Avoidable injuries associated with children tampering with electrical outlets is something everyone with kids in the house should be concerned with. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has reported that 2,400 kids a year are taken to the emergency room for injuries associated with electrical receptacles...seven children every day! If you think you're home is safe, consider the fact that 70% of these injuries happened in a home where their parents said the same thing.

Readily available household objects toddlers find to insert: - 32% are hairpins - 17% are keys - 12% a finger - 11% are pins, screws, wire or nails - 11% while playing with plugs - 8% are never identified - 5% are staples or paper clips - 3% are simple tools such as tweezers, files or knifes - 1% are belt buckles or jewelry

INJURIES CAN BE VERY SERIOUS Almost 95% of injuries, according to CPSC, involve burns. The degree of injury varies but too many result in serious and at time fatal consequences. Even minor injuries can leave emotional trauma. Because the skin is thin on young children, burns become very serious as it offers little resistance to heat or electric flow so burns are deeper and scaring is more severe.

PREVENTION IS IMPORTANT AND CHEAP
Plastic outlet covers are common for parents with infants and toddlers in the house. Although they cover the socket holes, they are easily removed by children and therefore not as safe as parents would hope. The safest solution would be to install tamper resistant outlets. These newly designed receptacles so effective in preventing childhood injuries that the 2008 National Electrical Code now requires tamper resistant outlets to be used for all new home construction.

TAMPER PROOF OUTLETS WORK SMARTER Tamper proof outlets are the same size standard as conventional wall outlets with a built-in shutter system that protects children from electrical current when inserting foreign objects into the receptacle. The shutter mechanism is spring-loaded and only allows the flow of electricity when pressure is applied equally and simultaneously to both shutters in the case of an electrical plug When the outlet is not in use, both shutters remain closed, placing a barrier between the electricity and a child's probe.

TAMPER PROOF OUTLETS IN OLDER HOMES
Upgrading to these outlets is simple and cost effective; so much so that they are being used in older households too. The tamper resistant receptacles are the same size as standard receptacles so to retrofit an older home is made easy.

TAKE THE TIME - ITS WORTH IT This one act can help you avoid preventable home injuries caused by electrical outlets. Make a safer environment in your home for you and your child. Install tamper proof outlets—you will never regret it.

2008 NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE (NEC) BASICS
The updates took effect with the 2008 NEC, and municipalities and states have to adopt the Code. NEC Article 406.11 states that all 125-volt. 15- and 20-ampere receptacles shall be listed tamper-resistant receptacles. The Code applies to new homes for single and multi-family construction.