5 Tips to Make your Electronic Appliances Shockproof for Kids

If you have kids at home, then you are aware of their curious nature. Kids love to play and explore everything that they can get their hands on. Toddlers are at a high risk of being victims of an electric shock at home. An electric shock can be quite dangerous and can result in disfiguration or even loss of life. Given below are five tips that you can implement in your daily life to make your electrical appliances shockproof for kids.

1. Cover All the Open Sockets at Home

Kids see adults using electrical appliances throughout the day. In a bid to imitate adults, they tend to insert fingers and metal objects into open sockets. This imitation can be fatal for kids. There are many ways to make sockets shockproof. You can easily do that by placing electrical outlets at a height that is out of the reach of your kids. Another option is getting plastic caps for the sockets. These caps fit on top of electrical outlets and cover them completely when they are not in use.

A similar solution is fitting the switchboards with shutter caps of the right size. If none of these options is viable, you can find some masking tape lying around the house and cover the electrical outlets which are not in use using the tape. Masking tape can be peeled off easily when the socket is needed; it does not even leave any residue.

2. Make Sure Your Appliances are Wired with Correctly Insulated Wires

All exposed wires are a safety hazard, not just to kids but to adults too. If anyone accidentally touches a live wire even slightly, the resulting shock can be a danger to life. So, it is really important to electrically insulate all wires used at home. These days, there are various wire insulation options available in the market.

The most common material used is PVC or Polyvinyl Chloride. It is quite affordable. It is also flame and moisture resistant. You can also choose from a wide variety of other materials such as nylon, polypropylene, chlorinated polyethylene, etc. according to your wire’s voltage carrying requirements. Make sure that all the wires used at your house are properly insulated and do not have any surface that exposes the live current wires.

3. Keep Cords Out of the Reach of Children

Many times, a lot of cords from many appliances are left around carelessly hanging beside them, and this could be dangerous. Kids can pull, play with, trip over, and try to chew any cords that they can get their hands on. Tape all cords together and tuck them away behind the appliance so that a kid does not pull at them.

You can cover the cords by placing furniture in front of them. Do not let cords run under carpets. Avoid using extension cords. There are different types of power strips on the market, so use the right angle power strips instead of the regular ones as they are safer.

4. Install Circuit Breakers at Home

In case of an electric shock, a huge surge of current flows through the wire, through the body to the ground. Circuit breakers or interrupters are automatic electrical devices that detect any sudden changes in the current flowing through the wires.

If there is a sudden increase in the current (due to a faulty device or an electric shock), circuit breakers can cut the power off within a fraction of a second, thereby preventing a big shock. Install the type of circuit breaker most suitable for your house after taking advice from an expert. You can install MCBs, MCCBs, ELCBs, RCCBs, etc. to make your house more shockproof in general.

5. Baby Proofing the Apartment from the Child’s Point of View

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You might want to crawl around the house and look for any potential electrical hazards on the child’s level. Look for any loose cords or bare wires they might be able to reach, and cover or hide them. Keep all appliances away from water, as water readily conducts current and can easily give anyone electric shocks.

Keep all electrical appliances in dry places, so that children do not get an accidental shock due to appliance malfunction. Use three-prong plugs that deviate excess electricity to ground (this is called grounding) and prevent shocks. Throw away appliances with frayed and otherwise damages cords.

These are some tips to make your electrical appliances shockproof for kids. Electrical shocks can cause some serious burns and mutilation. It can even lead to death. Hence it is crucial to babyproof all electrical appliances at home.