Hot water is one of life’s essentials. Whether it’s a reviving mug of coffee after a hard morning’s work. Or a steaming bath to soak away the cares of the day. But hot water can also scar a young child for life. And it’s not just hot water that can cause serious injuries. Hair straighteners and hot fat from chip pans can also cause horrific burns. Find out how to keep your child safe from burns and scalds.

Did you know?

• A baby’s skin is 15 times thinner than an adult’s.
• Over 500 under fives are rushed to casualty every week because of burns and scalds.
• Hot drinks are the number one cause of scalds among under fives.
• A hot drink can still scald a young child 15 minutes after it’s been made.
• Every day one child under five is admitted to hospital with scalds caused by bath water.
• It can take only five seconds for a toddler to suffer third degree burns from water from your bath’s hot tap. They may need painful skin grafts until they stop growing, many years later.
• Hair straighteners are the fastest growing cause of burns among young children.
• Chip pans are a common cause of house fires in which children are injured.
• Young children can find fire fascinating but don’t understand its dangers.

Safety tips

• Don’t leave hot drinks within reach of curious little hands.
• Don’t hold a baby or young child while holding a hot drink. Or pass a hot drink over their head in case you spill it.
• Use a kettle with a short or curly flex. Keep your kettle pushed to the back of your kitchen work surface.
• If warming your baby’s milk, always shake the bottle well – and then pour a few drops on the inside of your wrist. It should feel lukewarm not hot.
• When you are cooking, use the rings at the back of the cooker. And turn pan handles towards the back. This way they can’t be grabbed by little fingers.
• Keep hot hair straighteners out of reach of little hands. Never leave them to cool on a bedside cabinet or over a door handle.
• When you are running a bath, put the cold water in first, then the hot.
• If possible, get a thermostatic mixing valve fitted to your bath hot tap – these gadgets still allow you to enjoy a steaming hot bath but stop children being scalded within seconds.
• When bathing a baby or toddler, test the bathwater first with your elbow – the water should not feel hot or cold.
• Replace your chip pan with a thermostatically controlled deep-fat fryer or use oven chips.
• If you can’t give up your chip pan, never fill it more than one third full of oil.
• If your chip pan does catch fire, don’t throw water over it – it will explode! If it’s safe to do so, turn off the heat. Then get out, stay out and call 999.
• Keep matches and lighters where young children can’t see them or reach them.
• Use fireguards to stop babies and young children falling onto fires or heaters.

Useful links

Test your knowledge with our quiz on kitchen safety (link to quizzes for parents and carers)

More information on burns and scalds from www.direct.gov.uk/childsafety

For advice on cooking safety visit www.directgov.uk/firekills or www.dontgivefireahome.com

For information on preventing bath water scalds using thermostatic mixing valves visit www.safehotwater.co.uk

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