Welcome to the October edition of Kidsafe Victoria’s e-news. This month will focus on National Kidsafe Day, our Farm Safety Competition and some tips on home water safety. We also have some information on the most recent product recalls. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook for regular safety tips and updates – happy reading and stay safe!

Find a Fitter

Did you know evidence consistently suggests that a majority (over 70%) of Australian drivers install or use child restraints incorrectly? Incorrect or inappropriate use of child car restraints triples the risk of injury in a crash.

Kidsafe Victoria’s ‘Find a Fitter’ listing provides you with easy access to details of credible, experienced child restraint fitters across Victoria. These fitters can guide you through the process of fitting and adjusting child restraints to assist you to ensure your child restraints are correctly installed and your children are travelling as safely as possible on every trip.

To find out more or to find a reputable fitter near you, please click here.

Furniture safety tips

Every year many children are injured from furniture or appliances such as TV’s tipping onto them. Children are naturally inquisitive and will not always use furniture as it is intended – for example, they may use bookcases and shelves as a ladder to gain access to reach an item that is stored up high.

Below are some tips to help you reduce the risk of furniture tip over injuries in your home:

• Always choose furniture with a broad and stable base.
• Test the stability of furniture (e.g. pull out top drawers of a chest of drawers and apply a little pressure to see how stable it is; make sure the drawers do not fall out easily)
• Secure any unstable furniture and items to the wall or floor with furniture brackets and/or anchors (some furniture products will come with these products, otherwise you can purchase them from hardware stores).
• Place locking devices on all drawers to prevent children opening them and using them as steps.
• Avoid putting heavy items on the top shelves or in top drawers as this can make furniture unstable.
• Remove items from the top of the TV or furniture that might tempt young children to climb, such as toys, lollies and remote controls.
• Anchor your TV to the wall or cabinet.
• Push the TV as far back as possible on the TV stand.

For more information on furniture safety, please click here.

Kidsafe Victoria and Wyndham City partner to make a safer world for kids

We are pleased to announce a new partnership with Wyndham City as we work towards increasing awareness of childhood injuries and their prevention amongst the local community. The partnership will see the implementation of a range of programs and activities across the next 12 months, including free community child car restraint checking days, child restraint information sessions and quarterly community awareness campaigns focusing on issues such as children left unattended in cars, driveway safety and backyard pool safety.

We look forward to working closely with Wyndham City to make a safer world for kids!

Product Recalls

Target Australia- Halloween LED Pumpkin Spinning Wand

The battery compartment cover may be opened, exposing the button batteries inside. If swallowed button batteries can cause serious internal injuries. Consumers should stop using the product immediately and return it to a Target or Target Country store as soon as possible for a full refund.

For further information please click here.

Blessed Earth — Children’s Elephant Pyjama Pants

The product does not comply with mandatory consumer goods standards. The pants fail the requirement for maximum garment length and do not have a numerical garment size. If the pants are too long they may pose a fire risk to the wearer. Consumers should immediately stop using the pants and contact Blessed Earth to arrange a refund. For further information please click here.

For more information on the last month’s product recalls please visit the Australian Product Safety website here.