• Home
• /
• Letters

Household chores will never stop, let's make homes child-safe

Let's stop playing the blame game and make our houses children-safe. (Five year old dies after falling from balcony in Dubai; KT, Dec 11). It's unfathomable tragedy when you lose your precious children because of accidents at home such as the ones making news past few days. More often than not, we are quick to put the blame on the hapless parents, especially mothers who could be busy doing kitchen work or tending to other household chores. My heart goes out to the mother who has lost her child and will have to live with the guilt of negligence all her life.
Many of us take the household chores for granted and consider that it is something that can be done in a jiffy. Household work is a full-time job that requires time and dedication. Imagine the scenario where the mother who is cooking food goes to check on the child every now and then? It could cause a fire hazard.
So the only way to prevent such accidents from recurring is to make homes safe for children. Let's ensure that the doors to the balcony remain bolted all the time and children are not allowed to venture outside unsupervised. The windows, too, should remain closed at all times, or if they are being opened for ventilation, parents must ensure that the vent is not too big and cannot be reached by children. Houses should also have fixed door stoppers so that children do not hurt themselves by accidental closing it. Use corner protectors on tables or any furniture that you think can cause harm. Keep all medicines or liquid cleaners or anything that can cause harm out of children's reach. They should be kept in cabinets that are not easily accessible for tiny tots. We can make our homes child-safe, all we need to do is to be mindful of the possible risks.
- Padmaja Menon, Abu Dhabi