Child Safety

Facts of child deaths and injuries are recorded annually in the Republic of Belarus. In 2022, 112 children died from external causes in the country, 14 of them in fires. In 2023, 4 children died in fires, one of them in the Vitebsk region (15.04.2023, Orsha, a boy born in 2017).

Children's pranks with fire often cause fires. As practice shows, such fires are often caused by children's lack of skills in handling fire carefully, insufficient adult supervision of their behaviour, and in some cases, parents' inability to organise their children's leisure time. Between the ages of three and seven, children often imitate adults' actions and behaviour in their games, mimicking their work. The desire for independence is particularly evident when children are left alone. One cannot be sure that a child left alone at home will not decide to play with a matchbox or a lighter, will not want to set fire to paper, or will not start a bonfire they saw in the forest.

Children grow up very quickly. Before you know it, your toddler is crawling and rapidly exploring the world around them. Danger lurks at every step: any hot pot left on the edge of the stove or an unsecured shelf can cause injury. In addition, pills accidentally left on a table, batteries, or any hazardous liquids – detergents, vinegar, and so on – can arouse a child's interest.

The Vitebsk Regional Children's Clinical Centre admits about 100 patients annually with foreign bodies in their bodies. As a rule, these are either magnets or batteries.

On 18 May 2023, a child was operated on in Vitebsk who had swallowed 2 batteries, 16 magnets, and 1 screw. The boy, who is not yet two years old, was urgently transported from the Dubrovno hospital to Vitebsk with internal bleeding. An X-ray was taken here for the young patient. The image on the screen shocked even experienced medics. The decision was made immediately – to operate.

To ensure their safety within the home, it is sufficient to understand a few simple rules that parents themselves must follow:

- keep items away from children,which can be dangerous, including jewellery, buttons, pins, and coins;

- carefully inspect your child's toys: tape over battery compartments, discard broken toys. Keep pencils, felt-tip pens, brushes, and paints in a separate box and only take them out when the child wants to engage in creative activities;

- ensure that your toddler does not play with coins;

- pay special attention to the kitchen: put knives, scissors, and matches away where a child cannot reach them.

Another area of increased danger is windows and balconies. As soon as the temperature outside rises, parents often leave them open. Special vigilance is required here. Even a two-year-old toddler can drag a stool to the windowsill and look out of an open window or open a closed one. Therefore, ensure that the child cannot do this: if you leave the room, even for a few minutes, close the window sashes. In addition, it is recommended to install window stoppers or removable handles so that children cannot open them independently.

During outdoor play, many injuries occur due to poor choice of location – there is a high risk of injury from falling or hitting something. Lack of order in playgrounds, yards, and open areas poses a particular danger to children. You should explain to your child that they should not play where there are pits, spikes, wires, broken glass, nails, etc. Injuries occur when schoolchildren, during play, encounter metal objects sticking out of the ground. Under no circumstances should parents neglect to supervise their children's play areas.

Construction sites, wastelands, and quarries are not places for children's games. Yet, these are precisely the places children often choose for playing. These areas hide dangers not only for children but also for adults.

Children often choose empty construction pits and abandoned quarries for their games. Children like to play with sand and do not understand the danger that threatens them. Children build crawl spaces and dig trenches, create labyrinths and caves in the sand, slide down slopes or climb up sandy hills. But sand is very dangerous, as ground collapse occurs instantly, and there is practically no possibility of getting out from under the rubble:

Lack of order in the maintenance of housing stock, as well as on city streets (uncovered access to roofs, unprotected stair railings, open

basement hatches, manholes, unfenced trenches during excavation work, lack of fencing around buildings undergoing repair, careless storage of materials at construction sites, etc.) pose a particular danger of falling in and sustaining serious injury. For a child, falling into a sewer manhole can be fatal. In addition to the potential fatal head injury from a falling cover, a child can drown or suffocate in a main sewer pipe. Underground utilities are not ventilated at all, which leads to the accumulation of various heavy gases, such as propane, hydrogen sulfide, or carbon dioxide.

Statistics on child fatalities in water are also discouraging. Open bodies of water are undoubtedly a source of danger, and therefore caution when swimming and bathing is fully justified. The main causes of water accidents involving children are typically insufficient parental supervision, ignorance of safety rules, and inability to swim.

The danger, especially for a young child, is posed not only by large bodies of water but also by decorative ponds and even containers of water. Sometimes a small amount of water is enough for a tragic accident to occur to a child. Even a rainwater tank standing in the yard can be dangerous.

We once again draw parents' attention to the fact that children should not just be "protected from fire": do not leave them unattended, do not allow them to play with matches and electrical appliances. It is necessary to teach children how to handle sources of fire and what to do in case of a fire.

And, of course, be an example for your children: if you always turn off electrical appliances when leaving home, your child will do the same. Children follow actions, not advice, so observe safety rules together!

And most importantly, DO NOT LEAVE CHILDREN ALONE!