REGIONAL insurer Cornish Mutual is urging parents to make their homes safer and help reduce the number of children suffering accidents as the company lends its support to Child Safety Week 2015.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) estimates that every year, more than two million children under the age of 15 are taken to an A&E unit after being injured in or around the home, and many more are treated at home or by a GP.

With accidental injuries now the most common cause of death in children over one according to the NHS, and children under five most likely to be injured at home, RoSPA and child-focused charities are joining forces to promote Child Safety Week from Monday 1st June – Sunday 7th June in a bid to raise awareness of dangers around the home which can lead to a serious accident.

The NHS reports that on average, 62 children under five die every year as the result of an accident, and 76,000 under 14s are admitted to hospital for treatment. Most serious accidents occur in the kitchen, with RoSPA estimating 67,000 children a year are injured there, and a further 58,000 on the stairs.

Child Safety Week 2015 is focused on the tea-time rush, when parents are often at their most stressed, trying to prepare an evening meal whilst tired children are in the kitchen, and this is a peak time for accidents at home.

Cornish Mutual, the South West’s only regional insurer, is backing Child Safety Week, and advising parents on the steps they can take to make their homes safer to reduce the risk of accidents.

Alan Goddard, Managing Director of Cornish Mutual, said: “Child Safety Week is a crucially important campaign, and we are fully committed to helping reach as many parents as possible in the hope of reducing the number of accidents happening to children around the home.

“The most common injuries to children in the home are burns and scalds, poisoning, fractures and breaks, and most non-fatal accidents are the result of falls from heights or on the stairs, or accidents in the kitchen.

“There are potential hazards all over the home from household chemicals and fireplaces to hot water and open staircases, but there are steps, and these can be often be very simple measures, which parents can take to keep children safer.”

Cornish Mutual advises the following top tips for home safety:

• Fit a safety gate at the top and bottom of any staircase, and ensure it meets British Safety specifications. Never leave trip hazards like clutter on the stairs, and make sure balustrades are strong.

• Secure windows with child-proof window locks and keep doors locked. Beware of blind cords especially, and if you can’t replace blinds which have looped cords, make sure they are tied out of reach. Keep children’s beds, cots, playpens and highchairs well away from windows.

• Install a good quality smoke alarm on all floors and a carbon monoxide detector.

• Keep small items and foodstuffs out of reach, especially if you have a crawling baby or toddler. Any objects capable of causing choking such as coins, buttons, jewellery and small toys should be out of reach, as should handbags or purses which young children may try to explore.

• Fit cupboard and drawer locks to ensure items like medicines, knives and anything potentially harmful to curious children cannot be accessed.

• Cover all electrical outlets with plastic covers or socket covers, and keep young children away from electrical wires and electric appliances.

• Household products are poisonous if swallowed so make sure all cleaning materials, chemicals and garden products are locked away or kept in a cupboard with a childproof lock.

• Medicines should always be locked away too. Most now come in childproof packaging but adult medication like paracetemol tablets can be easily pushed out of packets by little hands.

• Never leave children alone near water, especially not in the bath. Children can drown in just a few inches of water, so paddling pools, hot tubs, fish ponds and even uncovered bowls or buckets of water are potential dangers. Scalding burns from hot water are also a major concern. Keep hot water settings lowered to 49C (120F) to avoid scalding by water from the tap, and test bath water temperature before lowering a child into the tub.

• Keep saucepan handles pointing away and unable to be pulled over from a cooker hob, and use the back rings first if possible. Make sure young babies and toddlers are out of the kitchen or safe in a highchair or playpen before using the oven, and keep hot drinks well out of reach.

• Domestic fires pose a serious risk. Keep matches and lighters out of sight as well as out of reach, and make sure you have a British Standard regulated fireguard which is properly secured to the wall.

Find out more about child safety risks around the home at www.rospa.com or visit www.childsafetyweek.org.uk to download free resources as part of this year’s campaign.

More information about measures you can take to make your home safer for children can be found at the Cornish Mutual website www.cornishmutual.co.uk, including advice on reducing the risks, podcasts and safety checklists.