Child safety - Out and about

Find guidance to help families to keep their children safe from accidents and prevent serious injuries, while you are out and about.

Car seat safety

Buying a suitable and safe car seat for your baby is an important decision. You’ll want to make sure that you buy the best option for whilst your baby is tiny but also as they grow bigger and the range of seats available can be overwhelming.

What does the law say?

Children must normally use a child seat until they're 12 years old or 135 centimetres tall, whichever comes first.

Children over 12 or more than 135cm tall must wear a seat belt

Child car seats, the law, Using a child car seat or booster seat (GOV.UK)

For advice on what to look for to keep your child safe in the car take a look at

Nottinghamshire County Counncil, Via Road Safety recommend the guides from The Good Egg charity In car child safety, Law and advice

Fireworks

Fireworks are used more often for celebrations these days, not just on Bonfire Night, so make sure your family is safe by following this guidance, whilst still enjoying them. Never let young children touch or get too close to them. Remember sparklers are as hot as a blow welding torch, so are not recommended for young children and always remember to wear gloves.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards have produced this short Guidance when using fireworks (YouTube video)

More information can be found at Staying safe with fireworks (GOV.UK)

Road safety

Teaching children how to cross the road safely is one of the most important life skills they can learn. The Green Cross Code, part of the Highway Code, helps young people understand how to make safe decisions when walking near or across roads. Children need support, practice, and clear examples from adults before using the Code independently. The key things to remember are:

Find a Safe Place to Cross
Stop Before the Kerb
Look and Listen
Wait until it is safe
Cross safely, still looking and listening

For more information on the Highway Code, including general guidance, go to The Highway Code - Rules for pedestrians (GOV.UK)

THINK! have produced a helpful, child friendly highway code for young road users. To download your copy go to Tales of the Road (PDF Booklet) from THINK! – Road Safety for Children & Parents

Smoking in Vehicles

The Law

Did you know that it is illegal to smoke inside a vehicle with an under-18 present? Both the driver and smoker can be fined £50.

The law aims to protect children and young people from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.

What is secondhand smoke?

This is the smoke from the burning tip of a cigarette and the smoke inhaled and exhaled by the smoker. It is sometimes called passive smoking. It contains over 4000 chemicals, with over 50 of them known to cause cancer.

Smoking in a vehicle can generate much higher levels of secondhand smoke due to the smaller space which traps the smoke.

80% of secondhand smoke is invisible and odourless, so you can't always see or smell it.

Why opening a window or turning on the air-conditioning doesn't help

The levels of smoke can remain high long after a cigarette has been put out. Smoke particles will settle like dust on hard surfaces and become embedded in the upholstery, including children's car seats. The particles are gradually released back into the air over time - this is thirdhand smoke.

Opening windows or turning on the air conditioning does not reduce the harm. Air fresheners hide the smell but do not get rid of the harmful chemicals in the air.

How does secondhand smoke affect children?

Secondhand smoke is particularly dangerous for children as their bodies and immune systems are still developing. Children breathe faster and their airways are smaller, so they breathe more of the harmful chemicals, and it affects them more. Even short exposure in a vehicle can result in significant harm to their developing lungs and immune systems. Children exposed to secondhand smoke have increased risk of asthma and other breathing problems.

There are an estimated 22,000 new cases of asthma and wheeze in UK children every year. There is also increased risk of respiratory infections like flu, bronchitis and pneumonia, ear problems like glue ear and middle ear infections. Children who grow up around smokers are more likely to start smoking themselves later in life, so it is important to denormalise smoking behaviour by keeping it away from them.

Advice for pregnant women

Breathing in secondhand smoke causes the chemicals to enter your blood and pass to your unborn baby. This can increase the risk of still birth, premature birth, low birth weight and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. If you are pregnant, make sure that nobody is smoking in a vehicle if you are travelling in it too.
Ask drivers not to smoke in the vehicle or avoid travelling with them.

Remember it's against the law to smoke in a vehicle with under-18s on board.

It applies to:

any private vehicle with a roof, even when the windows or the sunroof are open.
someone sitting smoking in the open doorway of a vehicle

It doesn't apply to:

vaping in a vehicle
a driver who is 17 years old if they are on their own
convertible vehicles with the roof completely down.

Think about who your children travel with and ensure nobody smokes in a vehicle when they are in it. It's not just the smoker's health that's put at risk but the health of those around them.

Stopping smoking is the best way to protect others from secondhand
smoke.

Get in touch with friendly and professional stop smoking advisors for FREE support:

For Nottinghamshire County residents:

Your Health Notts 0115 772 2515
www.yourhealthnotts.co.uk

For Nottingham City residents:

Thriving Nottingham 0115 648 5724
www.thrivingnottingham.org.uk

You are 3 times more likely to quit with support

Download the Keep your car smoke free for you children (Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Smokefree Alliance- poster) [PDF]

Safe swimming

The Royal Life Saving Society UK have produced this 1-minute animation about the water safety code, which is the fundamental to water safety education. It is designed to provide simple and easy to remember information that acts as both a proactive measure to help educate people to make early, critical decisions, and also to help people understand what they should do in an emergency.

The Royal Life Saving Society UK parent resources have water safety advice and online learning for families of children from babies to 11 years. Also find advice on summer water safety, safety on holiday, at home, on the beach, and in swimming pools.

Sun and hot weather safety

Babies' prams, travel systems and buggies should not be covered with blankets, clothes or any cover that prevents te air circulating. Covering a pram or buggy with a blanket could lead to overheatin, which increases the chance of Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). using a cover is also risky as parents won't be able to see if their baby is having difficulties or monitor their temperature easily.

Keep your baby cool and protect them from the sun.

Babies less than 6 months old should be kept out of direct sunlight. Their skin contains too little melanin, which is the pigment that gives skin, hair and eyes their colour, and provides some protection from the sun.
Older babies should also be kept out of the sun as much as possible, particularly in the summer and between 11am and 3pm, when the sun is at its strongest. If you go out when it's hot, attach a parasol or sunshade to your baby's pushchair to keep them out of direct sunlight.
Apply a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 to your baby's skin. Make sure the product also protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Many brands produce sunscreen specifically for babies and young children, as these products are less likely to contain additives that might irritate the skin. Apply the suncream regularly, particularly if your child is in and out of the sea or paddling pool.
Make sure your child wears a sunhat with a wide brim or a long flap at the back to protect their head and neck from the sun.

More information can be found at

Take extra care to protect childrens skin as it is more sensitive than adult skin. Damage caused by repeated exposure to sunlight could lead to skin cancer developing in later life.

From March to October in the UK, children should

cover up with suitable clothing
spend time in the shade, particularly from 11am to 3pm
wear at least SPF30 sunscreen

Apply sunscreen to areas not protected by clothing, such as the face, ears, feet and backs of hands.

To ensure they get enough vitamin D, all children under 5 are advised to take vitamin D supplements (NHS)

Learn how to cover up, put on suncream and stay safe playing outdoors in the sun in this 1-mintue Sun Safety Heroes video.

For more information have a look at this range of safety advice and tips from health and children's professionals