Child safety in a power outage: light, heat, generators

In everyday life a home is usually well secured for children: sockets are protected, stairs are lit, open flames are rare. A power cut changes that suddenly. All at once there are candles, gas stoves, makeshift attempts at heating, perhaps a generator outside the house and a tangle of power-bank cables. Children are curious and distracted in the dark, adults are stressed – a combination in which accidents easily happen.

The basic idea is therefore simple: hazards that do not exist in everyday life are not brought into the house in the first place, or are cleared out of the way in advance. Light without flame, warmth without combustion indoors, and clear zones children do not enter. The more of this is prepared before the power goes, the less has to be improvised in the dark.

Carbon monoxide, CO for short, forms when fuels such as gas, charcoal or petrol burn. The gas is invisible and odourless and pushes oxygen out of the blood. That is why it is so dangerous: you do not notice it until it causes symptoms. Children are especially at risk. Generators, barbecues and camping stoves must never run in the home, basement, garage or on an enclosed balcony – not even “just briefly” and not with the door or window open.

A generator, if used at all, stands only outdoors and far from windows, doors and vents so the fumes do not get into the house. Children keep their distance. How to connect and run a generator safely is a separate topic for professionals and the manufacturer's instructions; this entry gives no instructions for that. A battery-powered carbon monoxide alarm also warns during a power cut.

If someone gets a headache, feels sick, dazed or dizzy, especially if several people are affected at once: get everyone into fresh air immediately and call the local emergency number (112 in the EU). Do not stay inside to look for the cause.

Candles and oil lamps cause fires and burns again and again – all the more in the dark with children running around. It is best to avoid them altogether. For rooms, battery lanterns that can stand on the table are suitable; for walking around and for hands, torches and headlamps. Matches, lighters, fuels and gas canisters are locked away out of children's reach.

Every child gets their own lamp that they can operate themselves. A child with their own light feels much safer and does not have to search for their parents in the dark. A fixed place is important, such as by the bed, so the lamp can be found immediately at night too. Check lamps and batteries regularly, for example during the seasonal check.

Light stairs and corridors with battery light, clear cables, toys and other trip hazards out of the way and close stair gates where there are any. Power banks and charging cables are best kept in a place where nobody falls over them.

If it gets cold during a winter outage, the family moves together into one room, ideally a small, well-insulated one. Several layers of clothing, hats, blankets and sleeping bags keep you warm. Improvised heating, such as a barbecue, gas cooker or camping stove used for heat, is off-limits indoors. If a child relies on powered medical devices, they need a separate plan discussed in advance with the doctor and the utility.

Children cope much better with a power cut when they understand what is going on. Explain briefly and calmly what has happened and which rules apply now. The situation can even become something nice: a games night by torchlight, shadow figures on the wall or a story in lamplight. That way a power cut is remembered more as an adventure than as a fright.

The most common mistakes are well meant: a candle in the child's room so they are not afraid; the generator in the garage “with the door open”; the barbecue brought indoors for heat; only one torch for the whole family. Each of these can be avoided with a little preparation.

Preparation here mainly means: enough battery light for everyone, working smoke and CO alarms, lighters and fuels locked away, and a plan for which room is the warm room in winter. Detailed guidance on light, generators and communication in a power cut can be found in the blackout world.