Bunchin Madras diaries 4

I will continue from my previous blog where I was holding forth on child friendly homes. Door knobs and latches are another serious design faults in houses. As adults we dont even notice where the knobs and latches are.It is usually an involuntary action. But with a toddler, it is a totally different ball game. He is all the time trying to stand on tiptoe and reach anything that is just outside his reach.So it was that he was able to reach the latch which is the horizontal bolting type. D went inside a room and he followed. He saw the latch and wanted to try it out, so reached out and bolted it from the outside. D is calling out to me who was in another room. I heard muffled voices, but I thought D and Bunchin are having a conversation. Usually it is one sided, so I was not paying any attention. Bunchin was perplexed that he could not open the door and be with D. He was watching for developments, as it were. It was after a while that I happen to come there and saw bunchin fiddling near a door and D's voice from inside the room. I was so overcome with anxiety while I opened the door. What if this has happened if another person was not around. And what if Bunchin had got inside the room and bolted it. The latches of any variety have to be at adult level and not at toddler level.Basic safety precaution in designing any house. I had never really looked at it this way, yes, till now. We called the carpenter and got the latch dummied immediately. In an academic campus with majority of young staff, making the quarters child safe should be inbuilt into the construction manual.


AC switches are another danger points. Chennai has to have acs almost throughout the year. A toddler is fascinated by the a slightly more difficult to operate switch there and also the thick wire coming out of it to the stabiliser. Normally we just ask the ac mechanic to fit the switch where there is a convenient place. Never bothering to think a little more and keep it at adult level.

Bedside lamps, so convenient for adults, is so tempting for toddlers. Bunchin used to keep pulling at the wires and switching the light on and off, like in old K  Balachander movies!

We have some ornate mirrors. I was very fascinated by them when I had gone to an exhibition and was very happy to get two for the two bedrooms. But I never paid attention to the way it was fixed to the wall. Now I know when Bunchin pulled at it and it almost came off, because it was only fixed at the top. It is a longish mirror and even otherwise the carpenter should have secured it on both ends. But he did'nt and I had not noticed it for the last more than 20 years. So the lesson learnt is, when we make or buy big wall pieces, secure them on both sides to the wall and only then is it child safe.

Houses having different levels is another big no no. In our house, the verandah is at a lower level, Most of the time the front door is closed so Bunchin is safe. But he gets down the minute the door is opened, and when he was still a little unsure on his feet, it used to give us very anxious moments.

The smooth tiles that are the new standard in all houses, make it impossible to notice any water lying on the floor and the child usually has a skating fall. It is true for adults too, but then most of us walk slowly and cautiously most of the time. But a toddler is in a tearing hurry, and has a nasty fall most of the time. Thatha says why dont you wipe the floor clean when water is spilt. We would only if we know or see! My kids grew up in a house which had red oxide flooring. Extremely child safe!

I had heard this expression many years back. One of our friends in Singapore told us that that weekend they will be busy getting the house child safe.Their child was due soon. I heard it and filed it away, wondering what it was. I was told that they will be checking for good earthing of their electrical wiring and also any exposed switchboards are ground level.

But see, the scope of safety has widened and deepened with Bunchin"s arrival!