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Six Tips for Electrical Safety with Children

Bloom Where You Are Planted

Parents are superheroes. With a mission that's seven days a week with no overtime pay, most parents want to do everything to keep their kids safe. But thankfully, some things are in plain sight, and you can immediately remedy the problem.

Check out these six important electrical safety tips for parents. These suggestions will keep you and all your family members safe:

  1. Cover up those outlets. Most homes have unused outlets spread throughout the rooms. We all know our little ones are curious about everything, so make sure these open outlets are covered. You can easily find outlet covers for sale online or in the marketplace. They are made of plastic, and you simply plug them into the outlets. 
  2. Take care of the cords. We live in a world powered by electricity. In addition to the standard electricity users common to most homes (lighting, washer/dryer, stove, refrigeration), the past few decades have added technology to our daily lives. With so many demands on a home's power grid, you can be sure there are cords everywhere. Electrical cords can be dangerous for anyone in the house due to the tripping hazard. With children, there is also a tugging problem and even a chewing problem with cords in easy reach. Simply bundling cords with zip strips or ties can be an easy fix if you can hide the bundle from sight. Another tip is to install additional outlets so cords don't need to stretch across the room. But, of course, the easiest and safest way to accomplish this task is to pick up the phone and call us at Wilcox Electric, your Washington, D.C. electrician. 
  3. Don't Leave Little Ones Alone in the Bathroom. Some bathrooms are picture-perfect, with everything tidy, put away, and clean. Other bathrooms are in houses with people in them. Face it – time is always at a premium when you have small children. Two things make the bathroom potentially dangerous. First, the combination of water and electricity is never safe. However, tubs get splashed in, sinks accommodate teeth brushing for three, and everyone needs toilets. All that splashy water is intriguing to kids. Second, many personal care tools and appliances are electric and used in a hurry. As a result, it's far too easy to forget to unplug them and wind up the cords.
  4. Make sure your circuit breaker box is efficient for the current electrical load. Give thought to how much power your family needs and regularly uses, and contact us to update your circuit breaker panel if necessary.

  5. Install night lights for your children. These should be entirely out of reach since there's a good chance a child will play with them if they can. After all, many night lights tend to be adorable and brightly colored with favorite characters. Also, some night lights have bulbs that get hot. These are never an excellent choice. 
  6. Keep your fire extinguishers refreshed and available. It's easy to forget about updating fire extinguishers because most of us never need them. However, fire extinguishers need to be refreshed and recharged after their use or every 12 months if they are not used. Since this is an annual chore, it's easy to forget about it. Instead, don't let that happen. Add it to the day you change your batteries in your smoke detectors.

Keep your home safer for the kids and everyone else with these six electrical safety tips for parents. You may choose to have a professional home safety inspection done. Contact Wilcox Electric today with questions or to get a free estimate on electrical safety measures for kids.