Parents, carers and grandparents are urged to ‘share because you care’ during Child Safety Week (Monday 7 to Sunday 13 June) and beyond.

Over 1000 Somerset children are admitted to hospital due to preventable incidents, occurring mainly in their own homes, every year. such as falls, burns and scolds and poisoning through eating inedible items – with almost half these injuries (46%) a result of falls, down the stairs, onto hard things, off high surfaces and out of windows.

Sharing knowledge about home safety and sources of information supports the prevention of risks in the home – and while out and about.

“Words can’t describe how grateful I am for my friend posting of the dangers on her Facebook page,” said mum to one-year-old Veda, who swallowed a button battery.

Without her friend’s post, she would never have known about the dangers of button batteries and rushed baby Veda to hospital, where doctors saved her little girl’s life. 

Many parents assume their home is a safe haven but most injuries leading to hospital admissions are a result of injuries to children under 5’s happening at home. Simple actions can be taken that will prevent serious injuries happening, for example by just moving dangerous objects out of a child’s reach.

With lockdown measures easing and brighter weather promised, many people will enjoy paddling pools and water play, they may also be heading to the county’s beaches and beauty spots.

The Council is urging everyone to think safety around water – find a safe place to enjoy the water, look for lifeguarded areas. Never leave babies and children in the water unattended and consider the dangers of inflatables as they can very quickly be swept deeper out to sea.

The sharing starts right here:

• Visit https://www.cypsomersethealth.org/ for tips on preventing child accidents.
• Connect with us on Facebook and start sharing our new safety animation and posts launching on Monday 7 June.
• Read the CAPT safety fact sheets at https://www.capt.org.uk/csw-factsheets  and then share what you’ve learnt with family, friends and colleagues.
• Find a range of fresh and free resources for your work with families, including session plans at https://www.capt.org.uk/csw-session-plans and materials for colourful displays at https://www.capt.org.uk/csw-displays
• Download the CAPT Child Safety Week Information Pack at https://bit.ly/3oJ8tZi for a quick overview of our theme and free resources.

Councillor Clare Paul, Somerset County Council member responsible for health and wellbeing, said: “Unintentional injury is one of the biggest killers of children in the United Kingdom, second only to cancer. Such an injury can sometimes lead to life changing or long-term effects.

“As a mum myself I know you sometimes need your eyes everywhere in order to keep your children safe. Passing on invaluable safety advice is a way for us all to learn how to minimise risk to our children of accidently injured.

“Child Safety Week is an annual community education campaign run by the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT), acting as a catalyst for thousands of safety conversations and activities though out the UK – so start your conversations now and ‘share because you care’.”

For further information on managing child safety go to https://bit.ly/34fyV3v