Hazards
It’s time to find out about some of the safety issues you need to be mindful of, even in a well set up child care environment.
There are five hazards identified in this photo of the outdoor play area for the 2-3 year olds. Use your mouse to find the marked hazards. Think about why it is a risk or hazard for this age group, then click on the spot in the photo to read about how to reduce each risk.
Now it’s time to have a look inside. This is the indoor area for the 0-2 year olds. There are five hazards to think about in this photo too.
Other potential hazards
Attention needs to be paid to the following potential hazards.
- Electrical – cords, adaptors and power boards need to be out of children’s risk. Unused power points must have protective caps.
- Water – all children require supervision around water to prevent drowning. Spills need to be mopped up immediately. Hot water requires a regulator to prevent scalds. A cup of tea can burn a child.
- Surfaces – the floor or ground can present a tripping hazard if they are not level.
- Plastic - bags or wrappings can cause suffocation.
- Chemicals - such as cleaning products pose a risk of adverse reaction, burns or even poisoning.
- Sun exposure – it doesn’t take much sun for a young child’s skin to burn. Children are also much more susceptible to dehydration so plenty of water to drink is essential. Check out the Sun care policy in the Cybertots Intranet for more info on this.
- Animals- insects, snakes, spiders, dogs, swooping magpies.
- Environment – gas leaks, water leaks, fire, storms, earthquakes.
- Human – aggressive children, aggressive or intoxicated parents, intruders.
You are going to talk to a small group of children at Cybertots about one of these potential hazards to develop their awareness and understanding of safety.
- Choose which age group
- Choose one hazard from the list above
- In your notebook, write a short script of what you would say to the children
- Write down 3 or 4 questions the children might ask you, and what you would say in response.
Risk reduction
Not all risks can be removed completely, but they can almost always be reduced. If you have identified potential risks in the children’s environment, whether you are at the child care centre or out on an excursion with the children, it is critical that you put risk reduction strategies in place to minimise the potential for harm. Risk reduction strategies could include things like covers on power points that are within children’s reach.
Choose one of the two photographs we just looked at and have a closer look at it.
Identify at least 3 more potential risks and write these down in your notebook. Then think of 1 way to reduce the risk for each and write it down next to the risk it addresses.
