Consumer Protection has some timely summer safety tips for you to enjoy fun in the sun, including advice for pool supervision, safer bouncing on the trampoline and care around button batteries.
The warm weather is well and truly here, which means you're probably outside more often with your family and friends. Consumer Protection has some timely summer safety tips for you to enjoy fun in the sun, including advice for pool supervision, safer bouncing on the trampoline and care around button batteries. West Aussies deserve to have a safe, happy, and healthy summer with no trips to the Emergency Department.
Pools are popular in summer, but they continue to be a major safety risk. Sadly, swimming pool drownings remain one of the leading causes of accidental death and life-changing injury for Australian children under the age of five. Drowning is silent and can happen within 20 seconds in just a few centimetres of water.
The best protection is adult supervision, so put the phone away and keep an eye on your precious little ones around water. Pools toys are fun and can make life easier with babies and toddlers but they are not safety devices and should never replace adult supervision. When buying or using pool toys, check the age and weight restrictions to ensure the products are appropriate for use.
Portable pools, like the cute blow up one the kids got for Christmas, might be small and seem safe, but they pose significant drowning risks to children. It's always a good idea to empty them and store away when they're not use, and give your plants and lawn a big drink so the water is not wasted.
Pool fencing also plays an important role in keeping young children safe around pools. WA's building laws require private swimming pools, spas, or portable pools that contain more than 30 centimetres of water to have compliant safety barriers. Pool gates should remain closed at all times and never be propped open. It's important to check regularly that they self-close and latch properly.
Another popular summer pastime is jumping on the trampoline but unfortunately using it incorrectly has led to many kids ending up in hospital. Make sure only one child uses a trampoline at a time, put padding on the frame and remove any hazards located near the trampoline. No one wants a broken bone, cuts or sprains from being double bounced off the side.
With Chrissy already a distant memory, it's a good time to check any gifts that came with button batteries. Make sure the battery compartment is still secure and can't be opened by children. If swallowed or inserted, button batteries can cause severe injury or death in as little as two hours.
Keep your summer fun but stay safe, out of hospital and alive. For more summer safety tips the Product Safety website .
