Electrician for Child Proof Outlets

Did You Know that Kids Are Less Resistant to Electric Shock?

As parents, we know firsthand that curious young children will touch and play with anything they can get their hands on. They will also likely attempt to take these objects (or even their small fingers) and poke them into any hole they can see, including the electrical outlets scattered throughout your home. If the object they hold happens to be metallic or their fingers are wet, the child may become electrified.

Children’s skin is much thinner and offers less resistance to electric flow and heat. This means that the shock and burns a child incurs are much more significant than if you were to accidentally shock yourself through an outlet.

Some electric shocks are minor with no long-term damage, but if the electrical current is strong enough, it will enter your child’s body at the point of contact and leave at some other point. In between, the current damages any tissues in its path.

With children, minor electric shock damage includes skin burns, numbness or tingling, muscle contractions, pain, weakness, headache, and possibly hearing impairment.

In severe electrical shock cases, the shock can be strong enough to make your child unconscious or stop breathing. Child proof electrical outlets can help prevent severe shocks that can cause seizures, cardiac arrest, or damage to the brain, the heart, or other important vital organs. In the most severe cases, electric shock can cause death.

If you are buying or moving into an older home and you have children, our Abbotsford residential electricians recommend that you also have an electrical safety inspection done.