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There were 36,283 household fires in the UK in 2018/19, many of which were caused by electrical faults.
Many injuries involved electric shock, including electric sockets and plugs, strimmers and lawnmowers, extension leads and cables, washing machines and dishwashers, hair dryers, toasters and light fittings.
See our range of child accident prevention picture books.
Electricity for Children
- Keep children away from touching power points or pluging in an electrical appliance.
- 17% of household fires are caused by faulty and misused electricity items, such as loose wiring, damaged cables and leads, while 26% are caused by people not using electrical appliances correctly.
- Teach children that water and electricty do not mix and never allow your children to touch electrical items with wet hands.
- Never allow children to use an electrical appliance in the bathroom where they could get an appliance wet.
- Never allow a child to use a knife in an electrical toaster.
- Switch off all electrical appliances before going to bed.
- Always unplug a kettle or a steam iron when you are filling it with water.
- Don't leave an electric fire on near curtains or leave clothes to dry over it.
