Keep Children Safe at Parties

Children's parties at home can be frenetic and stressful. If you're lucky enough to have a child with a spring/summer birthday then you can often locate the whole thing in the garden - even the food if you plan it as a picnic.

If you're not that lucky, and you want to make upstairs off limits for instance, then make sure they know about that as they arrive and put a physical barrier there such as a table or a couple of chairs. Make sure you have a couple of extra adults there to reinforce the rules and keep an eye on things.

Make sure you tell the children where they can go and that they stick to that area, such as the lounge or a cleared out dining room. Enlist the help of other parents to help enforce this - it also minimises the clearing up! This means that you can make sure that room is as clear of hazards as possible and also that you know pretty much where everyone is at any one time.

Lock the front door so they can't run out there in excitement and the same for the back door if you don't want them outside.

How Can I Keep An Eye On All Of Them?

To make sure boredom doesn't kick in, have activities planned from the word go - colouring their own party hats in until everyone is there for instance - then you are able to keep them occupied until you are ready to start with party games. A short video is also a good 'calmer down' for later on in the party.

Move anything breakable like ornaments, TVs, vases or anything that might be tripped over to another room altogether - it might make the room a bit bare but that's better than something breakable causing an injury. Don't allow misuse of furniture either -a chair climbed on is a chair that can be fallen off!

If there are cables along the edge of a wall, make sure they are securely taped beneath the carpet or rug to avoid tripping.

In case someone does get hurt, make sure you have a stocked up medical kit to hand - at the least you should have plasters, bandages, antiseptic cream and cotton wool, but if you visit a larger chemist such as Boots you should be able to buy a good, pre-filled medical kit.

Make sure that children are as calm as possible and seated before they eat to avoid risks of choking on small party food and try and avoid anything to do with cocktail sticks. Finger food also avoids the need for cutlery, and paper plates and cups don't smash.

Make sure that children stay out of the kitchen, especially if you are not there, but in any case ensure that kitchen hazards such as appliances, knives, plates etc are put away in cupboards before the children arrive.

If the children are a bit older and parents are leaving children with you, make sure they leave a number where they can be contacted, preferably a mobile, in case of an emergency. When children are picked up, make sure the parents come to your door so you know the children have gone with them, rather than send children off down the drive to a car they think they recognise.

Also, if someone turns up saying they are picking a child up instead, and if you don't know them, phone the child's parents to make sure they know who they are.

At A Venue

If you are going to hire a venue such as an indoor play centre, swimming pool, pottery painting, café etc, make sure that they have adequate medical equipment and enough trained staff on hand to deal with any emergencies.

Also make sure they have insurance and that they tell you where the emergency exits are in case of a fire or other problem that requires immediate vacation of the premises.

The Safekids Child Safety Handbook...

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