How To Keep Your Gardens Safe and Secure For Children

How To Keep Your Gardens Safe and Secure For Children

April 4, 2014 0 By Adam Kirby
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The home is a dangerous place for inquiring little minds. Statistics show that more accidents happen in and around the home than anywhere else. In fact, though there are many thousands of injuries, around one hundred and twenty deaths occur every year to people under the age of fifteen.

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The garden is a place to be enjoyed, but it is also a place where great care must be taken if children are to come to no harm when playing out there.

Here is a list of things to be aware of that, if not attended to, could cause harm to a young child. There are also some sensible precautions to take that will help keep your children safe from others.

Water Danger

There is a danger to children from drowning in garden ponds. It may not be necessary, however, to fill the pond in. Make your pond safer by using these ideas:

  • Build a chain link fence that is too tall for the children to get over. A locked gate will provide access to the pond when needed.

  • Cover the pond with a grille made to measure by your local fabrication company.

  • Make sure there are gentle slopes to the water rather than vertical walls. If the worst did happen, a child would need all the help they can get climbing out.

  • Make sure the pond can be clearly seen from the house.

Cats

Cats have a wonderful ability to sneak into your garden and bury their droppings. The feces of cats can contain a parasite called Toxoplasma. Children playing in the garden may come into contact with this, and it can make them ill. If the mother of a child is pregnant, Toxoplasmosis can cause damage to an unborn fetus. Be sure to keep a lid on a sandpit when it is not in use to prevent cats using it as a toilet. Also, flower beds should be checked if it is suspected a cat has been in there.

Barbeques

Never leave a hot barbecue unattended Turning your back for just a moment while your fillet steak is grilling can have dire consequences for little fingers. Children move very fast when they see something that interests them.

Security

Installing a tall fence around the garden is a priority. No-one can keep an eye often their children every second they are playing outside, yet sometimes it only takes a second for a vicious dog to gain entry and do harm. There is also the possibility of intruders to be considered too. If there is a gate to your garden it should ideally be as tall as the fence, sturdy, locked, and bolted. It should be a deterrent to intruders and good enough to keep the little ones from wandering.

Tools

All garden tools should be locked away in a shed. Injuries are common when children try imitate their parents by gardening. Special care should be taken never to leave a lawn mower unattended. Though electrically powered models have safety switches, accidents still happen.

Trees and Bushes

By giving the planting scheme some more thought, it is possible to design a garden where the kids won’t scratch themselves; on thorn bushes, for example. The scratches themselves are often minor injuries, but there is always a potential for infection.

Creating a safe environment doesn’t take any special knowledge; it is often just down to plain old common sense. By taking sensible precautions and not letting them out of your sight for more than a minute, there is no reason your children cannot enjoy your garden to it’s full potential.