How to create a child-proof bathroom

Ideal Standard provides advice to help parents child-proof their bathrooms and avoid accidents at bath-time.

More than one million children under the age of 16 attend accident-and-emergency departments every year as a result of accidents in the home, with more than 10 per cent of these accidents occurring in the bathroom.

However, there are various measures that parents can put in place to make the bathroom child-friendly.

Ideal Standard and parenting specialist Lucy Atkins, author of numerous parenting books including 'First Time Parent', have teamed up to create some tips to show parents how to help prevent unnecessary accidents and create a safe environment for family bath-time.

First, parents should avoid scalding; many bathroom accidents occur from hot taps and water, with more than half of all scalds in the UK happening to children younger than five years old.

The skin of a baby or child is thinner than an adult's and will scald easily.

Parents can check the temperature by dipping an elbow (not a hand, which may be less temperature sensitive) in the water.

The bath should feel the same temperature as the body.

An Ideal Standard thermostatic control tap, such as the Thermostatic Shower Mixer, which is priced at GBP490, keeps the brassware cool and safe to touch, while the temperature limit stop control allows the water temperature to be set to a certain level.

Also available is the company's range of Attitude brassware, which uses Cool Body technology, offering enhanced safety.

This prevents the body of the tap getting hot, even when hot water is running.

The tap can be touched at any time without danger of burning, ensuring optimal safety coupled with attractive design.

Second, parents should prevent small fingers getting crushed.

Small fingers can be trapped by knocking the toilet seat down during active play around the bathroom.

An Ideal Standard Concept soft-close toilet seat has a resistance function that allows children to put the seat up and down themselves, closing slowly without slamming shut.

The Concept seat and slow-close cover are priced at GBP100.

According to the company, a parent should never leave a baby or young child alone in the bath, even if he or she is using a special baby bath seat or if the baby can sit up alone.

Drowning is one of the most common causes of death in babies and young children.

A baby or child can drown in just an inch or two of water.

Third, parents must make sure dangerous items are out of reach.

Storage is important for keeping all medicines and bathroom cleaning products safely tucked away.

The Sottini furniture range offers a number of high wall-mounted storage solutions to keep potential hazards out of harms way.

Prices for this range start at GBP320.

It is acceptable to put even a small baby in a normal bath as long as he or she is held up and fully supported.

The water should only be a few centimetres deep.

The parent should put a non-slip mat in the tub to keep the child securely seated.

For extra safety, the company's First bath has a lower step in height of just 48cm, 7cm less than an average bath, making it easy for small children to get in and out.

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