Everything is under control: we create a safe environment for children at home

The right of property is the basic right of a citizen of the Russian Federation, which he receives from birth. Even a child can have rights to various property, including real estate. There are only two restrictions: on transactions with real estate and on the full disposal of it. A minor can enter into any agreements only with the consent of his parents, and he can fully dispose of property from the age of 18. But this does not mean that you cannot transfer an apartment or house to your child until he reaches adulthood. On the contrary, it is a convenient way to simplify the inheritance process. A person who has not reached the age of majority can obtain real estate in different ways: by purchase and sale, by inheritance, under a gift agreement or through privatization.

Content:

• The main sources of danger for a child at home. Looking for and eliminating Safe environment for newborn babies
• We provide security in the apartment for toddlers
• Safety etiquette for children who are left at home alone

Why buy an apartment for a child?

One of the most common reasons is to provide a child with their own home. Parents think about buying real estate in advance, preparing for their child a prosperous life in the future.

The second common reason for registering housing for a minor is to prevent troubles from arising in the event of a parental divorce.

If legal proceedings begin regarding the division of jointly acquired property, then the real estate belonging to the children has nothing to do with this issue. And the apartment is not divided between spouses.

Less often, registration of real estate in the name of children is carried out to exclude claims to the property of third-party organizations. For example, in case of unfulfilled financial obligations to creditors.

The main sources of danger for a child at home. We search and eliminate

At every age, a child discovers something new. Growing up is an amazing and fascinating process, but, unfortunately, it is inextricably linked with dangers. The task of parents is to protect the child from threats, but at the same time not to suppress independence and interest in the world around him. This also applies to the organization of space at home, where, alas, accidents also happen to children.

Safe environment for newborn babies

It is believed that the risk of serious injury increases exponentially from the moment a child begins to walk. This is true, but children's safety in the first months of life also requires attention, and the main source of threats is often located where the baby spends a significant part of the time - in the crib. We are, of course, talking about the sides and canopies that decorate the cradle.

Decorative elements for cribs increase the risk of accidental suffocation of a child - this is a fact. According to a study published in the specialized American journal Pediatrics, in 2011-2014, 250 American babies suffocated in their sleep. In 69% of cases, the cause of death was bedding.

Safe baby cot:

1. No soft sides. They pose a risk of suffocation for babies who do not yet know how to roll over and hold their heads up, so they can easily fall with their mouth or nose closed.
2. Without feather beds, large pillows, blankets and large soft toys. The reason is the same.
3. Canopies and awnings must be removed when the child begins to stand up, that is, at 4-6 months - they carry a risk of suffocation and injury.
4. From the moment the child learns to stand up, rattles should not be hung across the crib.
5. The optimal distance between the bars of the crib is 6-7 cm. This will allow the baby to safely insert an arm or leg between them without the risk of getting stuck, but will not allow the baby to stick his head through.

In fact, the simpler the children's bed in design and content, the better. In the end, we must admit that all these decorations are more needed by parents, and not by their newborn children, who are not able to appreciate the aesthetic merits.

We provide security in the apartment for toddlers

Toddler is a good English word that refers to a child who has just started walking, that is, between the ages of 1 and 3 years. The older he gets, the more he wants to make his own decisions, and prohibitions often infuriate him. Therefore, you need to act proactively and eliminate dangers in advance.

To do this, look at the space of your home from the position of a small person of stature and age without life experience - from below. Lie on the floor, walk on all fours. Everything that he can reach can become dangerous for a child, but by analyzing the main types of household childhood injuries, you can create a very specific list of potential risks.

The main sources of children's injuries at home

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This is a general list. Depending on whether it is a private house or an apartment building, gasified or not, large or small area, etc. sources of danger will vary. Eliminate them based on your circumstances.

Safety etiquette for children who are left at home alone

When a child grows up, learns the rules of household safety and begins to go to school, there comes a time when he is left at home alone - this is the norm. Threats of a different kind lurk here - sudden situations to which you need to be able to react correctly.

How to keep your child safe if he is alone at home:

• be sure to learn and additionally write down on paper the main telephone numbers of emergency services : fire protection, ambulance and police, as well as number 112, an analogue of the American number 911. To make it easier for the child to figure out when to call where, draw a visual clue next to the phone: a fire near the number 01, next to telephone 03 - a red cross, etc.;
• The child must know the telephone numbers of parents and trusted adults in order to contact them in case of danger. They can also be written down and left in a visible place at home;
• Explain to your child that calls from unknown numbers cannot be answered ;
• Teach your child not to answer the intercom, not to open the door to strangers , even if it is a familiar person, for example, a neighbor, and not to say that he is alone at home . You can learn more about the rules of behavior with strangers from this article He is a stranger, he is bad: rules of conduct for children with strangers;
• When leaving, do not leave the windows open ;
• if you live on the first floors, prohibit your child from approaching the windows if someone is knocking on them, and not talking, even if people outside ask to answer;
• sticks, lighters and other sources of open flame should not remain in sight of the child. Even the most adequate of children can succumb to a sudden desire to quietly “experiment.”

At this age, you can turn to modern technologies for child safety, especially when the child is left at home alone. Buy him a children's smart watch and/or install the “Where are my children” application on his smartphone. With this kit, you can listen to what is happening at home while you are away or when the child does not answer the phone, and the child himself will be able to send you a quick SOS signal in case of danger.

Basic Concepts

Some Russian citizens, when purchasing real estate, register it in the name of a minor child.

Current legislation allows a child to become an owner from birth. But the motives of parents are different and not always appropriate.

The first reason for transferring an apartment into the ownership of a child is the desire to provide him with living space. Of course, the legal representative (parent, guardian) will manage the property until the child reaches adulthood.

But any alienation without the consent of the guardianship authorities is prohibited. That is, parents are confident that no matter what happens, their child will not remain on the street.

The downside is that parents, if they need to sell their home, will have to convince guardians that their children’s interests are being respected.

Another reason involves transferring the apartment into the ownership of the child as a way to remove the object from the list of jointly acquired property.

When spouses divorce, all common property is divided in half. Property belonging to another person, a child in this case, is not subject to division.

Another reason to register an apartment for a child is the safety of property. Citizens who take out loans sometimes transfer their property to their children in advance.

In case of non-repayment of borrowed funds, credit institutions will not be able to foreclose on property that does not belong to the debtor.

The motives of adults can be different. But in any case, the transfer of ownership to the child must be properly formalized.

We organize the space at home according to child safety rules

Many families with children live in one-room apartments or studio apartments, and in such cases, recommendations such as “close the kitchen from children when no one is there” and “select one room and hide all the most dangerous things there” cause a puzzled grin.

What every home definitely has are windows, bathrooms and kitchen areas. We’ll talk about windows separately, but for now let’s look at how to make any home safe for a small child, regardless of the size and number of rooms.

Kitchen

This is one of the most dangerous places in the apartment, because there are household appliances, many sharp objects, household chemicals and caustic seasonings, and there is also a high risk of violating fire regulations.

Four “don’ts” that will help keep your child safe in the kitchen:

1. Keep your child away from a working stove, especially if food is being cooked or water is boiling on it.
2. Do not place dishes with hot contents on the edge of the table. Discard the tablecloth so that the child cannot pull it towards himself and drop everything on the table.
3. Do not leave dishes and cutlery, especially knives and forks, in accessible places. They must be removed immediately after eating.
4. Do not store cereals, pasta, as well as household chemicals, medicines and seasonings in the lower drawers.

To prevent a child from accidentally turning on the stove by going into the kitchen alone, you can install locks on the handles, or, if technically possible, set the child lock mode. For gas stoves, use piezo lighters.

Develop the habit of placing any utensils on the table or stove with the handles facing the wall, not the edge.

Place all small, bulk, caustic products, as well as household chemicals and medicines on the top shelves. True, one day the child will figure out to substitute a chair, climb on it and open the upper cabinets. You need to be prepared for this: install security locks on doors and drawers.

When it is impossible to exclude the child from being in the kitchen while preparing food, occupy his attention with play. For example, pour different types of pasta into a bowl and offer to sort it, or you can look for products and objects of a certain color/shape, and at the same time ask whether it is edible or not.

If your toddler sits calmly in a highchair when you're around, use it. This will limit freedom of movement and reduce the risk of an accident.

Bathroom

This place is a priori dangerous for a child - he can drown there. not be left unattended while washing. Even for 5 minutes is enough for a tragedy. As for children from 2 to 4 years old, they can reach the tap, turn on the water, play with it and cause a flood, and then slip and fall on a damp floor, so it is better to lay a rubber mat with suction cups there.

Another danger in the bathroom is the presence of household chemicals: from plumbing products to shampoos. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, half of children’s poisonings are caused by poisoning with cleaning agents and detergents. Laundry capsules are especially dangerous because, due to their bright colors, they may appear edible to children. Most often they are swallowed by children 1-2 years old, they write in Pediatric.

In addition, the bathroom often contains electrical appliances, such as a hair dryer, electric razor, and the child can arrange for them to meet with water.

Children's safety rules in the bathroom:

• do not allow children to play with water or open taps;
• equip storage places for dangerous items that are inaccessible to children: sealed containers, high shelves, cabinets that can be locked with a key. All household chemicals, razors and electrical appliances must be removed there;
• use washing powders rather than capsules until the child is at least 6 years old;
• from an early age, teach children to sit in the bathtub on the other side of the tap, so as not to accidentally open hot water and get burned;
• Do not allow children to take a phone or tablet into the bath, especially with a charger.

Rooms, hallways and other premises

Regardless of the size and type of living space, the house always contains furniture, a certain amount of equipment and various decor, from curtains to a collection of vases. For adults, these things do not pose a danger, but a child is a completely different story.

How to create a safe space at home:

1. Remove breakable objects (flower pots, vases, figurines, framed photos, etc.), as well as any heavy objects (books, watches, paintings) from surfaces accessible to the child.
2. Stick special soft silicone pads on the corners of the furniture to help avoid bruises or abrasions upon impact.
3. Secure shelving, cabinets and other furniture that could tip over.
4. It is better to place TVs and large monitors on the wall using a bracket.
5. Cover sockets and switches with special plugs and covers.
6. Place special childproof locks on cabinet doors.
7. Do not leave electrical appliances in the public domain.
8. Various wires need to be wound or hidden in casings, cable ducts, behind furniture, and baseboards.
9. Keep chargers up high and hidden when not in use.
10. Store all the bags that you have in the house in hard-to-reach places, because children can put them on the head of themselves or another child while playing.
11. Curtains that fall to the floor should be shortened or replaced - a small child may become entangled in them and suffocate, or the curtain rod will collapse, resulting in mechanical injury.
12. Cover glass in furniture and mirrors with impact-resistant film.
13. If there are cats in the house, children will still get to the litter trays, so choose safe organic litters (wood, corn, paper), they are more difficult to poison and will not clog the toilet.
14. Keep dog leashes and harnesses out of reach.

Of course, it is impossible to provide for everything, so if possible, place very young children in the playpen or limit their movement with the help of special gate barriers that will not allow them to leave the equipped safe space.

Remember that threatening objects should look as uninteresting as possible to the child. In this case, you can be cunning and organize a controlled violation - leave a couple of bottom drawers open and keep there interesting and safe items for the child - toys, empty jars, plastic dishes. This will satisfy curiosity and distract from the search for real danger.

Another life hack that will encourage a child’s need to explore the world and protect him from everyday injuries - among all the “don’ts,” there should be at least one “do.” For example, you can’t take a blender, it’s dangerous, but you can take a wooden potato masher.

Donating an apartment to a minor

A minor can receive real estate as a gift either from family members or from third parties. But he has no right to act as a donor until he turns 14 years old.

If the apartment was received as a gift from a close relative - parents, grandparents, sisters or brothers - it will not be subject to tax. For real estate donated by other relatives or third parties, a tax of 13% of the value of the gift must be paid. However, since minors usually do not have their own funds for this, the tax burden falls on their parents.

If for any reason the parents are against the child becoming the owner of the donated apartment, the consent of the guardianship authorities will be required to refuse the gift. In this case, they will need to be convinced that the gift is detrimental to the interests of the minor.

Fresh air versus safety. How to equip windows to prevent a child from falling out?

Since 2021, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs began to keep statistics on cases of children falling out of the windows of apartment buildings. In the first half of last year alone, 644 children lost their lives and 56 died.

The problem is highly seasonal - with the onset of warm weather, the number of such incidents increases significantly. Over the past couple of weeks, you can see news about children falling out of windows in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Rostov-on-Don, Kamensk-Uralsky, Omsk, Khabarovsk...

As a rule, children 2-3 years old fall out of windows. A child at this age is an explorer; he sees an interesting world outside the window, and at the same time he has no sense of danger that could stop him. Mosquito nets won't stop either. This is not fall protection, but a flimsy illusion of it. In general, window fittings must be reliable to prevent spontaneous opening, especially in the “micro-ventilation” mode.

How to protect your child from falling out of a window:

1. Do not leave your child alone in a room where the windows are completely open and the window sills are easily accessible.
2. Remove furniture from windows that could allow a child to climb onto the windowsill.
3. Don't show your child how to open a window. The later he finds out about this, the better.
4. Do not teach your child to stand on a chair to look out the window.
5. Do not allow your child to climb onto the windowsill while playing.
6. Make the window sills boring and uninteresting, remove everything from them.
7. If your house has windows with wooden frames, when leaving the room where the child is, close the window at the top and bottom and open the window.
8. Be sure to equip metal-plastic windows with special locks, for example those that allow you to move the sash from the closed position to the “vertical ventilation” mode, but prevent it from being fully opened without a key.

Things that will help make your home safer for a small child. List and prices

The time has come to collect into a single list all the needs that were mentioned in this article. It’s up to you to decide what things you’ll need and what you can do without.

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The cost is indicated based on offers from popular marketplaces. Almost all expensive items on the list can be found cheaper on free classifieds sites or in thrift stores. They will be used, but will do the job quite well.

Important: all protective devices, for example, plugs for sockets and covers for corners, should be as unattractive as possible and blend in with the surroundings, otherwise the child will certainly want to play with it, or even taste it.

Protect yourself. We teach children the basics of safe behavior at home

From the moment of birth until about three years of age, no rules of safe behavior can be taught to a child - you need to control everything yourself. However, older children become “negotiable,” so you can begin to explain to them what is a threat to them and why . It is important to teach the child to be aware of cause-and-effect relationships and gradually develop the skill of thinking ahead about the consequences.

Thematic books and cartoons with further discussion of the plot, role-playing games in which you will work out dangerous situations and correct behavior together, as well as personal example will help teach your child safe behavior at home. Working on safe behavior skills should be done regularly, because children are restless and quickly switch to other, more interesting topics at the moment.

8 "not allowed". What a child should learn about safety at home:

1. Do not play with flammable objects and liquids - matches, lighters, aerosols, etc.
2. Do not turn the valves of the gas stove and water heater.
3. You cannot turn on the electric stove or touch other electrical appliances without an adult.
4. You cannot play with sockets.
5. You cannot open the windows yourself and sit on the windowsill near the open window.
6. You should not touch or even play with sharp objects - knives, scissors, needles, tools, etc.
7. You cannot try household chemicals and perfumes.
8. You should not open doors to strangers, especially if you are alone at home.

Emphasize that these rules apply not only to the home, they must always be followed - when visiting, at school, at camp, at grandma's in the village.

When can a child manage property?

A person receives the right to dispose of real estate upon reaching 18 years of age. Until this time, it will not be possible to sell or rent out housing. But no one will be able to deprive the owner of his property, except in cases where the transaction is declared invalid by the court.

Important! If a child is over 16 years old, officially employed or legally married, he can fully dispose of property.

Until the child reaches 18 years of age, all decisions regarding real estate are made by his parents, guardians or representatives.

The basis of the basics. Child safety reminder for parents

One of the main conditions for a child’s safety is his trust in you. He should understand why you set certain conditions, feel cared for and not be afraid to tell you about any situations. You, as the eldest, are required to think through all the safety rules and correctly convey them to the children. However, do not burden a child, especially a growing one, with unreasonable restrictions - this can make him insecure and negatively affect his future life.

What parents should do to keep their child safe at home:

1. Prevent accidents and injuries by first removing hazards and then teaching your child proper behavior.
2. Set age limits and loosen them as children get older.
3. Still maintain control over gas and electrical appliances, potentially dangerous devices and objects, even if it seems that the child has long understood everything.
4. Convey to the child that such important data as his name and address, parents’ telephone numbers, etc. He needs them for dangerous situations, so he shouldn’t share them with random people.
5. Lead by example and practice safe behavior at home.

Providing a safe environment for the child in the home where he lives is an important task for parents. On the one hand, it is necessary to prevent injuries and accidents, and on the other, to teach the child independence in this matter and not “strangle” him with control. Knowing the main sources of danger for children in the house, you can reduce the risks of domestic accidents to a minimum, including using special devices, for example, plugs for sockets and blockers for windows.

It is also necessary to explain to children what poses a threat to them and why. This is important because they do not have enough life experience. Constantly remind your children of safety rules at home, but do not intimidate them and try to build trusting relationships. Then the resistance to the established restrictions will be lower - the child will feel cared for, and not just controlled.

Participation of a minor in real estate transactions

Until the age of 14, a person does not have the right to manage housing. Legal representatives - parents or guardians - act on his behalf. The guardianship authorities ensure that the interests of the minor are not harmed as a result of the transaction.

When a child turns 14, he must personally participate in transactions and sign documents. However, this is done only in the presence of legal representatives and with their written consent. The right to unlimited disposal of one’s property comes after the age of majority, when a person becomes fully capable. In some cases provided for by law, a citizen is recognized as legally competent before reaching this age and, accordingly, the right to sole participation in real estate transactions also occurs earlier.

The presence of a child under 14 years of age when submitting documents to register property rights is also optional. When submitting documents to the registration authorities, in addition to the standard package of documents and a passport or birth certificate of the child, you will need the identity cards of his legal representatives, their consent to the transaction, and in some cases, permission from the guardianship authorities.