As we shiver our way through a particularly cold Melbourne winter, we want to issue an important warning for families.
We are again spending more time at home – whether through sickness or choice – and have seen what has happened in these conditions in the last two years. 29 families lost their children to preventable injuries in 2020, with a similar if not worse number in 2021, and a significant increase in the treatment of long-term burn injuries across both years.
If you haven’t already, now is the time to create a safe play area in your home, where your child can play safely if you need to have a few minutes to yourself. Please also download our home safety checklist, and make sure you have made your house as safe as possible by taking actions such as:
- securing any curtain and blind cords – you can order a free kit from Consumer Affairs Victoria here
- making sure button batteries are in secured compartments in any products, and loose ones are out of reach
- emptying any buckets of water that may have filled up with rain, remembering that children can drown in just a few centimetres of water
- securing any TV or furniture to the wall so that they cannot topple on a child – you are able to make modifications for safety in rental properties too
- using the back burner when cooking on the stove and keep tea and coffee away from little ones
These are just a few of the steps you can take to help keep your child safe. In case you are wondering why are they so important – please take 2 minutes to watch these families explain.
Stay safe, take care.
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Life on the Farm for Kids
With National Farm Safety Week falling in July, we thought we would sit down for a chat with Lisa and her long-time farming family to find out what life on the farm with kids is all about.
While farms are a great place for kids to live and grow, they also provide a number of unique hazards.
Lisa’s ideas on child safety, especially around farm machinery, were magnified when someone she knew devastatingly lost their 4 year old daughter.
“A friend of mine lost a child. She was in the path of the mower and wasn’t seen before it was too late. I always knew safety was paramount but that really brought the importance of it home.”
Read more in this month’s blog
Time to Enter our Farm Safety Competition
Has your little one entered our Farm Safety Creative Competition? It’s not too late to enter!
If your child loves getting creative, then this is the perfect competition for them. We’re inviting all Victorian preschoolers aged 3-5 years and primary school students from Prep to Year 6 to create a video, radio ad, poster, collage, illustrated story or comic strip that promotes farm safety.
Encourage your kids to become a ‘Farm Safety Hero’ and learn about farm safety to help keep our current and future generations safe.
There are a range of great prizes up for grabs for winning submissions in each age and entry category including vouchers, stationary packs, and book packs! First prize is valued up to $200!
To help get the kids started, download our Teachers Pack, Parents Pack or Early Childhood Pack. The packs include full competition details, handy tips on creating entries, entry templates, fun resources and learning activities.
Need some inspiration? Check out the winning entries from our 2020 and 2021 competition!
Entries close Friday 4th November 2022
Enter or learn more about the competition here
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Reminder
Even though it’s still frightfully cold across Victoria, we’re now over the hill and on our way to warmer weather. While we might not be using our heaters for too much longer, it’s still important to stay vigilant about how we warm our homes.
Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas which is invisible, tasteless, and odourless – it can be produced by appliances that use gas, oil, kerosene, charcoal, or even wood.
Makeshift or outdoor heaters can also be dangerous if used indoors, as one Sydney family recently found out after using an outdoor charcoal heater to warm their home while they slept.
Carbon monoxide poisoning can often be mistaken for viral infections or the flu. Symptoms include headaches, nausea, dizziness, burning eyes, confusion, drowsiness, and even loss of consciousness. In severe cases, carbon monoxide poisoning can result in brain damage and death.
Having gas and fuel burning appliances such as your heater serviced every 1-2 years by a qualified technician, maintaining good ventilation while in use and never bringing an outdoor gas or fuel-burning appliance inside your home, tent or caravan, are the best ways to keep your family both safe and warm. You can also install a carbon monoxide alarm for peace of mind.
For more information of carbon monoxide poisoning signs and symptoms and how to keep your home safe, please visit: www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/gas-heating-health-and-safety-issues
Back to School
Welcome to Semester 2 – one half of the year down and you’re on the home stretch. With classes back in session, now is the perfect time for a reminder about the importance of keeping pedestrian safety front of mind, particularly during school drop off and pick up hours.
Even though you might feel your kids are used to the school routine or the route you take to and from school, remember that holding their hand, encouraging them to stay alert and enforcing the STOP, LOOK, LISTEN, THINK safe crossing procedure, will help to teach them about being a safe pedestrian and get them to school safely.
With the cold and wet weather making it even more difficult to see little pedestrians, it’s also important that drivers stay vigilant in 40km p/h school zones, as well as around car parks and crossings.
For more information on commuting safely on foot, please go to: https://www.kidsafevic.com.au/road-safety/pedestrian-safety/
Supporter of the Month
We are really fortunate at Kidsafe Victoria to have such generous supporters who donate their time, money, and enthusiasm to support us in our mission to make the world a safer place for our kids.
So we thought it was well and truly time that we started to publicly thank you!
Introducing our first ‘Supporter of the Month’ – Row Thompson
Building Inspector (Pool Safety) from North Vic Pool Safety Compliance
Row makes a donation to the Hunter Boyle Children’s Swim Program for every pool safety inspection her business does. This month we sat down with Row to find out more.
Why did you decide to support the Hunter Boyle Children’s Swim Program?
“Hunter’s passing in 2020 touched everyone in the town of Shepparton. Even though I don’t know the family directly, it’s the old adage ‘6 degrees of separation’ also known in this regional town as ‘6 degrees of Shepparation!’”
“I want to be part of the change; the change that stops our littlest members of the community from death or permanent injury by drowning.”
Read More about why Row is July’s Supporter of the Month
Upcoming Courses
Accredited Child Car Restraint Training Courses – Book Here
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- Next available:
- 11th – 12th August (Notting Hill)
- 24th – 25th August (Niddrie)
- 5th – 6th September (Notting Hill)
- 28th – 29th September (Niddrie)
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Paediatric or Perinatal First Aid Training Courses – Book Here
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- 6th August, 9am and 2pm sessions – Perinatal First Aid (New and Expectant Parents) – Melbourne (Royal Children’s Hospital – Parkville)
- 13th August – Perinatal First Aid (New and Expectant Parents) – Sunshine
- 13th August – Paediatric First Aid – Sunshine
- 20th August – Paediatric First Aid – Melbourne (Royal Children’s Hospital – Parkville)
- 20th August – Perinatal First Aid (New and Expectant Parents) – Clayton (Park Royal Hotel)
- 27th August – Perinatal First Aid (New and Expectant Parents) – Ringwood (The Sebel Hotel)
- 3rd September – Paediatric First Aid – Geelong (Novotel Hotel)
- 3rd September – Perinatal First Aid (New and Expectant Parents) – Geelong (Novotel Hotel)
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9th August – Live Zoom Sessions (Paediatric First Aid)
If you’re a professional interested in booking an accredited first aid training session, please visit: https://www.growthtraininggroup.com.au/kidsafe-victoria/
What’s in the News
Star Weekly – Home drownings highest in July
Yahoo News – Mum and kids lucky to be alive after child’s toy destroys house
Forbes Advocate – Carbon monoxide poisoning fuels heather safety warnings
7 News – School holiday horror as boy found face-down at popular Sydney swimming centre
7 News – Toddler fighting for life after being hit by car in Perth driveway tragedy
9 News – Parents warning of weighted blankets and sleep sacks danger
Herald Sun – Faces of Vic’s worst pedestrian death toll
7 News – Yana dropped off her six-year-old at a playdate. It was the last time she saw her girl alive
Shepparton News – Families urged to take care around water
Product Recalls
Yatsal Distributors — Fantastic Sea Ocean Series Dolphin Swimming Bath Toy
The product does not comply with mandatory shape and size requirements, and if broken can release small parts that may pose a choking or suffocation hazard for young children.
For more information please click here
Kaleidoscope Australasia Pty Ltd — Le Toy Van Petilou Sensory Shapes
The product does not comply with mandatory shape and size requirements, and the top of the shapes may come off and release small parts which may pose a choking or suffocation hazard for young children.
For more information, please click here
To keep up to date with all product recalls , you can sign up to receive email notifications on the Product Safety Australia website and follow ACCC Product Safety on Facebook.
