Keep My Home Safe

It’s important to teach your children about the dangers of electricity around the home and in the community.  Your home is your child’s playground, so make sure it is safe for them.  It takes only a moment for a child to poke something into a heater or electrical socket outlet, or pull on a cord, or topple over an appliance.

Things to look out for include:

• Ensure safety plugs are fitted firmly into sockets which are accessible to children
• Ensure electric heaters are safely positioned away from the play areas
• Keep metal objects like keys, scissors or nail files out of reach so they can't be poked into socket outlets, heaters or other electrical outlets
• Put multi-boxes and extension cords out of reach
• Put appliances like hairdryers away when you have finished with them
• Watch children in the kitchen to make sure they cannot reach the electrical appliances or their electrical cords, like the kettle, toaster or stove top
• Check trees before children climb them to ensure there are no power lines near them
• Make sure children’s kite flying areas are safe from wires

This simple safety checklist of things to look for in checking the electrical safety of your home is provided by the Energy Safety section of the Ministry for Economic Development.