Childcare Tips for Helpers

Many of you will have read the very sad story, in yesterday's SCMP, of the 18 month old boy who was strangled by a curtain cord he could reach from his cot.


If your helper looks after young children, now would be a good time to remind her that all curtain cords should be tied out of reach of young children (we used to use clothes pegs) and that nothing that could suffocate or strangle a child should be left within reach of the child's cot.

To expand on that, a little refresher on basic toddler safety is always good when hiring a new helper.


- Hot items on stovetop. Turn handles inward.

- Stair gates.

- Window locks.

- Bath time safety.

- etc...

I've only just read the story and my heart goes out to the family. xx

in the first place, a dangling curtain cord should not have been installed anywhere near a child / baby. that is what child safety experts advise parents in the us (at least) when they are decorating their homes.

May I expand on the above,

No cords, heating(radiators/electric heaters or fans near babies cots or playpens where the baby could reach

No decorative cords or ribbons around the neckline of babies clothes. these have also been known to restrict air intake in even very tiny babies.

Loose crochet or knitted garments or blankets can entangle tiny fingers, cause lack of blood supply and loss of the fingers, also documented cases.

Lots of little kids live in high rise, install widow locks, don't leave anything for them to climb on,on the balcony, better still don't let them out there alone.

And toddlers well you just need to have eyes in the back of your head and watch them all the time, my own child now grown, up jumped off a safety gate of all things, trying to fly 'like superman' and badly broke his nose when he was a toddler.

Children will do all kinds of things , this unfortunately lead to tragedy, my sincere condolences to the family of this little boy

In view of the additional points made by other posters, i have changed the heading of the post - please add any points you think would be useful for other employers to pass onto the helpers responsible for caring for their children.


It is pointless to apportion blame in a case like this. As someone else said, everyone concerned will be devastated. What we can do is remind each other of the need to train our helpers to be aware of child safety issues.


It is easy to focus on other aspects of a helper's job - cooking and cleaning, washing and ironing - and deal with childcare on the assumption that "she will know what to do because she's looked after so many chidren before". And, in most cases this will be right - your helper will know what to do. But because the consequences, in the rare case, are so dreadful it is worth remembering that we should not make any assumptions.


I once sent a helper, new to Hk on a training course adn she showed me the information booklet she had been given. There were extensive notes - both her's and the course provider's - on how to fold napkins into into 3 point crowns (a skill which has yet to be used in my household though no doubt impressive!). The childcare section was a series of bullet points tacked on as the last page of the booklet. My helper made no notes and I think that both she and the course provider assumed that everyone knows how to look after small chldren.

My sympathy with the family and the helper how devastated all must be feeling,with 4 small boys (twins x2)I have done my best to childproof the house,but accidents still happen in outside the home.With our cord I tie them up or you can use cable ties. Annerly midwives do first aid courses well worth the moneyMy youngest like electric sockets ie plugging in vacumm cleaner they can pull out the socket protectors even after I put heavy duty tape on top,so we have to be extra vigilant.God Bless the poor child and to all keep safe

also, bunk beds aren't recommended for kids under 6, even if they are for use for older kids, younger siblings can jump off them (they all think they are superman), and in worst case scenario can get pj strings etc caught when they jump around thier necks etc, tragic. Pls don't use them if you have small kids. I know space is so limited but it's just not safe!