Preventing burns and scalds

Many severe burns and scalds affect babies and young children. The following advicecan help reduce the likelihood of your child having a serious accident.

In the kitchen

• it's best to keep your toddler out of the kitchen, well away from kettles, saucepans and hot oven doors you could put a safety gate across the doorway to stop them getting in
• use a kettle with a short or curlycord to stop it hanging over the edge of the work surface, where it could be grabbed
• when cooking, use the rings at the back of the cooker and turn saucepan handles towards the back so your child can't grab them

In the bathroom

• never leave a child under five alone in the bath, even for a moment
• fit a thermostatic mixing valve to your bath's hot tap to control the temperature
• put cold water into the bath first, then add the hot water use your elbow totest the temperature of the water beforeyou put your baby or toddler in the bath

Throughout the home

• put your iron, hair straighteners or curling tongs out of reach while they cool down after you've finished using them
• fit fireguards to all fires and heaters
• keep matches, lighters and lit candles out of young children's sight and reach

Hot drinks

• keep hot drinks well away from young children a hot drink can still scald 20 minutes after it was made
• puthot drinksdown before you hold your baby
• after warming a bottle of milk, shake the bottle well and test the temperature of the milk by placing a few drops on the inside of your wrist before feeding it should feel lukewarm, not hot
• don't let your child drink a hot drink through a straw

Preventing sunburn

• encourage your child to play in the shade under trees, for exampleespecially between 11am and 3pm, when the sun is at its strongest
• keep babies under the age of six months out of direct sunlight, especially around midday
• cover your child up in loose, baggy cotton clothes, such as an oversized T-shirt with sleeves
• get your child to wear a floppy hat with a wide brim that shades their face and neck
• cover exposed parts of your child's skin with sunscreen, even on cloudy or overcast days usea sunscreenthat has a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or above and is effective against UVA and UVB
• reapply sunscreen often throughout the day even water-resistant sunscreens should be reapplied after you come out of the water