If in doubt, go without – a guide to buying the best products at car boot sales

Winter is finally over (allegedly) and even the sun is threatening to make an appearance. This must mean only one thing – car boot sale season is about to start!

So get an early night, set your alarm clock and enjoy the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents’ (RoSPA) guide to making safe purchases of second-hand goods.

Do you know how to spot the safest items?

Many people pick up household tools and equipment cheaply at car boot sales, from hammers and drills through to ladders and lawnmowers. Whilst there are some real bargains to be had, the important thing to remember is that a private sale may mean less protection in terms of the safety of products.

Tools and other equipment are typically sold either when they cease to work or have been replaced. As there is often no way of trying out electrical equipment at a car boot sale, you should be wary that electrical appliances may not work at all, or are unsafe.

Things to look out for are frayed cords, missing plugs and noticeable damage to the product. In every case, if in doubt go without.

Non-electrical goods can also be dangerous, as consistent use over the years can make them weakened and no longer safe. Step ladders are a good example and in every case it is a good idea to see if the instructions for use and warnings are available for the product from the seller. They probably won’t be, but these days you can always whip out your smartphone and see if they are downloadable from the internet.

You may be reading this and thinking “why would you need warnings for a step ladder?” but weight ratings are very important and exceeding safe weights on ladders and step ladders leads to hundreds of accidents each year.

Of course, it is not just tools that can be picked up cheaply, other household products such as irons, hair straighteners and kettles can all be bought for next to nothing.  Again, look for evidence of frayed cords, make sure the plugs are attached and as far as possible look for signs of visible damage.

Remember, whilst you may be buying the product for 30 per cent of its retail price you will be entitled to a 0 per cent refund if it is faulty and you have purchased it from a private individual.

Always check for a CE mark on second-hand toys

We at RoSPA know that any savings you do make will be instantly swallowed up by your children that you take with you to the sale – from hot dogs to bouncy castles to ice creams they will no doubt have the most fun while you are there!

They will also no doubt return home with carrier bags full of cheap toys, which they have masterfully persuaded you that they need.

When buying second-hand toys always look out for the CE mark and don’t buy any toy that hasn’t got this.

Check out the structural integrity of the toy. Some are broken inside but many are okay because the child has simply grown out of them and the parent wants more space.

Remember to wash cuddly toys in hot water before letting your children play with them though as this should kill the inevitable germs that build up on them.

RoSPA’s product safety adviser, Phil Le Shirley.

Finally, new parents often rely on car boot sales to kit out their nurseries, and why not? Babies grow out of cots, clothes and toys very quickly and there are bargains to be had. Just be aware that child car seats are one of the few products (alongside protective helmets) that RoSPA advises against buying second-hand, whether from a car boot sale, charity shop or internet auction site, because it is usually impossible to tell if it has been in a crash  - and if it has it should never be used again. 

I hope that this helps to inform your choices at car boot sales and there is more detailed information at RoSPA’s guide to buying second-hand goods.

They are brilliant fun with loads of bargains to be had. Please enjoy them, stay safe, and I will see you there!

Phil Le Shirley, RoSPA product safety adviser

Getting to grips with an indoor mobility scooter – one man’s first-hand account

How many of you own a mobility scooter? RoSPA believes that outdoor mobility scooters fulfil a valuable and important function. However, as with all forms of transport, using mobility scooters create some risk, for both the users and for other people. We occasionally receive calls from people concerned about being nearly knocked down by mobility scooters in the street, and although these calls are relatively low in number, they do occur regularly.

RoSPA believes that outdoor mobility scooters fulfil a valuable and important function. However, as with all forms of transport, using mobility scooters create some risk, for both the users and for other people.

There is little hard evidence about the extent of accidents and injuries involving outdoor mobility scooters, beyond occasional reports, and this makes it difficult to identify the most effective ways at preventing mobility scooter accidents. The Government recently committed to collecting more data and this is welcomed, as it will help to develop current initiatives to be more effective at preventing mobility scooter-related injuries and accidents.

We spoke to 87-year-old Dennis Brooks, who got in touch to share his experience of using indoor mobility scooters. This is his story:

“With the growing preponderance of elderly people in our population today, I would imagine statistics would show a matching increase in the number of accidents in the home.

Certainly I, an 87-year-old semi-invalid, now recognise the necessity for greater mental awareness in simple manoeuvres such as getting up from a chair, but many of us have also to consider various illnesses such as diabetes which can affect one’s balance or other abilities.

In recent years, this coming to terms with an ageing body has been accompanied with a desire to compensate: if I can’t move like I used to, let’s find some form of transport. And while we’re at it lets have some fun.

There are a wide range of scooters available today and the market is of course growing, especially in the second-hand section! I chose a lightweight model which enables me to get around the house as well as the garden and can be dismantled into four sections which can fit in the car boot. It cost £400 second-hand when new models were around £1,400. Today, I see it is available at £400 new. From the safety viewpoint, the first priority is to recognise that scooters, especially the lighter, nippier ones are more like a motorcycle to ride than a car: you have to be aware of your bodyweight, and there are no brakes, unless you have a class III which can be driven on the road under license, but those are not so suitable for home use.

Scooters are battery driven, and there is a very noticeable difference in handling them when the battery is freshly charged. The torque in the driving wheels can be quite surprising so that an unthinking driver might feel he’s had a good push in the back. This dissipates after a while, but it’s in a very dangerous state. More important I feel is the design of the forward/reverse controls. Looking along the handlebars from the side view of my scooter, these controls are around the ‘five o’clock’ position immediately in front of the user. When I want to reach a cupboard on the wall say, I sometimes stand up on the platform of my mobility scooter and l have been in a position many times when my clothing has touched the forward control. Yes, yes, of course. I should have switched off the controls, but as many people keep telling me: “You’re getting on a bit now, your memory’s going!” True. Which is why I feel the designers should take another look at this.”

Some guidance from our public health adviser Sheila Merrill:

It is important that professional advice is sought before buying any type of mobility scooter. If you intend to use an indoor mobility scooter, look around your home beforehand to make sure that you have the room to move around on it safely and that it will not be blocking any obvious escape routes. Walkways and main movement areas will need to be kept clear of clutter, it may also be best to remove rugs to allow for easier movement.

If you can’t stand the festive heat, get out the kitchen!

Food, glorious food – that’s what Christmas and New Year means for a lot of people.

Roast dinner with all the trimmings, Christmas pud with brandy sauce, piping hot mince pies, sherry trifle and mini sausage rolls. My mouth is watering already.

“Keep children and anyone not helping with the cooking out of the kitchen as much as possible, especially when saucepans are bubbling with hot water and sizzling hot meat is being lifted out of the oven” – Sheila Merrill.

While this gives families, including those budding Heston Blumenthals, a chance to really dabble with their culinary skills, it is also a time to remember that the kitchen is a hotbed of hidden dangers, particularly when hordes of relatives and friends come together.

Burning food was responsible for more than 12,600 fires in UK homes in 2011/12, leading to 10 deaths and 2,751 casualties. At the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), advisers are offering a wealth of Christmas home safety tips   to get families safely through the festive period.

My advice is to keep children and anyone not helping with the cooking out of the kitchen as much as possible, especially when saucepans are bubbling with hot water and sizzling hot meat is being lifted out of the oven. Spitting hot oil and boiling water can scald, so always use a cooker’s back rings or hotplates first and position pan handles so they can’t be pulled over.

More worryingly, people often forget that a large turkey is incredibly heavy and can easily be dropped into the path of excited youngsters peeping out from between your legs.

It also helps to see a busy kitchen from the eyes of a child. Get down to their line of vision if necessary and look up at the surfaces where hot drinks, wine glasses and knives are often left precariously teetering on the edge and in touching distance of little hands that instinctively want to grab hold. That’s not a great prospect when you realise that a hot drink can scald a small child up to 15 minutes after it has been made.

Give yourself plenty of time to prepare and cook Christmas and New Year feasts and wipe up any spills on the floor quickly to avoid accidents involving hot fat, boiling water and sharp knives that too often come from rushing around.

Have a safe and happy Christmas.

Mark Cashin, chair of the Chief Fire Officers Association’s National Home Safety Committee, was telling me how the majority of house fires start in the kitchen. He added that there were more fire hazards in the home at Christmas than at any other time of year.

Mark’s advice is to make sure the cooker is clean and clear of debris that gets strewn around when creating a gastronomic masterpiece, like tea towels, packaging and paper towels, which can easily catch fire. And however busy things get, never leave the cooking unattended.

And without sounding too much of a killjoy, if the bubbly starts flowing early, it would be best if the chef could avoid drinking too much alcohol while cooking to avoid unnecessary accidents.

Hopefully that gives plenty of food for thought, but as I tuck into my turkey and trimmings, all that’s left to say is have a happy, safe and delicious Christmas holiday.

Sheila Merrill, RoSPA’s public health adviser

Don’t be too relaxed around nappy sacks

Nappy sacks – flimsy plastic bags used to dispose of soiled nappies – are a relatively recent phenomena for parents.

Parents are advised to never place nappy sacks in a baby’s cot or pram, and to keep them a safe distance away from babies’ and young children’s inquisitive hands at all times.

But these sacks have been implicated in causing the suffocation and choking of babies who are less than one year old, prompting a campaign by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) to warn parents in England and Scotland on the possible dangers.

This issue was first brought to light in September 2010 when a baby died from asphyxia due to a nappy sack. Beth Beynon, child accident prevention co-ordinator for NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly (NHS CIOS), heard about the case through the local Safeguarding Children Board and was part of the NHS team which immediately set about gathering information to develop an understanding of the circumstances and to identify whether similar deaths had occurred elsewhere.

This exercise highlighted that asphyxia from nappy sacks had caused up to 10 known deaths in babies across England and Wales alone.  However, none of these cases had come to the attention of national accident prevention bodies, nor had they been logged on the national Trading Standards database. Each area had assumed their incidents were one-off, isolated cases. Sadly, since then two more deaths have been added to the list bringing the total to 12.

The typical scenario associated with the deaths involves sacks which are stored within the baby’s reach, close to the baby’s cot – including under the mattress usually for convenience. In some of the cases, the nappy sacks had been left near to or in the cot for ease of changing the baby’s nappy in the night.

Babies are at particular risk because despite naturally grasping items and putting them in their mouths, they find it difficult to let go or remove them when in trouble. Once in their mouths, the nappy sack can lead to obstruction of the nose and mouth and prevent babies from inhaling fresh air. The flimsiness of nappy sacks also makes them small enough to fit into little mouths, plus they do not rustle in the same way as plastic bags and can be easily breathed in by babies without parents realising.

Informal feedback from parents and carers and professionals demonstrated that the risk to young babies is compounded by the fact that widespread usage of nappy sacks is a relatively recent phenomenon. Parents and carers are generally aware of the dangers posed by plastic bags, but do not make the same link to nappy sacks and so they are less likely to take the same safety precautions.

The risk of this potential hazard is increased by the lack of mandatory suffocation warning advice on the packaging and the product’s frequent availability as loose bags in a packet, as opposed to supplied on a roll.

Parents are advised to never place nappy sacks in a baby’s cot or pram, and to keep them a safe distance away from babies’ and young children’s inquisitive hands at all times.

Thousands of RoSPA posters and leaflets, warning families of the dangers of leaving plastic nappy sacks lying near babies, are currently being distributed to GP surgeries, parent and toddler groups and other family centres. Any organisations involved with children’s services in England and Scotland can apply for these nappy sack safety leaflets by visiting RoSPA’s nappy sack safety advice page.

Sheila Merrill, RoSPA’s public health adviser

Are there children there? Be aware!

The very real risks posed to children on and near the driveways of their own homes were vividly highlighted during the photoshoot for our new driveway safety campaign recently.

RoSPA research shows that at least 25 children have been killed on, or near, the driveways of their home since 2001. Sixteen of these accidents have occurred since 2007.

At least 26 children have died in these circumstances since 2001 – 18 of these incidents have occurred in the last five years. Tragically, it is often a member of the family or a friend who is driving the car at the time.

Our new campaign Child on the Drive! is being funded by an appeal by Mark Goodwill who lost his son Iain in a driveway accident when Iain was just 17 months old. We have been working closely with him and other parents of young children to develop a hard-hitting poster and leaflet to alert parents and carers to this danger blind spot.

All of the parents in the focus groups were horrified at what could, and has happened. They felt very strongly that once this simple message was seen, it would not be forgotten. Their input was vital – helping us develop the slogan and image which would form the basis of the poster.

And so, to the photoshoot…

Our charming and extremely well behaved young volunteers were just that – young and so energetic and hard to keep track of as we encouraged them to play on the grass near the driveway.

We had, of course, thoroughly risk assessed the photoshoot – thinking about and trying to mitigate the risks posed by simulating a reversing car threatening the life of a child darting for a ball. Supervision appeared to be the key, as did ensuring that any reversing manoeuvre was conducted slowly with a focus on who was where.

RoSPA’s new driveway safety campaign is being funded by an appeal by Mark Goodwill who lost his 17-month-old son Iain in a driveway accident.

Despite this, it became clear to the team involved just how these deadly accidents happen. Between the ages of one and two, infants’ mobility increases at a remarkable, but irregular, rate. Young children can easily escape your notice for a short time and get into difficulties before you even realise they have moved.

Thankfully, the shoot went without incident, thanks in no small part to successful planning and close supervision. Our fantastic volunteers ably helped us to illustrate not only the dangers of reversing off a driveway, but also the need to ensure children don’t see a car as a play area or have easy access to car keys.

The leaflet also highlights the importance of parking in gear (PING) on an incline, emphasised by the devastating story of the Patterson family. Their son Harry was killed last year when the family car’s handbrake failed and the car rolled back and crushed him.

We are now launching our awareness raising poster and leaflet to drive the message home. It is hoped that the distressing experiences of the Goodwill and Patterson families, coupled with simple safety advice, will ensure that no family will have to suffer in the same way again.

These tragic incidents happen every year – please help us to stop this trend. Certainly, having been involved in the photoshoot, I will stop to think, before reversing off a driveway – “Are there children there? Be aware!”

If you wish to apply for batches of posters and leaflets click here.

Lindsey Brough, RoSPA’s road safety research and evaluation officer

Keep the Christmas cheer alive this year – ensure your home is free of fire hazards

I was delighted to have been invited to attend the official press launch of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Services’ marketing campaign recently.

At the press launch, from left to right, Jacqui Doig (Scottish Community Safety Network), Alex Clark, the new deputy chief of the new (single) Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Elizabeth Lumsden (RoSPA Scotland), Roseanna Cunningham (Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs) and Colin Keir, MSP (Member for Edinburgh Western).

The “Don’t Give Fire a Home” campaign supports the Chief Fire Officers Association of Scotland’s 2012-13 marketing and publicity strategy. The backdrop to the event was a map illustrating the number of fires within domestic dwellings in Scotland. The launch also promoted the roadshow events currently being held around the country, which generate referrals to the Fire and Rescue Service’s free home fire safety visits. Further information on the fire data by local authority area is available at www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/Datasets/DatasetsFire.

The launch was covered by STV and there was also interest from various radio stations as well as the printed press. The Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs, Roseanna Cunningham, attended the event and urged householders not to be complacent as the festive period approaches – a time that traditionally presents a variety of new fire hazards in the home. Ms Cunningham also mentioned the need to have a working smoke detector and urged people to take up the offer of a free home fire safety visit – available from all of the local fire and rescue services.

There were 6,149 dwelling fires in Scotland in 2011-12 and sadly dozens of people die each year.  But what types of fires are happening?  Well, most of the deaths were due to careless use of smoker’s materials and many of the non-fatal casualties happened because of chip pan fires. When we, at RoSPA, speak to people about chip pan fires, the majority will say, “I don’t know anyone who still has a chip pan”. But people do still have them – and leave them unattended for different reasons. One reason is that they have consumed alcohol and fallen asleep in another room while they wait for the pan to heat up. Much safer to collect a bag of chips from the local chippy on the way home!

RoSPA recommends that lighted candles are never left unattended and that they are never positioned in a draught, anywhere near curtains or near any materials, which could ignite.

At RoSPA, we will do what we can to support the Fire and Rescue Services’ campaign again this year. Our advice includes the safe use of candles (a popular Christmas gift) and the dangers of overloading sockets. However, we also draw attention to the fact that being injured in a fire, although causing one of the most serious types of injury – a painful, often life threatening burn – is just one of the many types of accidents that can happen in the home. Falls remain the biggest cause of home accidents – involving all age groups – but we also see incidences of poisoning, choking and drowning. You can see all of our Christmas safety tips at www.rospa.com/homesafety/adviceandinformation/christmassafety/safety-tips.aspx.

So, keep safe over the festivities this year. Many of you will be spending extra time in the home while you are away from work. Plan in advance to ensure that you can enjoy a great time without ending up at A&E – or worse…

Elizabeth Lumsden, community safety manager for RoSPA Scotland

Remember, remember, the real facts about fireworks…

Remember, remember, the fifth of November is an apt saying for Bonfire Night.

“For those who are organising their own display, make sure your audience are well away from the bonfire and fireworks, plus keep to hand a torch, buckets of water, eye protection, gloves and a bucket of soft earth to put fireworks in” – Sheila Merrill.

For a start, it stirs up the fondest of memories – screeching rockets bursting neon colour into the dark sky with a faint aroma of smouldering cinders; families cooing around a glowing fire; and small gloved hands swirling sparklers.

Then there is the remembrance of Guy Fawkes and his failed gunpowder antics under the House of Lords.

But what I really want people, particularly teenagers, to remember is exactly what a firework is – an explosive, an unpredictable charged fuse, something that can scar for life or even kill if recklessly used as a toy or a missile.

Of course I want young people to enjoy Bonfire Night and all its sizzling revelry, as public health adviser for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), but I also want them to stay safe by being aware of the risks and knowing the facts.

Like, did you know that three sparklers burning together generate the same heat as a blowtorch? Or that a firework rocket reaches a speed of 150mph after being ignited? They are just some of the striking facts being highlighted by NHS Choices in the run up to Bonfire Night when A&E medics feel the full impact of firework injuries.

The NHS is also warning how sparklers get five times hotter than cooking oil, which is why RoSPA advises families using sparklers to wear gloves, not give them to very young children and not to hold one while carrying a baby.

Scarily, around 1,000 casualties are injured by fireworks, sparklers and the like in the four weeks around Bonfire Night every year, and half of these victims are under the age of 18. While in Northern Ireland, more than half of the 25 people injured by fireworks at this time last year were aged between 11 and 15. Despite overall casualty numbers being much lower than previous years, the rate of firework injuries among under-18s rose to four in every five victims.

It is against the law to sell fireworks to anyone younger than 18 in the UK, and the reason for that is because they are far from child’s play. They may dazzle and delight the young, but without proper planning and precautions, fireworks are something that commonly blind, maim or leave an unforgiving burning memento when they sadly fall into the wrong young hands. If you are asked by younger members of the family of friends to buy fireworks on their behalf, please think about this carefully as you could be putting their life at risk.

So my advice is simple, with roughly half of firework victims struck at a family or private party and many others injured in the street or park, enjoy the night at the safest place – an organised firework display.

For those who are organising their own display, make sure your audience are well away from the bonfire and fireworks, plus keep to hand a torch, buckets of water, eye protection, gloves and a bucket of soft earth to put fireworks in.

But if there is one thing you remember this Bonfire Night, remember, remember to follow the Firework Code, which can be found at RoSPA’s fireworks website – www.saferfireworks.com.

Sheila Merrill, RoSPA’s public health adviser

Hair straighteners – hot enough to fry an egg and can scar for life!

When thinking about injuries which occur to children in the home, how many of us have considered the everyday hair straightener as a danger?

Alfie Vance was just seven months old when he accidentally fell face first onto a pair of cooling hair straighteners. Within a matter of seconds his delicate skin was burnt between his eyes and on his forehead. Alfie has been left with a permanent scar.

We use them on a daily basis and think nothing of regularly styling our hair to temperatures exceeding 200 degrees; but what happens when these styling devices accidentally come into contact with a child’s skin? Quite frankly, the outcome is horrifying!

A new campaign has been launched this week in Northern Ireland to raise awareness of the dangers hair straighteners can pose to children, causing burns which can require hospital admission and surgical intervention, including plastic surgery.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and Home Accident Prevention Northern Ireland (HAPNI) are working in partnership with the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust on the Too Hot to Handle campaign, funded by the Electrical Safety Council (ESC). It follows a rise in the number of children attending A&E at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children with hair straightener burns.

Figures from the Children’s Hospital show that 17 children aged between three months and nine years attended A&E at the hospital in 2009-10 with hair straightener burns. This represented nine per cent of the 187 children who attended with “thermal injuries” during that year. The average age of the children admitted with hair straightener burns was 18 months.

Nicola Vance, 25, from Northern Ireland, had never really considered hair straighteners to be a risk to her child, that was until an accident occurred leaving her son with a permanent scar.

“Alfie was lucky that he didn’t lose his eyes, although he has been scarred for life. If the hair straighteners had been hotter, they would have peeled off his forehead” – Nicola Vance.

On September 8, 2011, Nicola was at home and busy straightening her hair in her bedroom with her son Alfie, then aged seven months, sat beside her on the bed. After switching the hair straighteners off and placing them on a heat resistant mat on the bed, what happened next just took a matter of seconds.

As Alfie tried to move himself along the bed, he fell face first onto the cooling straighteners and was picked up almost immediately by his mother, but a couple of seconds was all it took for Alfie’s delicate skin to be burnt between the eyes and on the forehead. Children’s skin can be 15 times thinner than adults’ skin and while the most common location for a child to sustain a serious hair straightener burn is on their hand, injuries have also been sustained to the head, arm and foot.

Nicola said her son, now 19 months, was lucky the damage caused by the straighteners hadn’t been more serious, although Alfie has been left with a permanent scar between his eyes.

“Alfie was lucky that he didn’t lose his eyes, although he has been scarred for life. If the hair straighteners had been hotter, they would have peeled off his forehead,” she said.

Since the accident, Nicola has ensured that her hair straighteners are switched off straight away and kept in a heat resistant bag, out of the sight and reach of Alfie, in a separate room where he doesn’t have access.

Hair straighteners can take as long as 40 minutes to cool down and are capable of frying an egg, as this video demonstrates:

Remember, it doesn’t always take a flame to burn, but burns caused by hair straighteners ARE preventable!

Ita McErlean, RoSPA’s home safety manager in Northern Ireland

Child safety in the kitchen – are you prepared?

With the summer now over and the dark nights drawing in, children are choosing to play indoors more frequently. And while children are a joy to be around, RoSPA hopes that parents are beginning to think about reducing the risks to their children in the home, particularly in the kitchen, where some of the most serious accidents occur.

The kitchen poses many hazards to our little ones and there are many things that parents can do to protect their children from injury. It is important, however, to stress that it is impossible to “childproof” the home – this is a dangerously misleading term implying that 100 per cent safety is achievable.

Small children can mistake liquitab style dishwasher and washing machine detergents for sweets and ingest them. We encourage families to keep chemical items such as laundry detergents and other products in a lockable cupboard.

Are liquitab detergents safe?

We have noticed a worrying new trend in injuries to children ingesting liquitab style dishwasher and washing machine detergents. If used correctly, these products are completely safe and very effective. Unfortunately, they are also very appealing to small children who can mistake them for sweets and ingest them.

We were recently alerted to cases in which children were admitted to hospital in Glasgow as a result of the ingestion of liquid detergent from capsules. In addition to children swallowing detergent, doctors have also previously raised awareness of the risk of injury to young children who get liquid detergent in their eyes. The safe storage of all household chemicals is absolutely crucial and we encourage families to keep chemical items such as laundry detergents and other products in a lockable cupboard.

How reliable are child-resistant caps on products?

Parents should never transfer dangerous products from one container to another. Although the law requires child-resistant closures on medicine bottles and other hazardous substances for domestic use, these are absolutely not childproof.  The aim of such caps is to provide a little time in which parents may spot that a child is accessing a potential poison and intervene to prevent the substance being ingested. Unfortunately, the weakness of the cap is that some children are actually quite adept at opening them, often when asked by an older person struggling to find the necessary finger power and dexterity to open it themselves!

Be alert to the risk of scalds and burns!

Children should not be left unsupervised in the kitchen at any time, but the use of oven guards can assist in ensuring that the environment is safer for them when parents are cooking.

Burns to children’s hands from oven doors is also a very important issue in the kitchen.  Whilst there are very strict controls in place limiting the surface temperatures of oven doors, they can still get very hot. Children’s skin is thinner than adult skin and as such they are more susceptible to injury here, especially as they are naturally inclined to explore their surroundings by touching what they see.

What many parents may not be aware of is that there are some very effective products on the marketplace that can be placed over oven doors to guard against these serious hazards.  Children should not be left unsupervised in the kitchen at any time, but the use of oven guards can assist in ensuring that the environment is safer for them when parents are cooking.

Parents should arrange storage areas carefully so that heavy items are not kept on high shelves. Extra care should be taken with hot water, tea, coffee or soup to avoid the risk of young children at their feet getting scalded. Knives and scissors should be kept in good condition and out of reach of children, as should matches and lighters, and pan handles should be turned inward so that children cannot reach them and pull them over (cordless kettles or those with a coiled lead are recommended so that children cannot pull on them).

How safe is the glass in your home?

Finally, think about the glass in your interior doors and patio doors. Building regulations define “critical areas” where safety glazing is mandatory. Areas such as doors and low-level glazing where a child might accidentally fall against the glass always require safety glazing.

RoSPA is aware of many children being seriously injured by sliding on smooth kitchen floors into glass doors. In one incident, a child slid head-first through a patio door and narrowly avoided being decapitated as the glass broke into a large “guillotine” shaped shard.  Ordinary glass is dangerous – particularly at low level – because it breaks into these large, jagged pieces which can cause serious injury.

If you do not have safety glass fitted in these areas then protective film can be used to protect smaller panes. Larger panes should be constructed from laminated or toughened glass which is stronger and if it does break, it will do so into smaller, less jagged pieces.  RoSPA advises not letting children play near glass at all and to ensure that glazed areas of homes are well lit.

For further advice, visit www.rospa.com/homesafety.

Philip LeShirley, RoSPA’s product safety adviser

“Please don’t let our daughter’s death be in vain” – support RoSPA’s appeal and help save lives

Last Thursday, the 9^th August, we would have celebrated the 7^th birthday of our wonderful little girl, Muireann.

She was taken from us on the 5^th February, 2008, when she accidently hanged herself on a looped blind cord which was hanging at the side of a window in her big brother’s room.

Two-year-old Muireann McLaughlin died in 2008, after she accidentally hanged herself on a looped blind cord at the family home in Scotland.

Despite frantic attempts to revive her, her death was noted at 1630 hours by the A&E consultant – about five minutes after I found her. Her mum, Katie, was 16 weeks pregnant at the time and returned from an antenatal appointment to the shouting of our eldest two children: “Muireann’s dead, Muireann’s dead”. Kate arrived at the same time as her mum to watch me performing CPR. I can’t imagine what was going through her mind at the time; I can hardly remember what was going through mine.

The aftermath of this tragedy was profound. I described it as an emotional “tsunami”. Some people came to see us and couldn’t say anything; some people couldn’t come and have stayed away since because they don’t know how to say what they feel. The people in our village rallied around us as best they could and newspapers reported what information they could glean.

Admittedly, it was the most bizarre thing seeing our dead daughter’s face on the front page of national daily newspapers.

It was after the dust settled, and we were able to take stock of the enormity of what had just happened to us, that we decided that no parent should have to go through what we were going through.

We approached Gordon Banks, our local Westminster MP, and he launched a personal campaign to have the regulations governing the manufacture of these blinds investigated and changed in favour of safety rather than profit.

“We engaged with RoSPA to help us try to get the message out to parents, grandparents, schools, local councils and local government, in an attempt to make them aware of the dangers posed by looped blind cords” – Angus

We also approached our local procurator fiscal to push for a Fatal Accident Inquiry, or FAI, to investigate the circumstances of Muireann’s death. After Sheriff David Mackie delivered his findings we engaged with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) to help us try to get the message out to parents, grandparents, schools, local councils and local government, in an attempt to make them aware of the dangers posed by looped cords.

We also engaged with Parents for Window Blind Safety, an organisation founded by an amazing lady, Linda Kaiser, who lost her daughter Cheyenne Rose in the same way in 2002. Linda has been extremely supportive offering what advice she can, but, with the differences in legislation between the UK and the USA, very little can be done by PFWBS other than provide us with information and friendship in tragedy.

We now realize how important it is to support charities such as RoSPA – which works hard to help keep children safe in all areas of life.

That’s why I agreed to issue a video appeal for RoSPA which was shown over three nights to guests of the charity’s Occupational Health and Safety Awards ceremonies, in Birmingham, in May.

The appeal helped to raise a significant amount of funds for RoSPA’s campaigning work – but more needs to be done to help save children’s lives.

As part of that appeal I am now supporting the launch of RoSPA’s text giving service. Please do offer your support by texting SAVE24 £2 to 70070.