Chapter 3: Safety in the Home

After studying this chapter, you will be able to:

(a) prevent accidents in the home.

(b) administer first aid to save lives.

(c) choose suitable lighting for a home.

(d) explain the importance of good ventilation in a home.

(e) choose suitable work surfaces for a kitchen.

(f) explain the sources and uses of water in a home.

(g) purify water at home using basic methods.

(h) construct a sand filter.

Keywords

• Accidents
• Contamination
• First aid
• Purification
• Safety
• Ventilation

Introduction

A number of people get injured or killed by accidents in a home. The most vulnerable groups are the children and the elderly.

Did you know that safety in a home is a responsibility of every member in the home?

You can prevent accidents using suitable lighting and ventilation in a home. Provision of clean water is also very important because contaminated water carries disease germs that cause illness.

Can you identify some of the accidents that are likely to occur in the figure below?

Figure 3.1: Common accidents in a home

In this chapter, you will develop skills of preventing accidents in a home by providing good lighting and ventilation. You will also be equipped with skills to offer first aid. This will ensure safety in a home for all members and especially the vulnerable like children and the elderly.

You will also purify water for home use using the basic methods. This will ensure safety of family members from diseases got from drinking contaminated water.

3.1: Common accidents in a home: causes and prevention

Perhaps you are more aware of road accidents than accidents in a home. You may not think of a home as a place where accidents may happen but in fact more accidents happen at home than anywhere else. Many of the home accidents occur in the kitchen than any other place.

Many home activities such as food preparation and cleaning take place in the kitchen and this may lead to accidents. A kitchen should be planned and organised in such a way as to promote a safe environment.

Activity 3.1 Carrying out a school survey on causes of common accidents

Visit the school kitchen and dining during food preparation and service. Observe the work surface, cooking area and floor as well as storage area for the possible dangers that could lead to accidents.

1. In your group, list down the dangerous areas, equipment and practices that could lead to accidents.

2. Make a poster showing the dangerous areas, equipment and practices that could result into accidents.

3. Present your poster to the class and discuss the causes and the types of accidents.

You should always practice good work habits that reduce accidents in a kitchen. Encourage safety precautions and remedies for preventing accidents in your home.

Activity 3.2 Identifying the different ways of preventing accidents in a home

Using the poster that you made on common accidents, share with your neighbour the answer to these questions.

1. What are the accidents that can occur in a home/school/ community? What can you do to prevent these accidents?

2. In groups, identify each accident and write down on a manila paper the steps you will follow to prevent it, use drawings where applicable.

3. Present your work to the class.

4. Form a safety corner in the classroom and display all the charts in that corner.

5. Demonstrate by singing or roleplaying different ways of preventing accidents.

3.2: Ensuring safety in a home

Activity 3.3 Copying and completing the table on safety points in a home

The points in the following table can help you to make a home a safe place. Please copy it in your notebook and fill in the missing safety points and reasons.

Table 3.1:Safety points in a home

3.3: First aid

It is important that every member of the family knows what to do in case of an accident or illness at home. First aid is an immediate and temporal care given to a person who is injured or has become ill or on the way to hospital or while waiting for the arrival of a doctor.

Rules for first aid

1. When giving first aid, ensure your safety first.

2. Organise treatment and do the most important things first.

3. Move the patient as little as possible and handle him gently.

4. Re-assure the patient and if necessary, treat the shock.

5. Discourage people from crowding around so that the patient gets sufficient air.

6. Call for medical help.

First aid box

You will always find a first aid kit very important whenever there is an accident. This is because it saves time and makes it easy to give immediate help to a casualty. Every home, school and place of work should have a first aid kit. You need to keep this safely in a known place but away from the reach of children.

You can improvise a box or plastic container as a first aid kit but it should be strong and waterproof or air tight to prevent some of the contents from rusting. You should examine it from time to time and replace used up items.

Figure 3.2: Some items in the firrst aid kit

Activity 3.4 Assembling a first aid kit Tweezers

1. In buzz/group session, identify the essential items that must be in a first aid kit and discuss their uses.

2. Using a box/plastic container, assemble a first aid kit and label it.

3. Store this for use in a suitable place in the classroom.

First aid treatment for common accidents

As a first aider, you must have knowledge of certain acceptable skills which you may use to treat the patient in an emergency. Use of the wrong treatment could cause permanent damage or death. It is always important for you to give re-assurance to the casualty no matter how bad the accident may be and to ensure that you and the casualty are both safe.

Activity 3.5 Safety in the home Administering first aid treatment for common accidents

1. In groups, find out from the internet how the following accidents are treated; cuts and wounds, nose bleeding, burns and choking and shock. scalds, clothes on fire, electric shock, poisoning, fainting,

2. In your books, write down the accident and the first aid treatment you would give.

3. Draw some of the first aid procedures on a manila paper or in your notebooks.

4. Present this to the class.

5. Demonstrate one way of carrying out a first aid treatment for a specific accident using role play.

3.4: Choosing suitable lighting for a home

What do you think would happen to you if you were working in a room that does not have enough light? What are the two main ways in which light can be provided in a house?

Lighting is essential to maintain eye sight, comfort, health, safety and ease of movement. Strain, accidents and eye soreness can be caused when light is not enough.

A good natural light may be achieved by the number, size and position of the windows. Artificial light should:

• give sufficient light for the purpose required
• not cast shadows
• be free from glare
• not flicker
• not discharge impurities into the air.

Figure 3.3: Sources of light in a home

Activity 3.6 Discussing why various rooms need different lighting

1. Have you ever realised that different rooms are normally given different lights, why do you think so?

2. In small groups, discuss why some rooms need more light than others.

3. Write your findings on a manila paper or chart or in your notebooks.

4. Present your work to the class.

3.5: Importance of good ventilation

Have you ever sat in a crowded room with no windows? How did you feel? Ventilation refers to the exchange of air using either natural or artificial methods. Every home needs provision of adequate ventilation. Sufficient lighting in the home in itself is not enough to make it a safe place. There is need to ensure proper ventilation. This influences air quality and burning of fuel in the kitchen.

It will help you to remove waste products like moisture, heat, grease and gases from the house. This will prevent dampness in the room, too much heat, and bad odours in the house. Poor ventilation may result in respiratory diseases. Proper ventilation will also supplement on the amount of light received in the house.

Figure 3.4: Ventilators in a home

Activity 3.7 Carrying out a research on good ventilation

1. Observe the school dormitory/ your bedrooms/kitchen/living room.

2. What methods/ways of ventilation are used in each of the above?

3. Ask some of the members if they think the ventilation is adequate or not.

4. If you had access to all the resources, how would you improve on the ventilation in the areas?

5. What is the importance of good ventilation in a home?

6. Design a message on a leaflet or chart for a mother of young children for her to appreciate the importance of good ventilation.

3.6: Suitable work surface for a kitchen

Work surfaces in the kitchen are finished using different materials. Work surfaces are important in the kitchen to enable the worker carry out tasks like sorting, cutting and mixing. It makes your work in the kitchen comfortable. The materials for work surfaces include, formica, granite, marble, wood, composite, stone, stainless steel, ceramic tiles and concrete.

Figure 3.5: Suitable work surface for the kitchen

Factors to consider when choosing a work surface

Activity 3.8 Discussing the factors to consider when choosing work surfaces in a home

1. In groups, discuss the factors to consider when choosing a work surface in the kitchen.

2. Make powerpoint slides to guide someone in choosing the right work surfaces for their home or use manila/notebook.

3. Present this to the class.

Using proper work surfaces in a home

In order to carry out a particular job, you need a work surface. The surfaces should be comfortable to work from, easy to clean, heat resistant, scratch-proof, water-proof, resistant to chemicals and hard wearing. You should also make sure that your work surface is at the right height. Work surfaces should be placed where there is enough lighting.

Activity 3.9 Identifying characteristics of materials for work surfaces

Identify the characteristics of different materials used for work surfaces. Copy the table in your notebook and put a tick (v) where applicable in all the blank spaces.

3.7: Water in a home

Water is essential to all life and is used in a home for drinking, cooking, washing, watering plants and giving to animals. Water in a home is got from many sources. Some of them may be clean enough for use and others may need to be purified before using it at home.

Sources of water

Where do people in your school, home or community get water from? There are different sources of water. Do you have a source of water in your home? If not where do you always get water from?

Activity 3.10 Identifying sources of water, their advantages and disadvantages In groups,

1. Identify the different sources of water used in a home.

2. List and explain the advantages and disadvantages of each source.

Activity 3.11 Identifying the uses of water at home

1. In a buzz session, identify the uses of water in a home.

2. Write the responses on a sticky note pad of different colours or piece of paper.

3. Stick the responses on the manila paper.

4. Present to the class.

5. Place the manila with sticky notes on uses of water in a home on the wall.

Water contamination at home and in the community

What do you understand by the word contamination? How does water get contaminated? Is there any problem with drinking or using contaminated water? Water is contaminated when it is made impure. What can we do to the water that is contaminated?

The sources of water are easily contaminated in the following ways:

1. Run-off water

2. Waste water

3. Air pollution

4. Eroded soil

5. Sewage

Each of the above ways contaminates water in a different way and with different effects.

Can you think of how water is contaminated through each of the ways above? If care is not taken to protect water sources, they can easily become contaminated. Contaminated water is unsafe to use. Water in containers need to be covered well to prevent contamination.

Activity 3.12 Identifying ways of water contamination

1. Visit a nearby open water body like a stream/well/ lake.

2. Take note of the different activities taking place near the water body in your book.

3. Ask the people taking part in some of these activities if they have been doing this for some time and whether they think that their actions have any effect on the water source.

4. In your groups, discuss other ways through which water can be contaminated as well as what you observed during your visit, illustrate these.

5. Design posters on various ways of water contamination.

6. Present this to the class.

Dangers of drinking contaminated water

Water borne diseases are caused by drinking contaminated or dirty water. Contaminated water can cause many types of diseases like cholera and other serious illnesses such as guinea worm disease, typhoid, hepatitis, bilharzias and dysentery.

Methods of purifying water in a home

It is important to know that even when water gets contaminated, you can still make it good. You can do this by purifying your water at home. This makes it safe for drinking and for food preparation. Several methods can be used to make water safe for home use. It is always important to make sure that the water you use is clean, safe and free from harmful bacteria. Water can be purified in many ways

Activity 3.13 Discussing the ways in which water can be purified

1. In your groups, find out from the internet or the library the various ways through which water is purified.

2. Write these in your flip chart or use word document

3. Download some video clips about water purification.

4. Using a discussion, present these to the class.

Activity 3.14 Purifying water in the home

1. Carryout the following method of purifying water at home:

(i) boiling

(ii) addition of chemicals (use those available in shops/ chemists)

(iii) filtration

2. Demonstrate this in your groups during a class presentation.

(i) Straining water through a cloth

Figure 3.6: Purifying water at home

It is easy to filter water using a piece of cloth. This is called simple filtration. By this, you are able to remove the main solid particles from water as well as any insect larvae that it may contain. Use cotton cloth which is thick enough to properly keep the impurities. If the cloth is too thick, then filtration will take a longer time. The cotton cloth used must always be washed after use. Straining alone is not enough to ensure that the water is safe for drinking. It should be boiled to kill the germs.

Advantages

1. It is simple to use.

2. It is almost at no cost.

3. It is very useful, and even essential for pre-treatment purposes,

Disadvantage

1. It does not make water completely safe for drinking.

(ii) The three pan or bucket method This method works in the same way as filtration by removing the main solid particles found in water.

Procedure

1. Pour dirty water in a pan or bucket and leave it for about 30 minutes to settle.

2. Carefully pour the clear water into another pan/bucket.

3. Allow it to settle for at least 30 minutes.

4. Pour the clearer water into the third pan/bucket.

5. At this stage, the water is clear and ready for use or boiling for drinking.

(iii) Treatment by boiling

Figure 3.7: Water boiling in a pan

Have you ever boiled water for drinking at home? Did it boil fully? Was the water for drinking or for another use? Boiling is the simplest method you can use to purify water. When you boil water, you kill the germs that contaminate water. Before boiling the water, you should first filter to remove all the solid particles.

Procedure for boiling water

1. Prepare cooking facilities or source of heat.

2. Filter the water and place it in a clean pan.

3. Place the pan on the source of heat and bring to boil.

4. After it has started boiling, leave it for 10-15 minutes before removing from the heat. By doing this, you will ensure that all the germs and their eggs are killed.

5. Remove the water from the source of heat and let it cool before drinking.

6. Keep it covered to avoid contamination.

Advantages

1. It is easy to use.

2. It kills all germs.

Disadvantages

1. High costs of fuel.

2. It needs a lot of time.

(iv) Treatment by addition of chemicals

Addition of chlorine is a simple and helpful way of disinfecting water to make it safe for drinking. You can add chlorine tablets or bleach into the water to kill the germs found in it. After adding chlorine, leave it for 30 minutes. After this, the water will be safe for drinking. This water remains safe for a few days depending on the storage conditions. Other chemicals like water guard can also be used.

Advantages

1. Muddy water can be made safe for drinking.

2. If the treatment is done properly, all of the germs are killed.

3. Addition of chlorine has a durable effect.

Disadvantages

1. There are risks involved in handling chlorine.

2. The chemical may not be easily available.

(v) Treatment by using home-made filter Safety in the home

A home-made filter works by letting the water seep through layers of sand, charcoal and small stones. Fill the bottom of the bottle with charcoal, the middle with sand, and the top with gravel. Using the filter, pour water into the bottle and let it drip through the hole in the bucket.

Advantages

1. It is done at a low cost.

2. It is easy to use/do.

Disadvantages

1. Allows only little water.

2. It does not make the water safe for drinking, so there is need to boil it or add chemicals thereafter.

Project

As a class, with the guidance of your teacher, set up a project on water purification to ensure clean supply of water in the school and at home/community.

Activity 3.15 Carrying out a research to find out the different things that contaminate water in your community

1. Individually carryout a research at your home or community on things that contaminate water.

2. Ask a number of people and note down your findings.

3. Present to others for comparison either using a chart or chalkboard demonstration.

b

Activity 3.16 Assembling a home-made filter

1. Carry out a research on the materials needed for a home-made filter and the procedure for assembling it.

2. In your groups, assemble a water filter using materials requested.

3. Display your water filter to the class.

Activity 3.17 Discussing advantages and disadvantages of the methods of water purification

1. In pairs, identify the advantages and disadvantages of the different methods of water purification you have learnt.

2. Write the findings in your notebooks or on a flip chart. 3. Present your findings to the rest of the class.