It’s astonishing, how dependent we are on electricity, electrical appliances, equipment, and devices. Every room in our house has electrical power points, switches, and other related fixtures; and we often take all of them for granted. But it’s important to be careful while handling these fittings and installations as electricity can pose a serious risk of electric shock and burn.

At times, these accidents take place when very young children and toddlers get the chance to roam freely, are unsupervised and manage to get their hands on various electrical devices. It’s a good idea to look at different ways to childproof your home from potential electrical hazards before any types of serious accidents occur. Here are some ways in which you can do that:

To identify the electrical hazards that exist in your home, begin methodically and inspect one room at a time. Be thorough and check every point located at a lower level (from a child’s eye-level). From that vantage point, you would be able to get a better view of all the power strip bars placed in the room, the electrical outlets and power cords dangling around. Make it a point to look above dressers, countertops, side tables etc. as well as behind furniture. Create a detailed list of all the potential electrical hazards and risks you have identified and then start by addressing these problems.

One of the simplest & most basic solutions is to childproof the electrical outlets in your home. Most rooms will have multiple outlets and kids tend to get attracted to these fittings. Children tend to poke their fingers or even small objects into these outlets, and the one way to stop this dangerous behaviour is to install safety plates or electrical outlet caps to cover the unused outlets. This will automatically prevent them from sticking their fingers or other small items into the plug holes, which can cause an electrical current from flowing to your child. All the unused outlets that are easily accessible to toddlers and babies should be covered.

Many people use power strips in different areas of their home to power multiple electrical equipment/devices positioned in the same room. The tangled cords from various devices may be plugged into a single power strip in the cabinet or on the floor. You can easily childproof these power strips to protect your kid/s from dangerous electrical burns or shocks.

Install power strip covers on the features that are easily accessible to children. The covers can be wrapped around the power strip and have holes at either end from where the cords enter and exit; this prevents kids from pulling out or tampering with the wires. If you notice any gaps in the cover holes, use duct tape to cover them; this will help prevent little fingers from getting to the power strip.

Make it a point to secure electrical cords ; if a small kid is able to pull at electrical cords to dislodge prongs that becomes an ideal opportunity for electrical shocks. Aside from this, the connected electrical devices could also fall down on account of the tugging and injure the child’s head.

The one way to avoid these hazards is to tuck the electrical cables securely so they are out of reach of your kids. If some of the cords are excessively lengthy, you can roll them up and use a zip tie to tie them up neatly. Cords that run along floors can become tripping hazards and these should be secured with a rubber cord cover or strong tape cover.