1. What is a Home Accident?
Accidents that occur inside a house or in its immediate surroundings (garden, pool, garage) are called home accidents.
Most of the accidents seen in children are at home. is occurring. In the world and in our country, home accidents are an issue that needs to be emphasized as they cause various injuries, disabilities and deaths, especially in the pre-school age period of 0-6 years. Although we understand accidents as events that occur unexpectedly and at an unexpected time, causing injuries, loss of life and property, home accidents are increasingly important among accident types and are mostly preventable events that occur inside a house or in its garden, pool and garage.
2. Potential Home Accidents That Children May Suffer According to Their Living Spaces
The precautions to be taken in the home environment and space arrangement are primarily in and around the home, respectively; kitchen, bathroom, children's room, parent's bedroom, lounge/living room, garden (playgrounds, pool), common areas respectively; Doors and windows, stairs and balconies and electrical safety will be discussed.
Kitchen
Kitchens are one of the areas where home accidents are most common. Hot oils, boiling liquid drinks and food may splash on children, or a curious child may pull a hot meal or a boiling teapot off the stove and knock it over, or put his hand inside an electrical appliance. They try to imitate the work that the parent does in the kitchen, the busy parent's attention is divided and they begin to control the child less, which increases the child's risk of accidents. However, it will be possible to minimize potential accidents with some small designs and conscious arrangements for safety.
Dangers in the Kitchen
• Burns and scalds
• Fire
• Poisoning< br /> • Falls and slips
• Injuries, cuts and cuts
• Electric shock
• Drownings
Bathroom/Toilet
Bathtub, toilet the water inside and the water collected in the bucket, boiling water at a temperature that can scald, hard and slippery ground, objects with interesting colors and shapes that can cause poisoning. Make-up materials, electrical appliances such as razors, hair dryers and shaving machines, and toilet bowls and covers are various sources of danger for children, including suffocation, scalding and entrapment. It will be possible to minimize the hazards with appropriate design and arrangements. Every year in America, 150-200 children die by drowning due to accumulated water in the bathroom
Dangers in the Bathroom
• Drowning
• Hot water burns and scalds
• Falls and slips
br /> • Child being locked in the toilet
• Child climbing out of the bathroom window
• Poisoning
• Injury due to broken glass or sharp objects
Child's Room
This area is the children's own private activity area where they can sleep and play, and in general, where they spend the most time at home. It is very important to design this area with special security measures and regulations. If families with more than one child use bunk beds to use the space efficiently, this area should be supported with additional safety measures.
Dangers in the Children's Room
• Falls from the window
• Falls inside the room
• Injury and injuries
• Burns and fire
• Electric shock
• Drowning
Master Bedroom
Master bedroom, less accessible to children at home , is a room where it is located. However, equipment such as the mother's dressing table, drawers, wardrobes and night lights pose an accident risk for children. Each year, 8,000-10,000 children in the United States are injured by falling over furniture.
Dangers in the Master Bedroom
• Poisoning
• Drowning
• Falls
• Electric Shock
Living Room
The living room or living room, which is used jointly by the whole family, is an important place in the house. The living room, which is a resting place for parents, is also a play and entertainment area for children. The fact that this area is used for different purposes makes it an important accident area for children.
If there is a fireplace in the living room, this area must be constantly checked. Accessories such as iron tongs, iron rods and brooms used in the fireplace e matches and similar igniters or the edges and corners of the fireplace made of stone or brick pose serious dangers for children.
Dangers in the Living Room
Falling and Injury due to Cabinets and Furniture
Danger of burns. , falling.
• Ability to reach alcoholic beverages.
• Hitting glass doors or windows, falling.
• Overturning as a result of the child trying to climb onto poorly fixed wall hanging elements, shelves and furniture.
/> Electric shock as a result of playing with electronic devices and sockets
Garden (Playground and Pool)
Safety measures to be taken in the garden of the house are as important as the security inside the house. There are many lurking dangers in this large outdoor venue. For example; such as swimming or ornamental pools used in the garden, barbecues, agricultural and pesticides left and forgotten in the garden, playground-garden toys that do not comply with standards. However, the safety of children can be largely protected by taking appropriate precautions.
Dangers in the Garden (Playground and Pool)
• Drowning
• Slip and Fall
• Poisoning
• Burns
• Electrical Accidents
Doors and Windows
Doors and windows are common places that attract the attention of children. Children love to close and open doors and play. This may cause their fingers and hands to get stuck or to remain closed involuntarily. Windows are a very serious danger for them. They love to climb on household items such as tables and chairs, look out of the window and play in the window. These dangerous areas need to be arranged and made safe in a way that will not harm children.
Dangers in Doors and Windows
• Falls and Injuries
• Entrapments
• Impacts
• Incisions
Staircases and Balconies
Staircases between floors in multi-storey houses are extremely dangerous areas for children. Children injured or disabled by falling down the stairs The number of is considerable. Likewise, balconies are common areas that can cause serious accidents for children. For this reason, these safety precautions should be taken without delay from the moment children begin to crawl.
Dangers on Stairs and Balconies
• Slips and Falls
• Injuries
• Crashes
• Drowning Due to Squeezing
Electrical Safety
Electrical safety at home; In addition to the general electrical safety of the house, it should be taken into consideration and evaluated separately according to the characteristics of the space such as the kitchen, bathroom, children's room, living room and the risk it carries. Sockets, connecting cables, plugs and electrical household appliances such as cookers and heaters should be made safe according to their features and location.
Electricity-Related Hazards
• Electric Shock
3. Statistics on Accidents and Home Accidents
In the USA, the country where the most intensive studies on accidents are carried out, 25 million children are injured in accidents annually. In the USA, one in every four children suffers a home accident every year and receives treatment. Every year, 12,000 children under the age of 14 die and 50,000 children become disabled due to accidents. In England, where regular statistics are kept, 40% of accidental deaths are home accidents.
According to the Ministry of Health statistics in our country, accidental deaths are in the 4th place in the list of accidental deaths. Again, according to DIE's 2001 records, accidents rank 4th among the causes of death in children aged 1-4. According to the research conducted by the Ministry of Health in our country, 120,000 children applied to the hospital as a result of home accidents in the last 5 years and 2000 of them died. According to various studies on home accidents in Turkey, 18-25% of all accidents are home accidents (at home and in the garden). As a matter of fact, in 1990, it was observed that home accidents constituted 22.7% of the patients in Ankara city center. In a study conducted in 11 hospitals in Istanbul in 2001, 1/3 of the emergency cases were caused by home accidents.
The dangers the child will face depend on the child's growth and development. will change. The basic characteristics of the child's developmental stages; By knowing the characteristics of physical and mental development stages, potential dangers and unsafe situations for children can be predicted and prevented according to age. They spend most of their time at home, and at the same time, they have a curiosity about exploring and learning about their environment, their ability to imitate adults, being constantly on the move, a desire to explore the environment, a habit of putting everything in their mouth due to lack of experience, having more hand and body dexterity than adults, and not yet having the developmental skills to protect themselves from accidents. Children in the 0-6 age group constitute the group with the highest accident rate due to not having enough children. In a study to determine the frequency of home accidents in Ankara in 1995, it was determined that 45.4% of home accidents occurred in children between the ages of 0-6. In a study conducted by Unicef in 2003 with 4254 mothers with children aged 0-6, divided into 12 regions, it was determined that 71.3% of the children who had accidents suffered these accidents at home. Therefore, children of this period, who spend most of their time at home, often encounter accidents and face dangers at home. Homes suddenly become a dangerous environment for children, starting from the infancy stage. Accidents are the leading cause of death among children over 9 months of age in the United States. The cause of death of 44% of children aged 1-4 is accidents. In a study conducted in 1998 in Sweden, which is the most successful country in the world in preventing home accidents, with 863 children between the ages of 0-6 who had accidents, it was found that the most home accidents in this age group were in the 1st year (21.5%) and the 2nd year (%). 19.5).
Just as children need to be protected from danger by their parents, they also need to explore and learn about their environment for their personal development. Even if the child is under the supervision of adults, if a safe environment is not created, it is inevitable that children will have accidents. In the research conducted on 242 children between the ages of 1-4 who had an accident at Bankhok Lersin Hospital in 1999; 58% of the accidents occurred despite the presence of parents or other people caring for the child.
