The spring period when works are performed in the garden and the yard is associated with an increased risk of children younger than five being hurt. Specialists warn the parents to be watchful and not to leave the kids unsupervised at least for a moment. 

The head of the Emergency Admissions Section of the Balti Municipal Hospital Ala Condrea said a mother went to work in the garden and took her seven-day-old child together with her. As a result, the child suffered serious sunburn and was taken to the hospital. Another child left alone in the house while the parents worked in the yard was close to suffocating with the string from the window shade, which he put around his neck.  The child was saved in the last moment. Another child was admitted to the hospital with the fingers cut with an ax left within the child’s reach. There are many cases when the children get poisoned by different substances used in agriculture, which the parents must keep in places that are inaccessible to children. A child fell into a container with active limestone, which caused him serious burns. 

Ala Condrea called on the parents to never leave their children unsupervised. If they need to do something alone, they should seek help from another adult and leave the child in his/her care.

The wells located in the yard also pose a threat. Recently, a child aged two from a Romanian settlement died when he fell into a well. Contacted by IPN, the head of a rescuers team of the Civil Protection and Emergencies Service Ghenadie Gavrilita said that all the holes and wells in the yard must be stopped up appropriately or locked. The parents must also have their eye on the children when they start a fire because the kids are curious and come close to the fire and can burn themselves or become poisoned by fumes. Grownups’ supervision is the best weapon against dangers in the home or the yard.

Information about how the children can be protected in different situations can be found at www.parinti.md that was launched within the REPEMOL (Regionalization of Pediatric Emergency and Intensive Care Service in Moldova) Project. During six years, the project, in cooperation with the authorities, has informed the parents about the measures that they must take to prevent home accidents involving children under five within the campaign “A danger-free home for your child”.