign aimed at raising awareness about the risks of child accidents and how they can be prevented. It’s a crucial time for families, caregivers, and communities to come together to ensure children’s environments are as safe as possible.

Understanding the Importance of Child Safety

Child accidents are a leading cause of death and serious injury among children. However, many of these incidents are preventable with the right knowledge and precautions.

Tips for Enhancing Child Safety

Childproof your home by securing furniture to the walls, storing chemicals out of reach, and installing safety gates.
Teach children basic safety measures like looking both ways before crossing the street and not talking to strangers.
Keep emergency numbers and basic first aid supplies readily accessible.

Conclusion

Child Safety Week reminds us that protecting children from harm is everyone’s responsibility. By taking proactive steps, we can create a safer environment for our children to explore, learn, and grow.

Prioritising Child Safety: A Comprehensive Guide for Nannies and Childcarers

Ensuring the safety of the children under our care is a paramount responsibility that all nannies and child carers share. Children, by their very nature, are curious explorers, constantly learning and testing boundaries. As caregivers, it’s essential to create a safe environment where children can learn, play, and grow. Here are key considerations to help ensure child safety:

1. Home Safety

Childproofing a home is a crucial first step. Cover electrical outlets, install safety gates at stairs, secure furniture to walls, and keep small items out of children’s reach. It’s essential to understand that childproofing needs change as children grow and their mobility and curiosity increase.

2. Outdoor Safety

Whether it’s a trip to the playground or a simple walk, outdoor activities present unique risks. Teach children about road safety, stranger danger, and the importance of staying close to their carer. Always ensure children wear appropriate safety gear when cycling or participating in other outdoor activities.

3. Water Safety

Never leave a child unattended near water, even for a second. Whether it’s a swimming pool, bathtub, or even a bucket, it poses a risk. Teaching children to swim and about water safety rules can be life-saving skills.

4. Food Safety

Ensure food is prepared hygienically and is appropriate for the child’s age and development. Be vigilant about potential choking hazards and make sure children are seated and supervised while eating.

5. Digital Safety

In our increasingly digital world, it’s important to establish rules for internet usage. Teach children about the potential risks of sharing information online and ensure they engage with age-appropriate content.

6. Emotional Safety

Child safety isn’t just physical. It’s crucial to foster an environment where children feel emotionally safe and secure. Listen to their feelings, reassure them during stressful situations, and teach them that it’s okay to express their emotions.

Child safety is a wide-ranging, ongoing responsibility. By being proactive and vigilant, nannies and child carers can provide a safe environment for children to flourish. Remember, safety isn’t about restricting children; it’s about creating an environment where they can explore and grow with minimal risks.

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Ensuring Children’s Safety: A Comprehensive Guide for Nannies

Children’s safety is a paramount concern for parents, nannies, and caregivers alike. From ensuring a safe home environment, managing food preparation, administering first aid, and even monitoring online activities – each facet of a child’s life presents unique safety considerations

First Aid Knowledge

As a nanny, being equipped with first aid knowledge is not just an asset – it’s a must. Familiarize yourself with basic procedures such as CPR, dealing with choking incidents, treating cuts and bruises, and handling allergic reactions. Attend accredited First Aid courses, and keep your certification up-to-date.

Safe Food Preparation

Food safety is critical, especially with younger children prone to foodborne illnesses. Wash hands before handling food, ensure ingredients are fresh and properly stored, and maintain clean kitchen surfaces. Be aware of any food allergies the child may have and adjust meal preparations accordingly.

A Safe Home Environment

Keep an eye out for potential hazards within the home. Childproof the house by securing loose cords, placing safety gates where necessary, and ensuring harmful substances are out of reach. Regularly inspect toys for broken parts that could pose a choking risk.

Online Safety

In our digital age, online safety has become an increasing concern. As a nanny, part of your role might involve managing children’s internet use. Discuss online safety rules with the children and their parents, ensure privacy settings are appropriately set, and always monitor children’s online activities to safeguard them from potential digital threats.

Remember, safety is not a one-time checklist, but a continual process of vigilance, education, and communication with both parents and children. What safety measures do you implement in your nanny role? Let’s discuss and learn from each other.

Creative ways to say ‘no’ to your young child

Do you feel as though you’re constantly saying ‘no’ to your child’s demands and requests? Chances are, if your child is ignoring you when you say ‘no’, you might be saying it too often.

This can be a huge problem as you try to teach your child right from wrong, as well as trying to keep them safe.

That’s why we’ve put together some creative alternatives to saying ‘no’ to help regain your child’s attention whilst avoiding using the same word over and over.

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Travelling Tips for Nannies

With holidays soon to be allowed and the summer, not far behind, many nannies might be preparing for a trip with their nanny family.

Whilst a sunny break away from everyday life might sound like a fantastic escape, it’s important to remember that you’ll still be working and that your job might become a bit more difficult when faced with new challenges and unfamiliar surroundings.

We’ve put together our top tips to help you make a success of any trip with your nanny family:

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Car Safety Advice for Nannies

A typical aspect of being a nanny involves driving the children you care for to and from activities, appointments, grocery shopping etc.

As a child-carer, your job involves catering to the well-being of the child in your charge. You need to have certain safety measures in place to ensure that everyone makes it from point A to point B safely.

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Bonfire night safety

With the cost of living on the increase and many of us watching the pennies (and pounds!) you might decide to recreate some of the fun at home with sparklers or by building a small bonfire with older children, maybe even doing some campfire cooking. The most important thing to keep in mind is that fire, and fireworks, are dangerous.

Sparklers are cheap and fun. They give off sparkles as they burn and make pretty patterns, but they can also be very dangerous and definitely shouldn’t be used by children under 5. When using sparklers:

Make sure everyone wears gloves
Hold sparklers well away from you
Keep a bucket of water to put the finished sparklers in
Only light one at a time
Never pass lit sparklers
Keep children more than an arm + sparkler’s width apart – around 6ft or 2m is a good distance
Never allow them to wave sparklers at each other or duel with them

If you want to make a fire, then follow some simple rules and keep it small so it doesn’t get out of control. Remember that if it’s windy you shouldn’t build a fire as the wind could pick up burning sticks and quickly get out of control. If you decide to have a bonfire at home:

Build the fire carefully and make sure it on clear ground away from buildings, vehicles trees, fences and overhead cables. If your garden is too small to build a fire safely then go to a public display.
Make sure all clothing is safe to be around fires – some synthetic materials will melt when in contact with heat
Don’t use any accelerants such as petrol or lighter fuel to make the fire burn faster
Only put wood, cardboard, leaves and and paper on it but keep flyaway materials to a minimum
Have buckets or water or a fire extinguisher nearby
Follow basic fire safety rules and once the fire has died down make sure you dampen the embers to stop it relighting

And finally, we hope you don’t need it but here’s a quick refresher on how to care for a burn:

Cool under cold running water for at least 10 minutes
A burn larger than the size of your hand requires treatment in A&E, as do full thickness burns (these look white or charred) or partial thickness burns to the face, hands, feet, arms or legs (these burns have blisters).
Get medical help for any burn in a child under 5, a pregnant woman, someone over 60, has a pre-existing medical condition or if there are other injuries or the person is going into shock
Don’t pull off anything which is stuck to the burn – if necessary, cut the material around it
Don’t touch the burn or try to pop any blisters
Cover the burn with cling film or put a clear plastic bag over the hand or foot to prevent infection – do not apply ice, creams or greasy substances such as butter

Halloween Hazards

Whether you agree with Halloween or not it’s become a fixture in the calendar. A time for dressing up, a time for scary stories and a time to go out and beg the neighbours for sweets – also known as trick-or-treating – and a few additional risks.

The first Halloween hazard you need to keep in mind is costumes. Check that all costumes are safe and don’t let children carry heavy fake weapons – foam swords for your pirate are much safer just in case he or she tries to swashbuckle anyone. Make sure that they fit so the children won’t trip over and consider adding some reflective strips so you can all be seen. Any face paint or make up should be suitable for use on children and removed as soon as you get home.

Then not only can that person in a scary mask or underneath a cloak be absolutely anyone, but a child can easily get lost and not be able to find you if you’re one of a hundred witches, and you may not be able to find them easily either. Make sure if you’re going to be costumed while out and about that children know not to go off with anyone else and that you have a safe meeting point if you become separated. Even if it’s just a party in a hall you can designate a specific corner to reduce their anxiety (and yours) if they can’t find you. If you are outside make sure children have your contact details secured to them in case they get lost and that they know who it’s safe to approach for help.

How do we teach children than every other day of the year you can’t just knock on people’s doors and accept sweets from them? The safest way to do this is to organise signals in your neighbourhood which mean the occupiers are okay with trick-or-treaters knocking at their door and teach children than they can only knock when they see them. This also has the advantage of minimising disturbances to people who don’t want to be involved and forcing you to plan your route.

How will you deal with trick or treaters coming to your own door, especially if you’re babysitting? One strategy is to put a bowl out on the step with a sign warning trick-or-treaters that there are children in the bath/asleep but they should help themselves. This will prevent any nasty tricks because, after all, you’ve provided a treat. Just make sure you top up the bowl regularly! If there is a safety chain then make sure you use it if you do open the door and have a curfew in mind.

Finally be careful of any sweets you are given as well-meant treats may contain choking hawards or nuts. If it’s home-made or doesn’t have a wrapper then don’t eat it. You don’t know what it is. Monitor the amount that young children eat – overloading on sweets is the fastest way to turn your Halloween into a real-life horror story!

Common Childhood Illnesses: A Guide

As someone with young children in your care daily, it’s important to have a basic understanding of common childhood illnesses and how to treat them.

Here are 5 common illnesses, their symptoms and how to treat them:

Continue reading “Common Childhood Illnesses: A Guide”

7 steps to be heat safe

With summer definitely peeping around the corner, we have already seen some glorious, hot days but how do you keep cool when it’s so hot? Here are some of our top tips

1. Drink plenty

Hot weather can lead to dehydration really quickly so avoid caffeinated, fizzy or very sugary drinks. Make water more interesting by adding a squeeze of lemon, lime or orange, summery berries, some bruised mint leaves or flavoured ice cubes.

2. Wear sunscreen, shades and hats

Children in particular need protecting from the sun’s rays so apply plenty of sunscreen before going outside, always wear a hat and protect your eyes with sunglasses. If you’re responsible for kitting kids out then find wide-brimmed hats and wrap-around sunglasses they like.

3. Careful in cars

Cool down cars before getting in by opening doors and windows for a few minutes. Before popping children in the car check seat covers, straps and buckles to make sure they’re not too hot. Never leave a child in the car unattended even for a very short period – they can heat up very quickly.

4. Water-play it safe

Splashing around in swimming and paddling pools is a great way to cool down, and so is water play outside, but remember a child can drown in just a few centimetres of water so keep a close eye on them whenever near water.

5. Keep the sun out the house

Closing blinds and curtains during the day will keep the house cooler. This is especially important for children’s bedrooms which should be kept between 16C and 20C.

6. Don’t be overdressed

Although it’s a good idea to ear wear long-sleeved, loose clothing to protect skin from the sun make sure that babies in particularly aren’t overdressed for the weather. Natural fibres are coolest and choose thin fabrics.

7. Pack picnics carefully

If you’re going out to the day remember that food can spoil very quickly in this heat. Make sure cool bags are kept cool with ice packs that have been well frozen beforehand. Avoid foods containing meat or egg and limit dairy too. If you usually prepare formula in advance and keep it cool, consider using ready made cartons as it’s unlikely the milk will stay below 5C when you’re out and about.

photo credit: Simon Blackley via photopin cc