Toddlers and tea

Picture this………You are at your house on a fine autumnal day, you and a friend. Such is custom, you have made tea to have with your guest. Placing the two cups on the shelf, you settle down for a chat. Suddenly in slow motion, your 18 month old toddles over to the shelf and pulls the cups over. Hot tea spills over on to her chest and you hear the first gut wrenching scream…..What do you do? 

Interestingly this is a personal scenario that I share with all of my students when talking about burns. You see, it was my house, quite a few years ago now but a moment that sticks in my mind! It was my daughter who pulled the tea over her. Luckily for her, I was in a position to confidently deal with the situation using my first aid skills.   

The thing to think about when talking about this scenario is to firstly explain about accident prevention and child development. They go hand in hand and whilst working to promote the fantastic work of the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) it has become apparent that this kind of incident if frighteningly common. Here are some statistics* that you might not be aware of: 

·         More than 500 children under 5 are taken to hospital each week because of burns and scalds 

·         Kitchen equipment along with food and drink cause more than half of all burns and scalds that happen in the home 

·         Falls are the most common childhood accident and whilst most are harmless, a number can cause long term life changing consequences for children and their families 

·         Every year around 4, 400 children under 10 are injured and around 22 killed as car passengers on British Roads. 

*These statistics were sourced from capt.org.uk and their sister website; Making The Link 

In my particular situation, and it is a common thread that I hear when delivering accident prevention workshops, is that my daughter couldn’t reach that shelf a couple of weeks before! Children have fallen off of the bed because they suddenly learnt to roll over. Children have fallen down stairs because they have learnt to crawl. They have become interested in the world and everything in it! They want to taste everything, explore things with their mouths! And it all seems to happen so quickly and we only turned a way for a minute….a minute is often all it takes. The other overwhelming emotion that a parent feels is guilt. After all, it was my fault that the tea was there in the first place, if only I had put the cups up one shelf higher…if only, if only.  

Accident Prevention is about being aware of the different milestones that will come for a developing child and preparing for them. Take a look around your home, crawl on the floor as it helps you see the world from their point of view, it works! Think of everything that could be a potential hazard and guard against it. There is information around to help you achieve a sense of control over what is to come in regards to a child’s development, talk to your local children’s centre or health visitor about accident prevention. 

https://www.capt.org.uk/ have some amazing resources for parents and practitioners working within the Early Years sector and the Children’s Centres that we work with have had some amazing feedback with over 95% of people saying that they would adopt some of the measures in their own home and spread the word within their own social circle. It can be something as simple as telling their friends to run the cold tap first, and then top up with hot when running a child’s bath. 

We actively support the work that the national charity do and together we will be teaching frontline staff and practitioners in the field about Accident Prevention and First Aid which will include modules on how to deliver interactive and fun ways of getting the point across to parents. No scaremongering, no wrapping them up in cotton wool behaviours, just easy to remember tips on making a difference.  

So why the first aid? Well, you can do as much as you can in your own home, but there is a big world out there and you can’t prevent everything, especially outside of your own bubble……. 

My daughter was one of the lucky ones and this is where First Aid Training can truly make a difference. Because of my fast action, (I cooled her chest for 15 mins with cold running water using a shower head in the bath, whilst covering her head and back with a towel to ward off hypothermia!) she did not have to endure the repeated trips to the hospital for skin grafts, pain management or infection control and she was literally in and out of hospital to check for lowered oxygen saturation because of the cooling process. She was absolutely fine and for this I am proud of myself. 

 But let’s not forget…ultimately Prevention is better than cure.

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Danielle x