5 Ways to Keep Your Family Safe This Winter
Winter can be so much fun: sledding, skiing, hot chocolate while sitting beside a warm fire. But it can also be a dangerous time for your family. While you’re having fun and enjoying yourselves, make sure your family stays safe this winter with these five tips.
- Be ready for a power outage.
Heavy snow and ice can knock down power lines and leave you in the dark for hours, or even days. Be ready for the possibility by keeping a stash of batteries on hand, along with flashlights and battery-operated lanterns. Have a generator on hand, with fuel, ready to be fired up. Consider purchasing a radio that runs on batteries or a hand crank, so you can keep yourself informed. If you want an added layer of safety from the cold, you could also consider a heated jacket like these found online, this can be a great backup if your generator fails to start or if you need to go out into the cold in order to get a hand from someone nearby.
- Get clear driveways the easy way.
Shoveling snow is known for being associated with heart attacks. On top of that, there’s also the dangers associated with slipping and falling in the snow and ice. Apart from the injuries you could sustain, if no one realizes you’ve fallen and your injuries are too severe to move, you could get hypothermia.
Heated driveway mats can solve this problem. These snow-melting mats keep driveways and walkways free of snow and ice without shoveling, keeping you and your little ones safe all winter long. You can get back and forth to the car with ease and no more worries.
- Go to battle against germs.
Winter is prime time for a variety of bacteria and viruses. Being cooped up indoors makes everyone more susceptible to illness, and when you do get out, other people who are ill have touched the same door handles, shopping carts, and chairs that you do. Keep your house slightly cooler and use a humidifier – this makes your home less inviting to germs. Make sure everyone washes their hands regularly with antibacterial soap, and keep hand sanitizer on hand for those rare instances where hand washing isn’t an option.
- Double Check the alarms in your home.
Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are critical in the cold winter months when fireplaces and furnaces are running full tilt to keep you warm. Make sure the batteries are fresh and working and look for a test button on the device itself that you can press to ensure the device is fully functioning. Make sure you have them installed in all sleeping areas, as well as at least one or two in the kitchen and living areas.
- Get your fireplace and/or furnace checked out.
Have someone inspect and clean out your fireplace and/or furnace to ensure everything is clean and ready to work for you. If you have central heat, have that checked as well. The last thing you want is either a fire or for your central heat to go out when it’s below freezing outside.
Winter is a beautiful, but unforgiving, time of year. Enjoy the beauty and the wonder, but make sure you take the steps needed to be safe.
Something I have to think about when I go back east. Being in California I have never had to worry about winter.