When it comes to our homes, we’d rather deal with difficult grown-up concerns like taxes and mortgage loans instead of threats to our families’ safety. As responsible adults, we do our best to protect our loved ones from the typical hazards found at home. However, some other inconspicuous household items pose a serious threat to them. These things are often hidden in plain sight so it’s best to be aware of what some of these are.
10 Surprisingly Hazardous Household Items You Need to Look Out For
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Clothes Hamper
Some hampers are made of fabric with a wireframe that toddlers and little kids might find useful as tunnels for playing. However, if some of the wires tear through the fabric, it might end up wounding your child, or worse, cause severe eye injuries.
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Magnets
Magnets have always been a choking hazard for little ones. Doctors and specialists say that when two magnets attract inside a person’s digestive system, it feels like a gunshot wound, only with no entry or exit point.
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Hard Candy
How can something so sweet be dangerous? Well, aside from too much sugar is bad for one’s health, hard candy is one of the leading causes of choking for kids 14 years old and below. This is why it is recommended that parents don’t give kids 4 and below hard candy.
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Immersion Blenders
Two words: sharp blades. These hand-held blenders may seem safe enough to handle but even adults get cuts from its blades with an accidental touch.
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Falling TVs
While the chances of TVs tipping over may seem very low, it is found that every 30 minutes one child is treated for a TV-related injury. Thank heavens that TV sets are a lot lighter now but that’s not to say they still can’t be harmful especially if a toddler yanks it down, whether on purpose or by accident.
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Spray Bottles
Spray bottles are not really the issue here but the contents inside. The Center for Injury Research and Policy found that over a 16-year period, there have been 300,000 children who got treated for household cleaner-related injuries.
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Dishwasher
A dishwasher can be dangerous, especially to younger kids because it provides them with easy access to sharp objects such as knives and forks, not to mention dishwasher detergent which when ingested can be extremely poisonous.
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Grills
Millions of American households own a grill and love firing them up for a backyard barbecue during warm weather. But the U.S. Fire Administration warns of the dangers of a seemingly innocent griller, which has caused more than 6,500 grill fires and over $27 million in damages and injuries.
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Corded Blinds
Blinds are nice to have but their cords are a serious threat to children. They can cause strangulation which could be fatal. It’s not enough to keep the cords out of children’s reach because they are creative and industrious. It’s best to either get cordless blinds or use curtains.
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Hand-Me-Downs
Clothes and toys as hand-me-downs are okay. In fact, they help save couples a serious amount of money. However, resist the urge to receive — and give — used gear, especially car seats, bouncers, and high chairs as some might no longer meet the current safety standards. They might be unfit for use as they might break and cause serious injuries to your child.
While it’s clearly impossible to protect our loved ones from things that could harm them, our awareness, preparedness, and cautiousness can decrease the risk of household accidents from taking place.
