Kids Safety Tips for Electrical Equipment

During the summer in particular, it's imperative that children have the necessary resources and information on electrical safety. A few basics can help ensure your children's safety.

Outdoor Power Lines

• Children should beware of outdoor power lines and assume that all outdoor wiring is dangerous. Children should never touch an outdoor wire with any part of their body, or with another object. They should not throw items onto electrical lines or try to retrieve anything from aerial power lines.

Play in Open Areas

• Children should fly kites and other airborne toys in open areas (fields, parks, etc.) away from aerial power lines. Should a kite, balloon or other toy get stuck in a power line, they should not attempt to retrieve it.

Climbing

• Children should not attempt to climb trees near power lines, even if the two are not touching. Also, children should never climb a utility pole or play near electrical equipment.

Other Electric Safety Tips

• Children should never venture into an electric substation, as the high-voltage electric equipment can prove fatal. They should never follow anyone in, either, but be told to call the local utility company to help rescue them. Children should keep all electrical toys at least 10 feet away from pools and wet surfaces, and should never touch these toys while wet or standing in water, as electricity flows quite easily through water.