The Electrical Safety Authority recently launched the first Home Electrical Safety Day — just in time for Thanksgiving weekend.
According to the ESA every year in Ontario nearly 110 kids under 15 years old are taken to the emergency rooms for electrical injuries — more than half are under the age of five.
Add to that, 60% of Ontarians say they've received an electrical shock. Enwin's Barbara Pierce-Marshall says there's no such thing as a safe shock, she spoke to AM800's Patty Handysides on The Afternoon News.
"Anything that is electrical in the house is a potential source of danger, this is what the campaign aims at, reminding parents and trying to give them some common sense tips," she says.
She says it's a good time to review safety with most families having a few rug-rats crawling around this holiday weekend.
"Every parent should take a tour of their house every now and then and just look at it as if they were a child crawling on the floor," says Pierce Marshall. "That will tell them exactly where and what they need to change."
Pierce-Marshall says there's a lot of things adults might step over that kids will simply try and take a bite out of.
"Inserts that can be put into these outlets to keep children from sticking their fingers or anything else they find around the house into there," she says. "Just keeping cords where children can't access them or find them interesting."
The project is the first in Ontario designed to get parents to thinking about electrical safety in the home.
— with files from AM800's Patty Handysides.