| The Home Safety Checklist: |
Moving on to our 3rd Form...
|
Let
us take a second to recap what we have accomplished so far to
this point. Our personal safety has been considered, we are
prepared to meet new clients and most importantly we know what
information we require from the parents in case we need to contact
someone. Now it's time to review the third form in our Safety
first Program..
|
The Home Safety Checklist...
|
How safe is the home you are babysitting in? Is accident just
waiting to happen?. The way children act when their parents
are not home can be quite different from their normal behavior.
In many cases they will take advantage of the situation and
venture into places they are not allowed and boy could they
ever move fast, which means you must move even faster. As a
babysitter you must keep track of the whereabouts of the children
in your care at all times.
Let's take a look at some area's of a
typical home which can presents many hidden dangers.
|
The bathroom:
|
Many people store numerous items which could be considered unsafe
in their washrooms, and the area which first comes to mind is
the medicine cabinet. In most cases, it will only contain drugs
and medicine's such as Tylenol and cough remedies, but if a
child consumes even small quantities of these products, it can
have serious consequences. We suggest if appropriate, you ask
the child to leave the door slightly open while they attend
to their business. Always pay attention to the period of time
they remain in the washroom and keep your ears open for unusual
sounds or running water. If you discover they have been into
the medicine cabinet, try to find out if anything has been consumed.
If you suspect something has, call the parents right away. If
the child seems to be reacting oddly or is incoherent don't
waste anytime and call 911 immediately. Also try to locate what
the child may have ingested so you can pass this information
on to the 911 operator. |
The kitchen: |
Very much the same as the bathroom, except instead of medicine's
being the main concern, household cleaning products are the
main danger here. Items such as bleach, oven cleaner, dishwasher
detergent and insect sprays can have the same adverse affects
as medicine's if consumed by a child. Next in line are sharp
items like kitchen knives and scissors. There should be no reason
for a child to have either of these items in their possession.
If you serve food or snacks, cut the food into bite size portions
before giving it to the child. If you partake in arts and crafts,
use tools which were designed for the age of the child. If a
child you are babysitting cuts themselves while under your care,
if the cut is minor, attend to the wound and call the parents
to inform them. If the cut is serious, call 911 first and then
call the parents. |
The workshop:
|
This can be a very dangerous area filled with sharp tools and
very toxic chemicals and solvents. This area should be completely
sealed off to any children. |
Windows in the home:
|
|
This can be a major concern particularly if you are babysitting
in an apartment building. Ask the parents if there are any
windows in the home with a opening large enough for someone
to possibly fall through. If there is and you have concerns,
keep the children and your babysitting activities outside
of the rooms which contain these windows.
|
Stairs:
|
Make
sure any stairways are clear of obstacles which might cause
someone to trip and fall down. Running up and down the stairs
can lead to accidents as well, so make sure there is no horseplay
or kids chasing each other around. With younger children, if
you must go up or down the stairs while babysitting, do it slowly
together and hold their hand in both directions. If the parents
have installed a gate a the top of a stairwell, make sure you
secure the latch each time you pass through it.
|
Swimming pools:
|
Nothing beats spending a day out in the sun wading around in
a pool, but regretfully! year after year one of the leading
causes of death among children under the age of five, is drowning
in swimming pools. There are so many possible distractions to
pull your attention away from the kids and it only takes a few
seconds for something to go terribly wrong. We suggest you leave
this activity out while babysitting and if you are going to
do it, nobody should be in the pool unless you can put your
full attention to supervising the children's activities at all
times. |
Conclusions: |
We have highlighted a few area's
around the home where accidents can happen, but this is far
from a complete listing. Potentials dangers lurk in many places
within a home and if we tried to list them all, we would lose
your attention before we could list all of them. As a babysitter
it is up to you to keep the children safe by preventing accidents
just as their parents do. Your approach to every babysitting
job should be the same.
- Make
use of the Safety First Program Forms.
- Look
for and recognize potential hazards which could lead to
accidents.
- Always
know where the kids are and what they are doing.
- Do
not get distracted from your job for any reason.
- If
a accident happens, stay calm, assess the situation and
get help if necessary.
|
What's on the form ?
|
Our third form consists of a checklist which is primarily filled
out by the parents. As a babysitter, you should walk around
the home with the parents to identify and discuss any potentially
hazardous area's which have been highlighted on this form. As
you walk around the house, ask as many questions as you need
to understand the layout of the home, including where all the
exits are in case you and the kids need to get out quickly.
Click on the tab to print form 3, followed by clicking your
browsers back button to return and continue on to our fourth
form. |
| |
| See you
there!!! |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| © 2003- Phone a Babysitter.com |
