Teaching Children About Energy Safety
A comprehensive guide to keep kids safe around electricity and natural gas.
March 13, 2024
As responsible adults, safeguarding the wellbeing of children should always be a paramount concern. Children, curious by nature, may not always recognize potential dangers, necessitating our role as educators in imparting knowledge about safety measures concerning electricity and natural gas.
Electricity safety guidelines:
- Avoiding power lines: Emphasize to children the importance of never touching power lines or anything in contact with them, such as tree limbs or kite strings. Discourage activities like tree climbing, treehouse construction or kite flying near power lines.
- Transformer awareness: Caution children against playing on or around green pad-mounted transformers in their neighborhoods.
- Secure electrical products: Keep all electrical products out of children's reach to prevent accidents.
- Childproofing outlets: Use plastic outlet caps to childproof electrical outlets, particularly when young children are present.
- Outdoor safety: Keep power tools and electric lawn tools away from outdoor water sources. Never allow children to bathe with plugged-in electrical appliances like radios or hair dryers nearby.
- Unplugging appliances: Cultivate the habit of unplugging small appliances when not in use.
- Educational resources: Explore the KidsCorner from the Electrical Safety Foundation International for fun tips, cartoons and games dedicated to electrical safety.
Natural gas safety measures:
- Recognizing gas odor: Educate children on recognizing the distinct odor of natural gas.
- Emergency response: Instruct them that if they smell gas at home, they should evacuate immediately, head to a neighbor's house and have them call 911 and notify the gas company.
- Avoiding sparks: Emphasize the importance of not using anything that could create sparks if a gas leak is suspected. This includes phones, electric garage doors or starting a vehicle in an attached garage.
- Stove safety: Teach children not to play with gas stove burner knobs and consider installing childproof knob covers. Prioritize using back burners and keep pot handles turned inward.
- Gas fireplace precautions: For homes with gas fireplaces, maintain clean vents and install carbon monoxide alarms. Ensure children understand the risks associated with glass doors and supervise their proximity. For babies, consider installing a fence around the fireplace or placing them in a playpen during use.
Adhering to these comprehensive guidelines will greatly contribute to maintaining the safety of children near electricity and natural gas. By instilling these practices, we empower our children with the knowledge and awareness necessary for a secure living environment around these crucial energy sources.