33% of UK parents state that their children have injured themselves falling on the stairs. In the 5 year period of 2012- 2017, 90,372 children under the age of 5 were admitted to hospital due to a serious fall. Fred is on a mission to reduce these statistics.

This blog will include:

• Real Accidents, Real People: Edward’s Story
• The Do’s of Stairgate Safety
• The Don’ts of Stairgate Safety
• Safety Made Simple: How Fred Can Help Prevent Accidents Like This One

 

Real Accidents, Real People: Edward’s Story

Fred Ambassador, Natasha, spoke to us recently about her son’s accident. In her own words, ‘It was a few years ago now, in our old house. We had stairs that curved at the top and bottom. He’d been doing the stairs, with supervision, for a while and was doing amazing at it! 

He was coming down one afternoon same as he’d always done but just lost his footing on the curve. I always went behind him and just couldn’t grab him in time. He fell from top to bottom and put himself into such a state of panic at the bottom that he stopped breathing and couldn’t catch his breath. He also cut the back of his head. 

 I did the typical Mum thing and silently panicked whilst helping him to get his breathing under control. We then rushed to the hospital for the cut on the back of his head.’

Edward sustained a mild concussion. He was back to normal very quickly. However, his parents couldn’t forget the accident as easily. They have now installed baby gates prior to their second son crawling to prevent an accident like this from happening again.

Natasha, Luke, Edward and Brody

The Do’s of Stairgate Safety

Natasha had put stairgates in place. However, she added ‘We couldn’t use them on the stairs due to the shape of them.’

We don’t know if a stairgate on the stairs would have prevented this specific accident. Yet, we do know that 45 children aged 0-5 will be sent to hospital every day after a serious fall. 

A baby stairgate is a vital piece of safety equipment that helps to prevent little ones from places reaching places they shouldn’t be in. Yet, it is not enough to just have a gate. It must be installed correctly. If the stairgate is not installed and used as it should be, this will create a greater hazard to your little one, you, and your home.

Here are some ‘do’s’ when installing baby stairgates:

• Read all the fitting instructions carefully as this will ensure that you will install the gate correctly.
• Stairgates can become loose over time. Checking fixtures and fittings regularly will make sure the gate does not become loose or damaged.
• Fit the gate against the floor. This will ensure a child cannot slip underneath it.
• Keep gates closed and locked at all times. A safety gate cannot protect your child when it’s open.

 

The Don’ts of Stairgate Safety

We understand that installing a baby stairgate correctly can feel overwhelming. Here are some more tips to feel at ease knowing your stairgate has been installed correctly helping to protect you and your family.

• Do not climb over a stairgate. Children love to copy others around them and they could try to copy you. You may also damage the gate in doing so.
• Do not fit gates on top of one another or across a window or outside.
• Do not depend on a gate to protect a child over the age of 2 years old. A child of this age will have learned how to open or climb over the gate.
• Do not position the gate too high as this could trap your child. The gap between the floor and the gate must be less than 3 inches.
• Do not fit a pressure-fit gate at the top of the stairs. Many pressure-fit gates have a U-bar frame which can pose as a trip hazard. This can be dangerous if placed at the top of the stairs.

 

Safety Made Simple: How Fred can help prevent accidents like this one

We are proud to say that Fred is the first fully compliant safety range in the UK; providing a range of safety gates that blend seamlessly into your home, designed for maximum safety. All our safety gates are made from professional-grade acrylic and solid poplar wood. Both our Screw Fit and Pressure Fit gates feature an easy one-handed open and they are adjustable to any opening, with the screw fit extending from 75cm to 100cm. 

It is common for children to have bumps and falls as they begin to explore the world around them. However, it is everyone’s duty to make sure they can do so in a safe environment. Installing baby stairgates correctly can help to prevent serious falls and injuries. An accident is a preventable event that with the correct home safety equipment can be avoided.

The Fred Ambassador Programme has been designed by the team at Fred to allow real people who have been affected by an accident within the home to share their stories. In doing so, we hope to spread awareness about the importance of home safety especially for those under the age of 5.

If your little one has been affected by an accident within the home and you wish to share their story, please email hello@cheekyrascals.co.uk to apply to our Fred Ambassador Programme. In doing so, you may be able to prevent an accident like yours from happening to the 40,000 children who will be sent to A and E each year because of preventable accidents within the home.