Toddlers and Power Tools

When I was a boy my father had a rule that we couldn't cross certain lines when he was working with power tools.

A new dad told me that he turned around the other day to see his toddler playing with a plugged in power drill. No parent is perfect but of course he was gutted with himself for not having anticipated that her developmental stage was getting into exploration and experiment territory.

As he is about to embark on some major renovations (number two on the way) I was wondering if there were any tips people could provide on dealing with children around home renovation projects e.g. are there any electronic gadgets or new systems that make workshops and work sites safer than when I was a boy?

Thanks for any tips :)

Probably the best way to control the situation is to ban the kids from the site, as there are always going to be power tools around eg battery operated tool, even nail guns.

Suggest you go to Jaycar or Dick Smith and get on of those photoelectric alarms which operate when the beam is broken, like many shops have installed. You can set it at a height low enough to step over, but OK a child to activate

Have to agree with Jill, the only sure way is to ban the child from the work-site. I know this can be difficult sometimes in a home environment but the consequences can be horrific.
If the home has 2 parents then I would suggest that one of the parents keep an eye on the child at all times and keep the child in their care.
If the child wanders into the work area. keep all power tools off the ground and out of reach or small hands, on a table perhaps where it is too high for a toddler to reach.
Get into the habit of replacing the power tool on the table when you have finished with it (power drill etc) or even when you put the tool down for a few seconds, Don't become complacent, follow this rule to the letter.
Unplug power tool when not in use just to be doubly safe and try to keep power cords also out of reach of the little one. they can grab things so quickly it is amazing the speed they can move.
Don't leave sections of building materials propped up against a wall, lay it on the floor.

Some of these suggestions are difficult to implement and if you can keep the child out of the area altogether is a much safer plan.

the one simple rule with kids is:
don't trust them!

it doesn't matter how old they are or how closely you think you're watching them

a couple of years ago the mrs was watching the kids while I put together some raised garden beds
no power tools just some pre cut colorbond, a bit of timber and a hand saw

I was getting the pieces laid out about 30m from the house
timber on the saw horse, measured and marked...I scanned the area and I'm positive I was alone...
I pick up the saw and as I'm about to make the first pass my 4yo's hand grabs the business end of the saw blade :o

I put the saw down and walk him back to the house where I ask the mrs "where's Ant?" ..."in his room, why?"

pretty sure he'll grow up to be a ninja... with a missing ring finger on his left hand

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Originally Posted by cpcp

I was wondering if there were any tips people could provide on dealing with children around home renovation projects e.g. are there any electronic gadgets or new systems that make workshops and work sites safer than when I was a boy?

Thanks for any tips :)

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How about an electric fence?

I have an isolating switch on one of the rafters in the garage. No one else is tall enough to reach it. When my kids were small it was always switched off if the garage was open and I was not there.

One of the grandkids when he was young had a great delight on turning on any thing with a motor,hand beaters,hair dryers etc etc ,only problem was he could not turn them off,so daughter often came in to kitchen to see a beater wandering around the counter top under its own speed,with him crying "turn it off,turn it off".very soon all powerd utensils were placed on top of cupboards out of reach.I was over there one day visiting ,he was in his room playing I was sitting on lounge reading Qoukka,when I heard a bit of a bang from his room,I thought he might have knocked a bedside lamp over,no,no he's there with a pair of scissors he had cut the power cord in half ,black flash mark in the palm of his hand.How he never got plated is still beyond me as rcd werent around then.:(

cpcp loved the way you started the thread with the fact your dad laid down boundaries and you listened and took note of course this has stood you in good stead for the rest of your life.

It has taught you "YOU" are responsible for your actions the same way I was taught, that tools (not just power) are dangerous, that work areas can and are dangerous.

I disagree with closing kids out shutting the door of their future they need to learn all sorts, from all sorts of life situations.

I look at how we have all over this country "40K School Zones" we are moving the responsibility off their shoulders to behave, learn to look, think that safety is paramount. No wonder we now have such as OH&S Workcover to teach us what we should have been learning all our lives up to the work environment and life in general.

Yet we have tools all with "Safety switches double buttons to push to operate them, how often have they been by passed turned off so WE can use them easier.:doh::roll:

All my 3 children were taught to handle and use all sorts, my grand-children by their parents and us are taught the same thing responsibility. Yes of course if situations are dangerous they are TOLD whats happening allowed to watch if they choose BUT out of harms way.

I learned "safety" was mainly about respecting the tool and what it could do.

I agree with wheelinround.

Paul.

I hunt with two big Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. The smaller one, Tia, is maybe 40kg/90lbs. Muddy is 46/48kg and will rest his chin on the table.
I use "pack mentality" to deal with them. Works wonderfully 24/7.

However, the downside is that they believe that they "need" to be with me when I'm doing other jobs. In the workshop, I shut the door. Whine all you want. NO.
I was maybe 6? 7? when I attempted to grab a bent scrap off the table saw. I still have the scar and stitch marks from that.

You have to have some hours of time with no interference whatsoever in order to make some progress. It is sad that even some adults can't allow you to do that.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I agree that personal responsibility should primarily be encouraged but of course children have to be old enough to understand the consequences and even then many presume that because a situation is familiar in almost all respects to a safe one they have been involved in before that things must be safe (adults too often as well come to think of it!).

I like the ideas of dangerous items simply out of reach and secure stacks. The Master Power Switch is going ahead 'pronto' followed by the beam idea too (perhaps even motion sensors).

Thanks :)

I worked in the Electricity Supply industry for 40 years. We had some childhood fatalities with kids climbing steel transmission line towers and also scaling barbed wire fences into substations and climbing structures in them, and touching the live equipment.

We became very much legally aware that children could not be held responsible for their actions, no matter how many warning signs and barriers you put up. You were legally liable in each case when a child climbed over a barrier or ignored a warning.

How does this apply to you? You cannot assume children are aware of the dangers of power tools, no matter how many times you educate and explain.

The worse case will be when it is not your child that is injured, but that of a friend or neighbour. YOU are totally responsible, in all cases, no matter whose child, and no matter how many barriers, warnings, or safeguards you install

Hence my recommendation, keep the children away from your worksite and shed unless you are working with them one on one, teaching them to use a tool etc.

Good points, I agree Jill. I am sure we all teach our children responsibility but children are not adults and don't have the same perception as adults. How many times do you hear of a toddler or youngster being run over in their own drive-way. I am sure these children would have been told by their parents "you don't walk or stand behind a motor vehicle" but invariably some do and with dire consequences. By all means teach children responsibilities as they grow but don't let us become complacent and think that a child is going to do the right thing all the time..They wont.
When it comes to the crunch, the parent is responsible for the safety of the child, you cannot expect a child to do the right thing.. lets face it, we don't always do the right thing ourselves.

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Originally Posted by munruben

Good points, I agree Jill. I am sure we all teach our children responsibility but children are not adults and don't have the same perception as adults. How many times do you hear of a toddler or youngster being run over in their own drive-way. I am sure these children would have been told by their parents "you don't walk or stand behind a motor vehicle" but invariably some do and with dire consequences. By all means teach children responsibilities as they grow but don't let us become complacent and think that a child is going to do the right thing all the time..They wont.
When it comes to the crunch, the parent is responsible for the safety of the child, you cannot expect a child to do the right thing.. lets face it, we don't always do the right thing ourselves.

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John I agree with the parent is/should be responsible but if you do not teach responsibility throughout life we find parents who become complacent, irresponsible and feel that modern technology of such as reversing cameras and motion detectors will save the life of their child. Nothing beats common sense, instinct, thought and eyes.

How many pools are fenced secure as possible but kids find ways to still gain access and drown. Funny Sue and I were discussing intelligent animals and how they learn over time. Like birds who open their cages, dogs & cats who know how to slide and push open doors, which cupboard their food is kept in.

Sadly cartoons as I have said before have much to do with kids believing they can not die or if injured come off unscathed.

Nail Guns,i think these must be the most dangerous tools,if you are using one for construction or you may think it's just a bradder it will be ok NO have you see how far a brad can go if it should hit a knot,just keep the kids in another place far away.

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Originally Posted by wheelinround

Nothing beats common sense, instinct, thought and eyes.
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How true that is Ray. .unfortunately, commonsense is not always that common.:) and so many kids think they are bullet proof.

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Originally Posted by cpcp

When I was a boy my father had a rule that we couldn't cross certain lines when he was working with power tools.

A new dad told me that he turned around the other day to see his toddler playing with a plugged in power drill. No parent is perfect but of course he was gutted with himself for not having anticipated that her developmental stage was getting into exploration and experiment territory.

As he is about to embark on some major renovations (number two on the way) I was wondering if there were any tips people could provide on dealing with children around home renovation projects e.g. are there any electronic gadgets or new systems that make workshops and work sites safer than when I was a boy?

Thanks for any tips :)

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To get back to the original question, if your access to your workshop is by a normal door, quickest and cheapest solution immediately is to get one of those childrens safety gates that are usually installed in homes nears stairs etc, whack it up, by doing this your child can still see what you are doing , being interactive with each other verbally but piece of mind you have created a safe barrier untill such time as you can install the safety breaker switch and if you still intend, infared beam alarms system.
And as every body has said in one way or another, be very vigiliant with tools and electricity, sorry if this sounds like a lecture but from personal experience, it really hurts when you get bitten by a tool, i also have 7year old twins, so you can imagine my dramas when the little buggers come in poking their nose around, dad, whats this do, whats that do dad, but seriously, all the best dude, sometimes kids have to learn the hard way, a fact of life. :wink:

My workshop is part of a 2.5 car garage. One car still lives inside (not for much longer if I can help it :D). So the kids (5 and 3) walk through it each day to the car.

I have a locked door to the garage, with the deadlock up high so the kids can't reach it (also serves as security for the house if someone gets into the garage). Plus I use an isolation switch for all the circuits in the garage, except the lights. It goes on when I'm working, and off when I leave.

It's not just tools though that are dangerous. Piles of timber, paints/turps and other chems, chisels, planes, hammers, even clamps are all dangerous if they fall etc. I don't like kids in the shed with me when I'm working (in fact, I don't like anyone else there, but kids especially) - noise, dust, projectiles, etc. If I do, it would be for a special project that we are working on together, not just because they drifted in to see what I was doing.

Kids can make anything dangerous - climb on the thinking chair and all of a sudden they can reach all sorts of interesting things. My paints and other chems are locked away in a cupboard, but even still, the trouble they could create in 1.5 seconds is simply not worth the risk.

Trav

Totally agree with Trav. Well done! :2tsup: