Preventing Burn Injuries

Did you know that scald burns are the number one cause of burn injury to children under the age of 4 and more than 24,000 children are burned (or scalded) by hot liquids each year? Because children have thinner skin than adults, they are more adversely affected by scald burns. Some scald burns can even result in serious injury or death. There are steps you can take to ensure your child does not need to suffer through a scald burn. Scald burn safety begins by making small changes to your daily routines in the kitchen and bathroom. Follow these tips to ensure safety:

In the Kitchen

• Keep hot liquids out of reach of your child.
• Put hot liquids on high counters or tables where toddlers or young children cannot reach them.
• Do not place hot liquids on placemats or tablecloths (children can pull the cloths and spill the hot liquid).
• Do not heat formula/milk in the microwave and always test the temperature of the baby’s formula and food before feeding.
• Never hold your infant or child while holding hot liquids or food.
• Turn pot handles towards the back of the stove and never leave food cooking on the stove unattended.
• Set your water heater temperature to 120° F / 48.9° C.
• Keep frying pans, pressure cookers, crock pots and coffee pots out of your child’s reach; tuck appliance cords away.
• Keep your children out of the kitchen.
• Do not allow your children to cook without supervision.

In the Bathroom

• Never leave your child unattended near hot water sources, such as boiling water or steam baths.
• Always supervise children while bathing.
• Install temperature-regulated faucets and shower heads.
• Test the water temperature on the back of your hand before placing your child in the tub, even when using a tub tester.
• Never allow a young child to supervise another child while bathing.

• Never hold your infant or child while cooking.
• Keep your child out of the kitchen and never leave food on the stove unattended.
• Keep irons, curlers and flat irons out of reach of your child and unplug them when they are not in use.
• Keep your child away from fireplaces and glass fireplace doors.
• Keep your child away from fire pits and grills.
• Keep your child away from hot mufflers (cars, motorcycles and ATVs).

• Always ensure your smoke detectors are working and change the batteries often.
• Never allow your child to play with sparklers or fireworks.
• Keep matches and lighters out of reach.
• Do not allow your child to cook without supervision.

• Always ensure your smoke detectors are working and change the batteries often.
• Never allow your child to play with sparklers or fireworks.
• Keep matches and lighters out of reach.
• Do not allow your child to cook without supervision.

• Keep household chemicals locked up and out of reach of your child.

• Keep your child away from treadmills.