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Safety in the Home died from accidental causes, 2.l28 or over 25"} died as a result of accidents in the home. This startling fact was brought to the Ontario Safety Conference by Miss Grace Hamilton In a panel discussion on "Safety In the Farm Home." The members of the panel. Mrs. Elton Armstrong. a farmer‘s wife and extension worker well known to Institute members over the province, Mrs. Mcâ€" Candless. F.W.I,O. Public Relations Officer. and Miss Hamilton. a registered nurse of Home Eco- nomics Extension Service. left no doubt that we all need to be alerted to the common causes of acciâ€" dents in homes and what can be done to prevent them. Mrs. Armstrong also made the point that the onus is not entirely on the homemaker. but that the man of the house has his responsibilities too. Many farms where there are small children have impmperly covered wells or open drinking troughs for livestock. And there is the still-tooâ€"common practice of taking children for a ride on the trac- tor. Farmers. and their families. too. run the risk of-falls where ladders with broken rungs or dry rungs are used. Miss Hamilt0n spoke of the rakes. forks and nails left lying on the ground a fall on one of these could mean a nasty wound with the possibility of tetanus infection. Mrs. McCandless suggested that we might learn a lot about safety in the home from the precautions taken by industry and that such education might be undertaken by our local organizations. The panel members went right through the house pointing out the all-too-common hazards in the different rooms. In the hall there may be the risk of falls from tripping over toys. skates or other things left lying around. or of stepping on a scatter rug that slips on the polished floor. Polished stair steps cause many falls. or stairs partially blocked by articles to be taken up or down. Small children often tumble down stairs because no one has placed a gate or a chair across the top or the botv tom. Stairs should have a strong hand rail. should be well lighted. and in basement stairs the bottom step should be marked with a painted white strip. IN THE YEAR 1054, of the 8.372 Canadians who 1n the living»room children often have accidents with things left lying around such as a work-basket with its scissors. needles. thimbles, buttons or a dish of peanuts on a coffee-table. A very small child puts anything he finds in his mouth and the results here may be serious. A child likes to inves- tigate electric cords and outlets. so unused sockets should be taped. Tippy lamps and open fireplaces have their dangers. too. The panel members considered the kitchen to be the most dangerous room in the house. Common accidents here are cuts from knives. burns from upset potsâ€"the handles of cooking utensils should be “turned in" so that a child cannot reach them; falls from spilled water or grease; falls from climbâ€" ing on chairs and boxes to reach high places in‘ stead of using a Strong stepladder; poisonings. in the case of children. from cleaning materials, Fires 12 may be started from grease spilled on the slim- n. curtains blowing ovpr a gas llame. or childiur playing with matches, or someone doing up; cleaning" in the house. When a mother is him q. the kitchen the safest place for a toddling chip: . in a playpen. Fire extinguishers should lwu L. close to the kitchen bill tetrachloride shouldi . be used either in a fire extinguisher or as a cIL-m in a closed room â€" the fumes could cause m... injury or death in a very short time. The bathroom's most common danger is an I locked medicine cabinet in a home where ii. are children. or where old. unlabelled I‘llL‘tllL‘l are kept. Falls in the bathtth can usually be p vented by having a rubber mat in the tub. Elem appliances should be kept at a distance from i tub â€" most people know the danger of touchin switch while in contact with water but not a 1 take risks. Where thcrc are children some arrtm mcnt should be made to prevent them turning taps and possibly getting beyond their depth in bathtub. Two rules were emphasized for safety in it rooms: If there are small children in the hui keep the lower half of the window screened t», the screen fastened securely and at a point too h for the children to reach so that there will be danger of their falling out when the window. open. And no smoking in bed. A survey of the basement brought the turn under scrutiny â€" the need of the cleaning of Pl every spring. the checking of chimneys. 11 “its » gested that here. perhaps more than in any or part of the house. safety depends on the g housekeeping that keeps rubbish and litter clan away so that there is nothing for a stray spark a dropped match to ignite. We were warned ah- the danger of putting hot ashes in a carth carton. If the laundry is in the basement â€" or when the washing machine is kept ~ precautions rr be taken to keep children away from it: thpc‘ljl they must be kept away from the wringer. .Hamilton quoted from a hospital survey madt the Ottawa-Hull area which showed that of all recorded accidents from laundry equipment. n' of the accidents were with wringers and 5N1 these were to children under five years of age How can organizations help? In a panel discussion on how organizations . help in a safety programme. Mrs, James Haggcr President of the Federated Women's Institutes t Ontario said that she felt the Women's lnstitl could help a great deal with the survey by edut ing people to be ready for it. letting them kn that the information gathered would be used 0 r to prevent accidents. The branches had been ur: l to give their co-operation. Institutes also hr . many opportunities for safety education. :15 example through their new extension project "S:- ly Begins At Home" with local leaders taking " " HOME AND COUNIE-t‘i