Dreambaby is joining forces with Georgina Josephina Foundation to help highlight the need for better garage and driveway safety.
Dreambaby® is marking its 20th anniversary this year with a raft of new initiatives including a campaign to highlight the real dangers to children around garages and driveaways. It is also joining forces with the Georgina Josephine Foundation which was set up in part to prevent and reduce unintentional injury or death of children caused by low-speed vehicle run over accidents. The foundation was established in 2011, after Peter and Emma Cockburn tragically lost their baby daughter Georgina, at 15 months old. Peter, a builder, came home from work and was reversing his builder’s trailer into the garage of the family home when tragedy struck.
Garage Safety
People use their garages not just as a place to park their vehicles but also as a workshop and for storage, functions that all pose dangers to small children. Dreambaby® co-founder and international child safety expert and advocate Carolyn Ziegler has recorded a short podcast full of useful advice on how to childproof the garage. You can take a listen at https://soundcloud.com/dreambabysafety/safety-tips-for-the-garage.
One of things she stresses is that garages should be off limits at ALL times to children. Children can be run over by a reversing car, they can be poisoned by stored items such as garden fertilisers and hurt by work tools such as hammers and saws. Even screws pose a danger as they can be a choking hazard for small children. “The most important thing you can do is secure the entrance to your garage. Keep doors locked and install a child safety gate as an additional measure,” says Carolyn.
There are many gates to choose from in the Dreambaby® line-up including the very affordable pressure-mounted Dreambaby® Chelsea Auto-Close Security Gate (F160W) $79.95. It’s easy to install – no tools required and extends up to 4.8m/188.5in with optional extensions so fits a variety of openings throughout the home. It auto-closes – great when you are carrying a load – plus comes with an Ezy-Check® indicator so you absolutely know when it’s closed. It can also be opened from either side for total ease of use.
Garage Safety
People use their garages not just as a place to park their vehicles but also as a workshop and for storage, functions that all pose dangers to small children. Dreambaby® co-founder and international child safety expert and advocate Carolyn Ziegler has recorded a short podcast full of useful advice on how to childproof the garage. You can take a listen at https://soundcloud.com/dreambabysafety/safety-tips-for-the-garage.
One of things she stresses is that garages should be off limits at ALL times to children. Children can be run over by a reversing car, they can be poisoned by stored items such as garden fertilisers and hurt by work tools such as hammers and saws. Even screws pose a danger as they can be a choking hazard for small children. “The most important thing you can do is secure the entrance to your garage. Keep doors locked and install a child safety gate as an additional measure,” says Carolyn.
There are many gates to choose from in the Dreambaby® line-up including the very affordable pressure-mounted Dreambaby® Chelsea Auto-Close Security Gate (F160W) $79.95. It’s easy to install – no tools required and extends up to 4.8m/188.5in with optional extensions so fits a variety of openings throughout the home. It auto-closes – great when you are carrying a load – plus comes with an Ezy-Check® indicator so you absolutely know when it’s closed. It can also be opened from either side for total ease of use.
“Another measure parents should always take is to secure the handle on garage doors. You can do this with Dreambaby®’s patented Ezy-Fit Door Knob Cover 3pk (#908) RRP $8.95. These are easy to install on most round door knobs - no tools required - and can be used to prevent access to laundries, garages and other rooms throughout the house.
“It’s very important to declutter your garage.” says Carolyn. “I know for many the garage is primarily about storage but clutter can pose risks so you need to think about safe storage. For instance, if you store your stroller in your garage, hang it up out of the way using the Dreambaby® StrollAway pram hanger (#256) (pictured top right) RRP $39.95. That way little fingers won’t be trapped by accident.
“It’s very important to declutter your garage.” says Carolyn. “I know for many the garage is primarily about storage but clutter can pose risks so you need to think about safe storage. For instance, if you store your stroller in your garage, hang it up out of the way using the Dreambaby® StrollAway pram hanger (#256) (pictured top right) RRP $39.95. That way little fingers won’t be trapped by accident.
Sort out all gardening tools and store in a cupboard that has been secured with a good lock or latch. Poisons and sharps MUST be stored out of reach in a locked cabinet.” Dreambaby® has a large line up of locks and latches including the flexible Multi-Purpose Latch (#126) RRP $6.95 for anywhere in the house not just the garage – toilets, cupboards, cabinets and much more, the Mini Multi-Purpose Latches (2 Pack) (#146) RRP $7.95, the patented adjustable and flexible extra-long Ezy-Check® Multi-Use Latch® (#800) RRP $6.95 and the Angle Lock (2 Pack) (#133) RRP $7.95 for corner drawers and cabinets, appliances and laundry cabinets. “The idea is that you use as many different locks and latches as you can in the garage and throughout the home – children learn by watching so if you are using a variety of different locks with different locking mechanisms you keep them on their toes,” advises Carolyn. Dreambaby® also has an Adhesive Mag Lock® range, magnetic locks which are placed inside a cupboard or drawer totally hidden from the outside. These locks can only be released using a specially-made powerful magnetic key. Prices start at RRP $$29.95 for a 2 lock and1 key pack (#856). Many people also have a second fridge in their garage – make sure you use a Refrigerator and Appliance latch (#121) RRP $5.95 on it especially if you are storing alcohol.
Driveway Safety
Reversing your car out of your garage is always dangerous when you have small children about. On average, every year 7 children aged 0-14 years are killed and 60 are seriously injured due to driveway run over incidents in Australia. Most driveway run overs occur in the driveway of the child’s own home, or in a friend or relative’s driveway. The driver is usually a parent, relative or family friend.
In 85% of cases, the driver does not know that a child is close to the vehicle; they think they are being looked after elsewhere. “Toddlers can escape in a blink of an eye with tragic consequences as we know from the many child accident stats. One of the things I advise is to install a baby view mirror in your car such as the Dreambaby® Adjustable Baby View Mirror (#218) RRP $10.95,” says Carolyn. “Quite often mum goes out and about with baby while older siblings stay home with the other parent or a grandparent. “A mirror allows you to be less distracted and to keep your eye on potential escapees as you leave the home,” said Carolyn.
Emma Cockburn of the Georgina Josephine Foundation also advises on the usefulness of rear vision cameras and autonomous reverse braking which can help. “We are working hard towards having this technology as standard features in all vehicles,” said Emma. Peter also advises looking carefully at housing and driveway design to separate living spaces and play areas of houses and yards from driveways and garages. He is a big supporter of the Kidsafe’s campaign ‘Supervise, Separate, See’.
For more on Dreambaby® visit the Dreambaby® web site http://www.dreambaby.com.au or call (02) 93864000. @dreambabysafety #dreambabysafety
If you would like to to know more about the Georgina Josephine Foundation go to http://www.gjfoundation.com.au/
Driveway Safety
Reversing your car out of your garage is always dangerous when you have small children about. On average, every year 7 children aged 0-14 years are killed and 60 are seriously injured due to driveway run over incidents in Australia. Most driveway run overs occur in the driveway of the child’s own home, or in a friend or relative’s driveway. The driver is usually a parent, relative or family friend.
In 85% of cases, the driver does not know that a child is close to the vehicle; they think they are being looked after elsewhere. “Toddlers can escape in a blink of an eye with tragic consequences as we know from the many child accident stats. One of the things I advise is to install a baby view mirror in your car such as the Dreambaby® Adjustable Baby View Mirror (#218) RRP $10.95,” says Carolyn. “Quite often mum goes out and about with baby while older siblings stay home with the other parent or a grandparent. “A mirror allows you to be less distracted and to keep your eye on potential escapees as you leave the home,” said Carolyn.
Emma Cockburn of the Georgina Josephine Foundation also advises on the usefulness of rear vision cameras and autonomous reverse braking which can help. “We are working hard towards having this technology as standard features in all vehicles,” said Emma. Peter also advises looking carefully at housing and driveway design to separate living spaces and play areas of houses and yards from driveways and garages. He is a big supporter of the Kidsafe’s campaign ‘Supervise, Separate, See’.
For more on Dreambaby® visit the Dreambaby® web site http://www.dreambaby.com.au or call (02) 93864000. @dreambabysafety #dreambabysafety
If you would like to to know more about the Georgina Josephine Foundation go to http://www.gjfoundation.com.au/
