safety – The Safety Chic https://old.thesafetychic.com Official Website for TheSafetyChic Wed, 27 Feb 2019 07:40:48 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://old.thesafetychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/tsc-icon-100x100.png safety – The Safety Chic https://old.thesafetychic.com 32 32 How to prevent accidents around school buses https://old.thesafetychic.com/2019/02/20/how-to-prevent-accidents-around-school-buses/ Wed, 20 Feb 2019 07:39:07 +0000 https://old.thesafetychic.com/?p=13098

Has your finger ever been hit in the process of someone slamming a vehicle door?

This might seem “small” or negligible until you read the next scenario .
Did you hear the story of the female student whose uniform belt was caught in the door of the school bus and the school bus driver drove on oblivious to the fact a child was attached?

The little things we take for granted might be the difference between an accident and a non-accident. Who would have thought a losely tied or unloosend belt would have led to that?

At the last #SchoolSafetySummit the representative of the @frscnigeria advised that before school bus drivers move vehicles they have to stop and check before driving off. In practical terms this means, a child alights, you wait to hear the door close, you check that the child has moved away from the vehicle successfully, then you drive off. Drivers should also be mindful of children hurrying on the road without carefully observing traffic.

For children, always encourage them
1) To avoid staying around parked vehicles
2) To wait for the bus to stop before approaching it
3) To avoid playing on the streets while waiting for the bus
4) To be careful so their clothes or property is not caught in the bus
5) If something falls, they should speak to the driver first before bending to pick it.

For school management,
1) Ensure school buses have seatbelts
2) Have a student feedback system so happenings in the bus can be reported
3) Have a teacher/minder in the bus to accompany and monitor the kids
4) Have a first aid kit in the bus.

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How safe is your child playing area https://old.thesafetychic.com/2019/01/12/safe-playing-environment/ Sat, 12 Jan 2019 12:41:55 +0000 https://old.thesafetychic.com/?p=12693

Children need to play. It is important for their complete development. Unfortunately most parents try to fill up their days with so much activity that a recent report says Doctors are now beginning to prescribe play to children.

As they play, it’s inevitable that falls or other  accidents  would occur. How then can you ensure your children at home or students in school can stay safe even when they play?

Here are some tips to consider:
1) Floor plan: Floors on playgrounds and in play areas should be such that will not cause injury when a child falls down. Concrete floors should be ruled out. Sand, artificial grass or rugs are better to cushion the effect of falls.
2) Sharp corners/objects: Is the playground close to sharp corners? Then it’s either you move the playground to somewhere with more space or improvise by covering sharp corners with rugs, cushions or even throw pillows
3) Hand washing stations: With play comes sweat and contact with dirt. Therefore it is important to provide hand washing stations and encourage the habit of hand washing after play and before return to class or other activities
4) Horseplay: Teach children to avoid being rough when playing. When play becomes a high risk activity, the more quiet kids would stay away and this is not healthy. We need to encourage children to play without causing harm to their friends

5) First aid kit: While we encourage safe play behaviour, we also understand that an injury can happen at any time. Therefore it is important to have a well equipped first aid kit so that when injury occurs, you can spring to action in a timely and efficient manner.

Share with others if this was helpful to you.
Have you got our #ChildSafety story book #TheAdventuresOfMuna ? Send a message to order yours. Let’s help you teach children you love how to stay safe in different situations

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What is a Parent’s role in ensuring School safety https://old.thesafetychic.com/2018/09/17/12863/ Mon, 17 Sep 2018 13:57:29 +0000 https://old.thesafetychic.com/?p=12863

I recorded a T.V. interview on how a school can ensure safety on their premises. One of the questions I was asked was the role of parents.

1) Be observant: it is only when you observe that you will notice unsafe acts. For example, how did you get into the school without due process? A stranger can do same. Do you always see stagnant water at a particular spot?  Do you always trip on that particular walkway?

2) Ask questions: asking questions helps provide knowledge and prevents assumption. Could it be they are genuinely unaware of the implications? Could it be they have a system in place you are not aware of? It is only when you get involved and ask that you will know if your child is safe in that school

3) Support existing effective systems: Some schools have a challenge where the parent is a rebel. When schools put systems in place to protect your child, help them do their job by complying with set safety rules. For example, you know the pickup procedure, do not give security personnel or teachers issue when you are the one disobeying

4) Make recommendations: If you see something is not done right or not done at all, make recommendations for improvement. When in doubt, invite me to help them out.

When the T.V. interview is out, I’d share so you can learn other things.

Tag your friends if this was useful to you

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Safety of the Special Needs Child https://old.thesafetychic.com/2018/03/26/safety-of-the-special-needs-child/ Mon, 26 Mar 2018 07:38:03 +0000 https://old.thesafetychic.com/?p=12375

Over the weekend I was in Ibadan to speak about Safety and the special needs child at ThisAbility 1.0 organised by The Nechamah Foundation. I have decided to share with you because raising our consciousness on this matter would go a long way in helping our society at large.

Last year, there was a highly publicised case of a caregiver who mistreated a special child in her care. We only found out about this because there was a recording. What about the others who have no proof? Due certain limitations, special children are more prone to unsafe situations like burns, falls, drowning, molestation, choking, poisoning, smoke inhalation etc. However, the good news is that with a little more effort from us in terms of providing information, getting involved and making our environment disability friendly, we can turn the tide.

It is important to note that Special children are first children before being special. Therefore whatever we make available to other children most especially in terms of knowledge should be made available to them. Special children also need to be taught on how to protect themselves and act in an emergency. This is because a helper may not always be close by. So, parents, caregivers and teachers of these children need to be equipped with knowledge so they can transfer to the children in their care.

 

We need to consciously look beyond the label and treat these children well. We can do this by boosting the following:

Our Consciousness

As concerned citizens, we need to accept that disability is part of life in our society. Then we all should actively seek ways to make life easy for persons living with disability. We need to put an end to stigma, discrimination and neglect because disability isn’t going anywhere. As a matter of fact, this is why inclusion is now important because they do not live in a different world from us. We are all here together and must co-exist favourably. So stop the unnecessary pity, instead treat them normally and help where necessary.

As parents, caregivers or teachers of special children, we need to assess our immediate environments to note the likely safety incidents that can occur and harm the children. Then we make plans of how to either prevent them from happening or reducing the occurrence. It is also important that we raise the safety consciousness of the children themselves by teaching them about our plan. Ensure we have a support network we can learn from and get encouragement from. Always be ready and have an emergency supply kit so that if a situation arises, you won’t be caught off-guard.

Our Competence

Do we enough on how to handle safety scenarios that can affect children with special needs? If s first aid situation arises, are the caregivers trained to handle it? If a child has gone through molestation, is the caregiver trained to manage the child properly? If a fire starts in the home, is there anyone trained on the premises who can act accordingly? Do the children know how to deal with strangers, act on the roads, call for help or report disturbing activity? What are the teaching aids or styles we can use to ensure children assimilate intended message?

Knowledge is important in ensuring the safety of a special needs child.

Our Commitment

Commitment is an act not a word. What are we doing to ensure safety consciousness and competence is raised? What are saying to our schools, places of worship and residential estates leaders on this subject? How do we follow through? Are we supporting inclusion in our schools? Are we creating and supporting the formation of relevant laws and policies? When the children speak up on their concerns, do we follow up act?

Having the right mindset is not enough

Having the competence to act is not enough

Showing commitment through our actions will make our country safer for the special needs child.

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Emergency Response Preparedness: Drills https://old.thesafetychic.com/2018/03/12/emergency-response-preparedness-drills/ Mon, 12 Mar 2018 07:04:11 +0000 https://old.thesafetychic.com/?p=12355

In the past two weeks, we’ve touched on aspects in emergency response preparedness: plan, training. The next thing is drills. So you have the plan, your people have been trained but have you tested to see the effectiveness of the plan?

Again, because this is Nigeria, yes, God forbid but just imagine it isn’t forbidden and it actually happens, would your employees, co-workers, visitors know what to do? I’d be using an example in aviation to drive home the point. In the video above, I recently had my recurrency training and drills. This is mandatory for crew every 12 months because of the importance of periodic training. I have had to do this 6 times in the past 6 years. So of course, I do not want to crash land on land or water some day but if that happens, I’ve been prepped with knowledge to ensure we can be located by rescue teams, I know how to ensure passengers are protected from the elements, I know how to sort out food and water options not just for myself but for the passengers in my care and of course administer first aid where necessary. Just in case, you thought it was all about wearing short dresses, heels and lipstick, lol.

The thing about drills is
1) It makes you put yourself in that situation and explore how you will react. Sometimes people may know something but when faced with the situation they might panic, forget what to do or take wrong action. Drills help combat negative response

2) You will learn what to do and what not to do. I originally did not know how to swim but when I heard this was a necessary part of my job description I had to learn. I’m not a Michael Phelps but the basics, I got it covered. Therefore, irrespective of your sector, you can learn what is required for acting in emergencies peculiar to your sector

3) It shows loopholes in the emergency response plan. It is always better to discover mistakes in a drill than in a real emergency.

4) It provides a basis to make informed correction of the emergency response plan

5) It builds confidence in existing safety systems and individual performance. This is the reason trained professionals can act in emergencies. While others are afraid and worried about their lives, they are acting with precision due confidence built from training.

Preparedness is key to handling emergencies successfully. Are you now more likely to consider this for the workplace?

#EmergencyResponsePreparedness
#SafetyDrills
#SafetyConsciousness
#SafetyEducation
#TheSafetyChic Intentionally Grooming A Safety Conscious Generation

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How Important is Love in Safety? https://old.thesafetychic.com/2018/02/12/how-important-is-love-in-safety/ Mon, 12 Feb 2018 11:08:35 +0000 https://old.thesafetychic.com/?p=12331

A child died…

Over the weekend I heard of two cases regarding locking of gates at residential estates. In the first, a child died because the estate gate was locked, the security at gate wasn’t there to open for the family who wanted to rush the child to the hospital. The father had to forcefully open the gate and on the way to the hospital, the child died. In the second instance, a pregnant woman had to jump the fence because security was not at the gate to open and labour had started at night.

I agree that because of security concerns gates should be locked but should the rule about not opening the gate till morning be cast in stone? Should security men leave their duty posts for any reason? Why shouldn’t adequate stations be created for security right there beside the gates to avoid stories of receiving the call of nature? Why should we leave security men exposed to the elements? Why should we make rules without thinking of possible scenarios/emergencies that could arise?

This week will be awash with love and its components. In the context of safety, love is an important component. For you to really be a safety conscious person, you need to care about the well-being of others. We are supposed to love God and love our neighbours as ourselves.

Love God
Love Yourself
Love your Neighbour

It is only when you love as an employer that you will ensure your workplace is not a deathtrap to your workers or your visitors. It is only when you love as an employee that you will report if you see an unsafe task or equipment and not say it’s not my business. It is only when you love others that when you make rules in places of worship and residential estates, you will create clauses that can protect life in emergencies.

When buying furniture for your workplace what do you do? When recruiting staff do you make provision for their welfare? When working for someone, do you follow shortcuts? Do you comply with laid down rules or do you play a fast one when no one is watching? When you get valuable safety information that will help others do you educate others? Did you know that most depression cases could have been sorted just by listening and paying attention to detail? We need to genuinely begin to care about others. Remember we do not live in isolation and the actions of others could hurt us directly or indirectly.

Love. If we love more, we’d always think ahead about others before making decisions.

Love. If we love more, we’d have empathy to help others even when the rules are restricting.

Love. If we love more, we’d make our society safer for all.

Love and Safety is a full time job – don’t make it a part time practice

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Get My Free E-book on Safety Education for Children https://old.thesafetychic.com/2018/01/25/get-my-free-e-book-on-safety-education-for-children/ Thu, 25 Jan 2018 05:47:25 +0000 https://old.thesafetychic.com/?p=12321

Ever wondered how and why you should add safety education to what your children/students learn?

In this free e-book, I walk you through the process. Get yours by clicking this link www.thesafetychic.com

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5 Things to note about cervical cancer https://old.thesafetychic.com/2018/01/22/5-things-to-note-about-cervical-cancer/ Mon, 22 Jan 2018 20:07:24 +0000 https://old.thesafetychic.com/?p=12318

January is the month of Cervical Cancer awareness so I would be joining the #CheatCervicalCancer awareness campaign put together by @smilewithmeinitiative

I believe that if we all share information to more women, we’d be working together to combat this disease. Here are 5 Important Things you need to note:

1) Being sexually active

Once you are sexually active, you are at risk. Even if you just had sex once and have abstained since then, you need to get yourself checked. As we all know, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

2) Use of Condoms
Condom do not totally protect you just in case it just crossed your mind that you’ve been careful. Being careful is good but alas the Human Papilloma Virus could be around parts the condom didn’t cover. So, you need to get yourself checked

3) Pap smear 
This is an important screening test to check for precancerous or cancerous cells in the cervix. It helps doctors know how they can help you.

4) Vaccination 
With vaccination you get protected for life and this is why it is being advocated for younger girls to be vaccinated. With just 3 doses you live happily ever after free from the risk

5) Early detection
This is still the best way to have a fighting chance with cervical cancer.

Therefore, share this knowledge with all ladies. Men, you’re not left out. Please share with all the ladies you live. Encourage them to go for a check-up and let’s collectively cheat on cervical cancer.

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KIDNAPPING: WHAT NEXT? (2) https://old.thesafetychic.com/2017/02/20/kidnapping-what-next-2/ Mon, 20 Feb 2017 10:00:34 +0000 https://old.thesafetychic.com/?p=11807

After a kidnap has occurred family and loved ones go through a difficult phase. Fear of the unknown, fear of the future, worry about death and well-being of kidnapped person. Unfortunately, we the sympathisers tend to contribute with our quest for more information, subtle and direct accusation and our acts of concern and kindness.

So your child, brother, sister, father, mother, uncle, aunty, friend has been kidnapped, what can you do?

Feel your emotion

It’s alright to feel anger, fear and grief. However, you need to find the right ways to express your emotions to avoid transferred aggression. Take time to step back from the stress of the situation. This might be tough but you need to be deliberate otherwise you will get overwhelmed by your emotions and that of others. Little things like taking a walk, talking with a trusted person can be helpful.

Take charge

Get involved in activities that can help the kidnapped person. Yes, you are upset and grieving so channel all that emotion to something productive. Cooperate with security agencies and give them as much information as possible. Help to create awareness about the situation within your circle of influence: church, work, social media. You need to be strong and mentally ready to do this so you would need to eat and take care of yourself. Do not allow the situation make you forget to take care of yourself. You need to be fit for the task ahead.

Image result for kidnapped in nigeria

 

 

Avoid the blame game

You might blame yourself for the situation. There will also be others who would be blaming you or having various opinions as regards the situation. Stay away from the blame game. It does not help you and you absolutely do not need negative energy around you now.

Your faith

Most times people draw strength from their faith and religion ordinarily.  In this situation, your faith would give you some comfort as you navigate this trying phase. Studies have shown that people who pray more tend to have higher confidence levels in traumatic situations. Embrace the peace and solace derived here.

Now you know a bit more about kidnapping, here’s how you can reduce its likelihood:  

Be proactive

Prevention is the key. Most times we are reactive to situations and this is not really effective. Since we are aware there is a problem, then the next thing should be how we can protect ourselves before anything happens. So we need to develop a plan of action and procedures for emergency and crisis situation most especially in schools and families. Training children on what to look out for, who to avoid, how to call attention to themselves if abducted and how to escape will keep them prepared You could also get devices that can keep track of your movement.

Situational awareness

Always be alert in your environment and know what is going on. Most times we are preys because we are not paying attention to suspicious movement around us. Wherever you find yourself whether lonely places or public spaces you need to be alert. Most times, we advise kids but we ourselves do not pay attention. We also need to be wary when strange people come into our environment.

Image result for situational awareness

 

Mind your appearance

Some of us make ourselves prey to these things unknowingly by our behaviour. Do not carry around large sums of money or flaunt flashy jewellery. When you leave work, take off your ID card as you do not want to inadvertently give out information. Avoid clothes with your name on it. Of course you should look good but apply moderation in all things.

 

Personal safety equipment

Invest in GPS enabled devices as they could pinpoint your location in unfavourable situations. There are different trends to suit your need or lifestyle. Improvise in your choice of safety tools, they can disarm your kidnapper e.g. sprays.

Self-defense knowledge might seem sort of extreme but it is handy. Remember your focus is to disarm your attacker enough to escape.

Last but not the least, if you realise you are being taken, make a show while you still have the chance. Scream, flail your arms, anything to get the attention of others to your situation.

 

Image credit: www.personaldefenseworld.com, www.africanspotlight.com, www.google,com

 

 

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Health and Safety Goals for 2017 https://old.thesafetychic.com/2016/12/26/health-and-safety-goals-for-2017/ Mon, 26 Dec 2016 22:11:47 +0000 https://old.thesafetychic.com/?p=11742

A new year is gradually creeping in on us and with it would be goal setting and plans for the new year, Have you thought about your personal Health and Safety goals for the home and workplace? Yes! It’s also important. This is not about signing up for gym sessions even though that’s a good thing too. However, you need to be proactive about your health and safety in 2017 as whatever you do continuously would determine the status of your safety.

Last week, there were more safety incidents across the country so, now is a good time to decide that 2017 won’t catch you napping. Here are potential goals:

Be more active

In today’s fast paced world, more people are coming down with all sorts of ailments arising from work and poor lifestyle choices. Being active and taking part in exercises improves wellbeing. It does not have to be as rigid as gym sessions. Brisk walks, engaging in sporting activities, using the stairs instead of the elevator are quite handy activities.

Make your workstation safety compliant

Now, this might seem like something for the employers but if you do not speak up how would they know that seat gives you back pain? Or that the job layout is unsafe? Even after reporting to appropriate authority, you would need to make a conscious effort to be safe at your workstation to prevent ill-health. If you’d need a throw pillow to make your seat more comfortable, by all means get one. You need your health to perform your job effectively.

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Prepare for possible emergencies

Of course we do not pray for emergencies to happen, but they do happen. The best way to reduce its effects is better preparedness. What do you think could go wrong at home or at work? Prepare for it: get a checklist, first aid kit, contact number of medical personnel or facility, fire extinguisher or emergency procedures. Share this information with friends, family and co-workers so that they know what is expected of them in different emergency situations.

Get safety training

There have been increased rates of safety incidents in recent times: fires, building collapse, road traffic accidents and work related illnesses. We may not be able to control the actions of others but we can definitely do something about our own actions and knowledge. There are diverse areas in which a safety training can be packaged for you and your colleagues to benefit: firefighting, basic first aid, workstation posture and related exercises, emergency response plan, safety drills

Make safety a way of life

All you do in day-to-day life determines the quality of your health and safety eventually. The way you sit at your workstation, the way you bend to lift things, the side of the road you walk on, the way you hold your mobile devices, what you do while driving, the amount of sleep and rest you get, your choice of footwear, the kind of food you eat, your actions when you see a faulty machine, all contribute to make you either healthier or prone to accidents and injuries. Therefore, make safety a lifestyle.

 

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Have a beautiful and safe 2017.

 

 

Image credit: Google Images

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