It was usual afternoon while me and my friends were playing in the field when we saw a large smoke in the distance.
We immediately ran to the scene and were shocked to see that it was our friend’s house engulfed by the fire. Luckily, his family was safe but unfortunately, they haven’t saved anything except for the clothes he and his younger sister were wearing.
Based on 2018 U.S. fire administration statistics, there were an estimated 379,600 residential fires which caused deaths of 2,790 people and injured 11,525 individuals.
As parents, we have the responsibility to ensure that we keep our children safe against any dangers, especially at home. So here are the 3 most common home safety mistakes we often overlooked and how to fix them
Here are the home safety mistakes we should be fixing now
Unattended cooking
It is part of our daily lives to multitask, and cooking is no exemption. There are times when we forget the fish we were frying because we have to attend to our kids who were fighting upstairs. Or even forgot about the chicken that we were roasting because we have to feed our babies.
You might be surprised to know but this simple and common mistake we make is the number one cause of fire for residential houses or buildings.
What to do
Store the things that are made of light materials away from your stove. Utilize the timer on your cooking equipment so you’ll be reminded of your cooking. If possible, before you cook, try to give your kids time-consuming games like board games, or even sometimes I allow my kids to do video games online so they won’t interrupt my cooking.
Displaying too much information on social media
There are approximately 1,650,000 home break-ins that happen every year, and the majority of these cases are unsolved because of a lack of concrete evidence and witnesses. While it is good that we share our experiences in life online, burglars are always on the lookout of their next target. They may also be monitoring your social media activities so you must be cautious about what you share online, especially if you’re having a vacation.
What to do
Make sure that your wireless alarm system is activated before you leave your house for a vacation. Try to talk to your friendly neighbor and ask a favor to look after your house while you’re away. You may also stop any deliveries or reroute them to a post office so you can collect your parcels when you come back.
Lack of first aid kit
According to the Center for Preparedness and Response, there are 44% of Americans who don’t have first aid kits. Having a first aid kit is important for every home as it is one way to safeguard your family and diminish the risk of injuries and other emergencies especially for your kids.
What to do
Your first aid kit must be tailored fit to the medical needs of your family. You can either create your own or purchase one a drugstore. If you have kids for instance, there’s a big chance that they will suffer minor wounds while playing, thus keeping povidone iodine will help you heal their wounds faster.
Crisis management and understanding the normal missteps we make as parents that jeopardize our security at home will give us data on the things we have to improve on and how to respond once trapped in an unprecedented circumstance.