How to Teach Your Kids About Electrical Safety

When to Start Teaching Kids Electrical Safety

For anyone who works with kids or has kids in their life, knowing when to start teaching them electrical safety is an important responsibility. Maybe you are unsure when to start teaching your kids about electricity. Here’s the good news. Now is the time to explain in an age appropriate way. Patience and repetition are important to utilize with kids of all ages. If you have younger kids teach them simpler rules that they can grasp like not touching outlets. With older kids, more detail can be explained such as not using electrical appliances with wet hands. It is important to realize that kids are curious and leaving electricity a mystery to them has the potential to be dangerous. 

Talk to Them about the Electricity

You know your child the best.  Deciding when and how to talk with them about safety guidelines is ultimately up to you.  Here are a few easy steps you can take to familiarize them with their home:

• Start early. As soon as your child can follow guidelines, it is good to set some. Start by simply explaining to them the importance of listening to the safety rules you set.
• Explain what electricity is in a way they can understand. Help them realize that electrical appliances are not toys and should not be treated as such. 
• Show them the different electrical appliances around your home. Explain what electrical appliances they can not use on their own, and who they should ask for help.
• Give them guidelines for what they can do on their own. For example, if your 8-year-old is allowed to use the toaster, make sure they know how to do it safely and explain that they should never stick anything into it such as a fork or touch it with wet hands.

Some basic safety rules for your home

No matter what age your child is, you can set some basic home safety guidelines. These will help your child to understand what is not safe regarding electricity. Here are a few ideas:

• Never stick anything, hands, or metal objects into outlets or electrical appliances.
• Don’t use electrical appliances around water or when your hands are wet.
• Unplug electrical cords from the plug not by yanking them out from the cord.
• Ask an adult for help in using an electrical appliance.

Keep all electric appliances and extension cords away from swimming pools or water.

What You Can Do

Even with safety rules set in place for your kids, there are still a few things you can do to keep your children safe. 

   – Store all electrical appliances in bathrooms such as hairdryers and electric razors in a safe place out        of reach of children. 

   -Make sure you have GFCIs installed anywhere in your home near water.

   -Make sure all your electrical outlets have covers and are childproofed.

   -Keep electrical  cords and extension cords out of the way and not lying around your home.

Tamper Proof Outlets?