Children may seem robust, but every day they negotiate a minefield of safety issues that without the right supervision and guidance can have serious consequences. Whether negotiating busy streets on their way to school or simply playing in their bedroom at home, the potential dangers children face are sometimes unrecognised until it’s too late.
As a company who produces an important child fall-prevention product, KidScreen is proud to support the Child Safety Handbook. Prepared by NSW Police Legacy, the free Handbook is currently being distributed to more than 70,000 children through parents and primary schools throughout NSW. The handbook aims to raise awareness of child safety issues and provide parents, careers and teachers with valuable information and resources to help them keep children safe.
The Handbook reminds us that more than 300 children under the age of 14 are killed by unintentional injuries or accidents, and a further 60,000 are hospitalised. The Handbook aims to provide straightforward information and advice which can help prevent such tragedies and identify many hazards that most might not normally think of as dangerous.
Endorsed by many reputable organisations, the handbook is a valuable resource to parents, careers and teachers and is filled with evidence-based advice. The material also provides a great starting point for conversations that families should have around keeping each other safe.
Along with addressing daily issues like road safety, first aid, fire prevention and healthy living, the book also covers child safety situations such as bullying, online safety and drug and alcohol awareness. It provides useful advice on not only how to identify issues, but steps which can be taken to prevent accidents occurring and where to find further information and support.
A section of the Handbook specifically draws attention to the dangers posed to children by window openings and balconies, and the false security provided by standard flyscreens. Each year, around 50 children fall from windows or balconies, usually in their own home. Sadly many suffer serious injuries and some falls result in deaths. Most incidents occur in summer months when families leave windows and doors open for large portions of the day.
Alspec’s KidScreen range of window and door protection was specifically developed to address growing concern with falls from windows and to support the educational campaigns conducted by organisations such as KidSafe and the Kids Don’t Fly initiative. While a KidScreen may look similar to a fly screen, is has been designed, built and proven to provide children with protection from falls by withstanding pressure and outward force. Suitable for new or retrofit situations, the KidScreen range is a cost effective option for improving home safety.
KidScreen congratulates NSW Policy Legacy on this valuable project and encourages all parents, careers and teachers to access a copy of the Handbook. In doing so we can all work together to reduce the number of injury-related hospitalisations and preventable deaths.
Available both in print and online, the Child Safety Handbook is distributed to parents and primary schools throughout the NSW. You can access an online copy of the Handbook here.